By Witness Radio team.
Despite the risks, these eleven environmental activists, unwavering in their opposition to the EACOP project, were accused of holding an illegal assembly. Their arrest on the 26th/02/2025, while attempting to deliver a petition to the European Union Delegation to Uganda offices in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, is a testament to their remarkable courage and commitment.
Clad in orange T-shirts emblazoned with the words “No to Oil,” these activists, chanting “Stop EACOP,” peacefully sought to engage the European Union. Their peaceful approach and their plea to the EU to use its influence, mainly through its member state, France, to engage TotalEnergies to abandon their involvement in the EACOP project, is a testament to their commitment to a nonviolent resolution.
The EACOP project has been widely criticized for its potential to cause significant environmental damage. The heated pipeline, stretching 1,445 kilometers from Hoima, Uganda, to the port of Tanga in Tanzania, could devastate sensitive ecosystems, threaten endangered wildlife, severely impact water resources, and increase greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, it could displace local communities and cause social disruption along the pipeline route, making it a highly controversial project with substantial environmental risks.
The EACOP project, also known as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, will transport oil from Hoima, Uganda, to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Other shareholders include the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania. The project has been a subject of controversy due to its potential environmental and social impact.
Shafic Kalyong, Joseph Ssengozi, Namuddu Rahima, Gilbert Nayebare, Arafat Mawanda, Hillary Mangeni, Brilliant James Mufere, Desire Ndyamwesiga, and Keisha Ali, among others,
were arraigned before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court, charged them with common nuisance, and remanded them to Luzira Prison.
Section 160 of the Penal Code states that a person convicted of common nuisance faces a one-year imprisonment.
The eleven were arrested a few days after environmental campaigners demanded that the Uganda Police cease detaining and criminalizing nonviolent protestors. This demand followed the continuous adjournment of cases involving EACOP protesters, causing delays and exhausting their resources. In their press conference, the activists stated that police should not arrest them, as the Court often lacks sufficient evidence to try them, leading to unnecessary delays.
The activists will return to the Court from remand on the 6th of March 2025. This court appearance is significant as it will determine the next course of action in their legal battle against the charges of common nuisance.
