By Witness Radio team.
A bail application for the 15 EACOP activists from Kyambogo and Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Universities currently on remand on charges of common nuisance has failed to take off today.
Simon Peter Wafula, Gary Wettaka, Martin Sserwambala, Erick Ssekandi, Arafat Mawanda, Akram Katende, Dedo Sean Kevin, Noah Katiti, Oscar Nuwagaba, Oundo Hamphrance, Bernard Mutenyo, Nicholas Pele, Shadiah Nabukenya, Shafiq Kalyango, and Makose Mark, who were arrested in early this month (November) for their determined protest against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.
They were marching to Uganda’s Parliament to meet the Speaker of Parliament and raise concerns about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, including the continued gross human rights violations/abuses, the significant threat it poses to the environment, and the criminalization of the mega project’s critics.
The EACOP project will transport crude oil from Uganda’s Albertine region to Tanzania’s Tanga seaport. The project has been criticized for delayed compensation for affected persons and secretive agreements.
However, the two accused, Wafula Simon and Kalyango Shafik, did not attend court. The prosecution informed the court that the duo was sick, suffering from red eyes, and currently being kept in an isolation room in the prison hospital. The absence of the two caused a setback to the defense lawyers’ bail application attempt.
On November 11, the accused were charged with common nuisance. Section 160 (1) of the Penal Code Act states that if convicted, anyone charged with common nuisance is liable to one-year imprisonment.
The prosecution alleges that on November 11, 2024, the accused gathered at Parliamentary Avenue, causing disruption and inconvenience by holding an unauthorized demonstration on the road while displaying placards and banners opposing the oil pipeline.
Grade One magistrate Sanula Nambozo adjourned the case until December 9, 2024, when the defense team is expected to present a bail application for the 15 activists.
