Twelve environmental activists who were arrested during protests against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in August 2025 have decried delayed justice after their fourth bail application was rejected.
The presiding Senior Principal Grade One, Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko, at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court, said the suspects’ case was in an advanced stage and therefore, there was no need to grant them bail despite the fact that they have spent nearly three months on remand.
The activists, most of whom are students from various universities in the country under their umbrella body, Students Against Eacop Uganda, an environmental pressure group, were arrested on August 1 after staging a peaceful protest near Stanbic Bank in Kampala, over what they described as the bank’s continued funding of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop). They were first arraigned in court on charges of being a public nuisance and remanded to Luzira till September 5.
The suspects, who include Teopista Nakyambadde, Shammy Nalwadda, Dorothy Asio, Shafik Kalyango, Habibu Nalungu, Noah Kafiiti, Ismail Zziwa, Ivan Wamboga, Akram Katende, Baker Tamale, Keisha Ali and Mark Makoba, accused the bank of funding the ongoing construction of the 1,443km Eacop, claiming that the project is destructive to the environment.
They reappeared before the same court on August 18, and Ms Nankya denied them bail because some of them were perennial protestors who had repeatedly abused their bail terms.
She, on September 5, declined to hear their fresh bail application and adjourned the court session to October 1 after hearing evidence of three state witnesses.
Some of the state witnesses said they had seen some of the activists participating in more than one anti-Eacop protest.
Mr Kato Tumusiime, the lead lawyer for the activists, condemned the decision by the magistrate to rejects his clients’ bail application and described it as absurd and unfortunate.
“Failing to entertain the bail application prejudices the rights of the accused guaranteed by our Constitution, and the same is not only harsh but also illegal and unacceptable. It suggests that the activists have been found guilty before even hearing their case,” he said
He added, “This is unacceptable in our legal regime. We must fight for our judiciary to be independent and act in line with the law and not to please the people in power.”
The magistrate fixed November 6 when she will rule whether they have a case to answer.
The activists have on several occasions protested in Kampala streets, including at Parliament, the French and Chinese Embassies, Stanbic and KCB Banks, over their substantial support for the Eacop project, which they say is harmful. This time, the bank announced its funding after key financiers withdrew.
However, the government and key stakeholders have dismissed the activists’ claims, defending their participation in the project, which is expected to transform the country’s economy once oil begins flowing.
The $5 billion (Shs18 trillion) EACOP project is a 1,443 km pipeline that will transport Uganda’s waxy crude oil from the oil fields in mid-western Uganda to Tanga port on the Indian Ocean in Tanzania.
The project is jointly owned by French oil giant, TotalEnergies (62 percent), the Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC – 15 percent), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC – 8 percent), and Tanzania’s Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC – 15 percent) under EACOP Ltd.
Source: Monitor
