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Despite harsh repression, opposition to the EACOP pipeline in Uganda remains strong

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On March 19, 2025, student members of the Justice Movement Uganda, including Ibrahim Mpiima (left), protest in the streets of Kampala against the EACOP oil project and its consequences for the climate and local populations. (Bruce Nahabwe)

“We will keep protesting until our demands are met. This project isn’t sustainable. The world is moving towards renewable energy, and Uganda should follow suit,” says Ibrahim Mpiima, team leader of Justice Movement Uganda, a student-led protest group of around a hundred members opposing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP)—the world’s longest heated oil pipeline.

“We protest whenever we can. The only thing holding us back is money. But as soon as we raise enough, we make banners, buy disposable mobile phones, secure safe houses in case things go wrong—and then we go.” This local group is part of a broader movement, StopEACOP, a coalition of international NGOs that joined forces “for greater solidarity, visibility and funding,” explains the student from Kyambogo University in Kampala.

Despite all the precautions taken by Ibrahim Mpiima and around 30 of his fellow students, he was arrested at the demonstration on 19 March. Taken by force with three other activists to the capital’s high-security prison, he was beaten and tortured before ultimately being released on 3 April. In a story published on social media, Mpiima also accuses security agents of raping him during his detention.

Martha Amviko, an activist with Extinction Rebellion, was also at the protest. “We wanted to march to Parliament to hand in our petition demanding an end to the project. But no sooner had we unfurled our banners than the police appeared. I managed to escape, but not everyone was so lucky. Once they take you away in the police vans, you know you’re going to be badly beaten. The violence is systematic.”

Although protests began several years ago, over the past year around 100 people have been arrested and threatened with prosecution in Uganda for taking part in peaceful demonstrations against oil projects backed by the government.

The EACOP pipeline is expected to stretch approximately 1,400 kilometres, running from Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. It will transport oil from 400 wells in the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields to the coast, where it can be exported to international markets. An estimated 246,000 barrels of oil are expected to flow through the pipeline each day over its projected 25-year operational lifespan.

Presented to the public as opportunities for development, these projects are backed by the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, along with oil giants TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Initially estimated at US$3.5 billion in 2020, costs have continued to climb. Both countries hope the pipeline will generate substantial revenue and create jobs, both during construction and for ongoing maintenance of the infrastructure.

In a country like Uganda, where per capita income is around US$1,000 per year, the government is banking on oil wealth to lift the nation out of poverty. “We believe this will serve as a catalyst for economic growth,” said Robert Kasande, an official at Uganda’s Ministry of Energy, during the signing ceremony in 2021.

The human cost of pipeline construction

On the ground, however, some residents are facing serious disruptions to their lives and livelihoods. One of them is Geoffrey Byakagaba, a 45-year-old farmer and father of eight, who was stripped of part of his land to make way for the project. “In 2017, Total took ownership of our land in the village. There were several types of compensation on offer. I chose the ‘land for land’ option. They took my land, but to this day, I haven’t been compensated,” he says.

Byakagaba still lives in Kasenyi, in Uganda’s Buliisa district, where the town is currently preparing to host a processing plant for the Tilenga project. He says his standard of living has dropped significantly. “Before the project, I used to grow cassava and sweet potatoes. We ate what we needed and sold the rest. I had 20 to 25 animals—cows and goats. Today, I’m down to just about ten, and my harvest barely feeds the family.”

Due to this loss of income, Byakagaba had to move his children to different schools. “They’re still in school, but in neighbourhoods we’re not happy with.” Since then, he has been surviving by doing odd jobs and selling what he catches fishing. Still, compared to other residents of Kasenyi, he considers himself fortunate. “Luckily, I didn’t live on the land I farmed, so I still have somewhere to stay. That’s not the case for everyone.” He adds: “And I didn’t accept their money. Total’s compensation would never have allowed me to buy land. They offered just 3.5 million shillings per hectare [around €850], but today, buying a hectare around here costs between 10 and 15 million [€2,500 to €3,500]. I would have been ruined. Some people were.”

Geoffrey Byakagaba is the fifth generation of his family to live on this land. For him, it holds far more than just market value.

“This is where I grew up. I inherited nine hectares from my parents, but now I have less than half of that left. If I were to die today, my children would be landless. I’m not just fighting for my rights, but also to leave something behind for my children.”

In April 2021, frustrated by the situation, he decided to file a land-grabbing lawsuit in the High Court of Masindi, seeking fair compensation from the developers of the EACOP project. As he told Equal Times, he was soon labelled a saboteur—not only by the project’s backers but also by the Ugandan authorities—for daring to protest and for speaking to Italian journalist Federica Marsi. Marsi was arrested shortly thereafter, along with Ugandan human rights defender Maxwell Atuhura.

As of 2025, according to Geoffroy Byakagaba, the situation remains unchanged and he is still waiting for compensation. He is not alone. Byakagaba is one of an estimated 118,000 people who have been fully or partially displaced due to the Tilenga and EACOP projects.

One of them is the grandmother of activist Ibrahim Mpiima. “She was evicted from her land in Hoima, so she came to live with us in Kampala. With the compensation she received, she couldn’t afford to buy any land. Because of that, she never felt at peace. And now she has passed away,” says the young man. It was this experience that prompted him to get involved in the campaign against the project while still a student. “At the time, I didn’t know much about EACOP, but seeing what happened to my grandmother made me want to understand it better. Then I realised that most people know nothing about the project or its consequences. Some even believe it’s a development scheme that will lift Uganda out of poverty—when in reality, huge numbers of people have lost their land. We have to fight this misinformation,” he says angrily.

Opponents of the project face harsh repression

Even before the project was officially approved, anti-EACOP mobilisation had already begun to take shape nationally. The movement went global in 2018, coinciding with the major student protests led by Fridays For Future. The world began to take notice of EACOP and its alarming scale—the fifteen protected areas that it will cut through, its proximity to the Great Lakes (Lake Albert and Lake Victoria), one of Africa’s most important sources of fresh water, and its massive projected carbon footprint: 34 million tonnes of CO² per year, compared to Uganda’s annual emissions of just 5 million tonnes. All these reasons have led scientists to describe the project as a ‘carbon bomb’.

In Uganda, authorities have responded in a press release issued by the Ugandan oil authority by describing the international protest movement #StopEacop as a misguided opposition movement bordering on racism and colonialism. According to an investigation by the British media outlet DeSmog, TotalEnergies reportedly hired a South African public relations agency to “squash all the negative PR” surrounding the oil projects. To achieve this, a full-scale campaign has been launched both on the streets and across social media.

For Dickens Kamugisha, CEO of the non-profit AFIEGO (Africa Institute for Energy Governance), which has been tracking the EACOP case for years, this comes as no surprise. “Unfortunately, we have both a weak judicial system and a government that uses the police to punish community members who speak out. Many people have been arrested, intimidated and imprisoned.”

“Here, if you oppose what the government and the company (TotalEnergies, editor’s note) are doing, you become the enemy. And once you’re in their sights, you have to face the consequences.”

Ibrahim Mpiima has always been aware of the risks, having already been arrested once in 2023. “It’s our responsibility. I’m afraid of ending up in prison, of being beaten. I’m really afraid. But if we, the people who are informed, don’t protest, then we will have betrayed all those who believe in us,” he told Equal Times a few days before the demonstrations in March. Reached again by phone after his release from detention, where he endured torture, he said the ordeal had taken its toll: “I feel depressed. I haven’t fully recovered physically or mentally. The feeling is still fresh in my mind, as if it happened yesterday.”

Martha Amviko was also arrested in August 2024 and spent two weeks in prison. “They took us to Luzira, the high-security prison. They put me in the same cell as criminals, people who had committed murder, even though I was being charged with disturbing the public order,” she recalls. “It was overcrowded. From time to time, the guards would call us into their offices where they beat us and did everything to break our spirit.” Despite this ordeal, she insists, “I’d rather die than leave things as they are today. The people building this pipeline will be dead in 20 to 30 years. We are the generation who will have to live with their decisions—us and our children. We cannot give up the fight.”

Indeed, on 23 April, despite the ongoing repression, another demonstration was held in Kampala. Eleven activists were arrested. At the time of writing, they remain behind bars in Luzira high-security prison.

This article has been translated from French by Brandon Johnson

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20 witness to testify against ex-land registration commissioner Mugaino

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Mugaino is battling charges of abuse of office and corruption over allegations of irregular cancellation of certificates of title for several pieces of land in Kampala city.

The Inspectorate of Government (IG) says about 20 witnesses are expected to testify against former Commissioner for Land Registration Baker Mugaino.

Mugaino is battling charges of abuse of office and corruption over allegations of irregular cancellation of certificates of title for several pieces of land in Kampala city.

The cancelled titles belong to Tropical Bank, Namayiba Park Hotel and businessman Gerald Akugizibwe.

The titles are for land comprising Kibuga Block 12 plots 658, 659, and 665 in Kisenyi; Kibuga Block 4 plot 152 in Namirembe, and Kyadondo Block 244 plot 2506 in Kisugu, Kampala district.

In a statement released on July 23, 2025, IG says the 20 complaints including Tropical Bank officials have recorded witness statements and are ready to give evidence against Mugaino in court.

The statement was released following an article published in the Independent Magazine titled, “IGG abusing her office”.

The IG said the article contains unfounded allegations against the person of the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Beti Kamya Turwomwe, questioning her decision to interdict, investigate and later prosecute Mugaino.

According to the IG, it is standard procedure for the IGG to issue orders to interdict a public officer if they have cause to believe that the officer might interfere with investigations.

The IG says the authority is derived from Article 230(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and Section 13(6) of the Inspectorate of Government Act.

The IG states that the matter of Mugaino’s conduct while performing official duty is before court and, therefore, cannot be discussed in the public because it offends the sub judice law.

The IGG over the past four years has interdicted over 150 public officers, including six senior officers in the Office of the Prime Minister and many chief administrative officers.

Complaints

According to the statement, between December 2024 and April 2025, the IGG received 22 complaints against Mugaino alleging cancellation of certificates of title without following prescribed procedures under the law, removal of caveats without giving prescribed notices, double titling, issuing of special certificates of title while original ones exist, leading to multiple titling, cancellation of certificates of titles for disputes that would essentially be handled by courts with the intention of defeating Justice.

IG states that preliminary investigations found merit in the allegations and the IGG decided to launch a full-scale investigation in the office of the commissioner land registration.

Allegations

Prosecution alleges that between April 8 and 20 this year, Mugaino, while employed in the public service as commissioner of land registration, lands ministry in Kampala, abused his authority by arbitrarily performing acts prejudicial to his employer’s interests – the Government of Uganda, Tropical Bank Ltd, Akugizibwe and Namayiba Park Hotel.

He is accused of irregularly cancelling certificates of title his office had issued to Tropical Bank, Akugizibwe, and Namayiba Park Hotel.

The prosecution also alleges that Mugaino neglected his duties as stipulated in Section 88 of the Land Act and his schedule of duties as commissioner land registration, in April this year when handling a complaint about the land in question.

Background

Court documents indicate that on February 28, 2007, Businessman Mousa Lutwama Kizito obtained a credit facility of shillings 400 million from Tropical Bank using collateral constituting land at Kisugu in Kampala.

The documents further state that on August 18, 2007, Lweza Clays Ltd also obtained a credit facility from Tropical Bank using collateral consisting of land comprising Namirembe and Kisugu in Kampala and Lweza in Wakiso district.

Accordingly, Tropical Bank on September 25, 2007 registered the mortgages on the certificate of title.

However, Kizito and Lweza Clays defaulted on their loan repayments, prompting the bank to advertise the mortgaged properties after winning a court case.

Consequently, the bank on October 10, 2022, sold the mortgaged property at Namirembe to Akugizibwe for shillings 415 million. The bank also sold property at Kisenyi to Namayiba Park Hotel for shillings two billion.

The bank wrote to the Registrar High Court requesting the return of the mortgaged certificates of titles and bank guarantee as per the court order issued by Justice Stephen Mubiru.

The bank applied to the Commissioner Land Registration, requesting for special certificates of title upon failure to retrieve the mortgaged copies from the Registrar High Court (Commercial Division).

In a petition dated April 8, 2025, MBS Advocates, acting on behalf of Kizito and Luweza, requested the commissioner land registration to cancel the certificates of title for the land in question and Mugaino allegedly illegally removed court orders and caveats that had been lodged on the certificates of title, without any other orders from court.

Original Source: New Vision

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Controversy Erupts Over Clearing of Kitubulu Forest Reserve for Development

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The National Forestry Authority (NFA) is under growing criticism for allocating sections of Kitubulu Central Forest Reserve in Entebbe to private developers—an action environmental advocates say contradicts the agency’s mandate of sustainable forest management.

According to the NFA’s official website, the authority is responsible for managing Uganda’s 1.265 million hectares of central forest reserves sustainably.

However, the recent clearing of parts of Kitubulu forest for development has sparked public outcry and accusations of institutional mismanagement.

This move also revives concerns about historical encroachment in Kitubulu. In 2018, a private developer controversially fenced off portions of the reserve to build cottages.

In 2022, Entebbe Member of Parliament Michael Kakembo led efforts to dismantle illegal structures, citing violations of environmental protection laws.

Environmentalists stress that the reserve plays a vital ecological role, including filtering pollutants before they enter Lake Victoria.

“This forest is part of the lake’s natural filtration system,” said a local activist who requested anonymity.

“When you clear it for concrete, you’re endangering both biodiversity and public health.”

Scientific data supports the reserve’s importance in preventing contaminants from reaching one of Africa’s most critical freshwater sources.

Broader concerns over Uganda’s dwindling forest cover add to the controversy. Research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows forest land now covers just 1.9 million hectares—or 10% of Uganda’s total land area.

Much of this loss results from human activities such as deforestation for agriculture, charcoal burning, and unauthorized development.

While no direct peer-reviewed studies link NFA’s land allocations to specific ecological damage, experts warn that ongoing forest degradation threatens environmental stability.

Despite mounting criticism, the NFA has yet to issue a formal response explaining the legal and environmental grounds for the Kitubulu land allocations.

Pressure is growing for greater accountability and a thorough review of forest governance in Uganda.

Original Source: nilepost.co.ug

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Land Grabbing Crisis Escalates in Uganda: Mayiga Urges Citizens to Secure Land Documents

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The Katikkiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga has issued a stern warning about the widespread threat of land grabbing in Uganda, that is destabilising communities and robbing citizens of their rightful property. Mayiga’s remarks came during a strategic meeting with Masaza Chiefs at Bulange, the administrative heart of the Buganda Kingdom.

According to Mayiga, land grabbing is no longer an isolated issue but a well-organised scheme that thrives on exploitation of unclear land ownership, missing documentation, and the absence of rightful landowners.

“Land grabbing is becoming a national crisis,” Mayiga said. “It is being driven by people who have access to the district land boards, judicial offices, law enforcement agencies, and even local government leaders such as RDCs, RCCs, and LCs. They use these connections to manipulate the system and claim land illegally.”

Mayiga warned that if left unaddressed, the issue will not only affect individuals but also undermine national development, destroy community cohesion, and increase poverty through the displacement of vulnerable landowners.

To protect themselves, the Katikkiro urged all Ugandans—especially those in Buganda—to ensure that their land is properly documented.

He emphasised the importance of obtaining and safeguarding legal documents such as land titles, sale agreements, and clear boundary demarcations.

“You must secure your land,” Mayiga stressed. “Have the right documents in place. Make sure your land is clearly demarcated and that all agreements are formalised. This is the only way we can defend ourselves.”

Mayiga also called on cultural leaders, legal professionals, and local governments to assist communities in navigating land registration processes and to stand against corrupt practices that enable land theft.

Buganda, with its vast and historic Mailo land system, has been one of the regions most affected by land-related conflicts. The Kingdom has consistently advocated for stronger protections for landowners and reforms to reduce exploitation and legal ambiguity.

Source: NilePost

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