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#stopeacop
Africa Pipeline Foes Demand Accountability After Brutal Detention of Ugandan Activist
"Speaking up for frontline communities should never lead to this," the #StopEACOP movement said following the release of Stephen Kwikiriza, who was held for a week for opposing the TotalEnergies/CNOOC-led project.
Jun 10, 2024
Opponents of a highly controversial oil pipeline under construction in East Africa on Monday demanded an investigation into the Ugandan army's treatment of an environmental activist who was hospitalized after allegedly being severely beaten while he was detained last week.
Stephen Kwikiriza, an activist with the Kampala-based Environmental Governance Institute (EGI), was found dumped on the side of a highway about five hours' drive from the Ugandan capital Sunday night following a weeklong detention by the country's army.
"Unfortunately, he is in poor condition after enduring severe beatings, mistreatment, and abuse throughout the week," EGI said, according to Al Jazeera. "Doctors are conducting various examinations."
Like other climate and environmental campaigners in the movement to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Kwikiriza is believed to have been targeted for his activism against the project, which is being built by the French fossil fuel giant TotalEnergies in partnership with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the Uganda National Oil Company, and others.
The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said Kwikiriza was apparently abducted by Ugandan army officers in civilian clothes in what the group called a "particularly worrying escalation of repression."
FIDH said 11 activists have been "kidnapped, arbitrarily arrested, detained, or subjected to different forms of harassment by the Ugandan authorities between May 27 and June 5, 2024," part of what critics call a government campaign targeting StopEACOP campaigners that goes back years.
"Speaking up for frontline communities should never lead to this," the StopEACOP movement
said on social media following Kwikiriza's release. "We urge human rights organizations to hold Ugandan authorities accountable and ensure human rights and environmental defenders can work safely."
"We also ask TotalEnergies and CNOOC to investigate the injustices done in their names as alleged," the coalition added. "You can still make profits without harming communities or enabling human rights violations."
A senior Ugandan military official told Agence France-Presse that Kwikiriza "was taken into custody for questioning regarding his illegal activities, including mobilizing fellow activists to oppose the oil pipeline."
In a statement to
Reuters, TotalEnergies said Monday that the company "does not tolerate any threat or attack against those who peacefully defend and promote human rights."
If completed, the $3.5 billion, nearly 900-mile EACOP project is expected to transport up to 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day from fields in the Lake Albert region of western Uganda through the world's longest electrically heated pipeline to the Tanzanian port city of Tanga on the Indian Ocean.
A July 2023 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) detailed how EACOP has devastated the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in its path while exacerbating the climate emergency.
"The Ugandan government needs to end its harassment of opponents of oil development in the country, such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, which has already devastated thousands of people's livelihoods in Uganda and, if completed, will displace thousands of people and contribute to the global climate crisis," HRW senior environmental rights advocate Myrto Tilianaki said in a statement issued during Kwikiriza's detention.
Global Protests Target Chinese Financing of East African Crude Oil Pipeline
"The controversial EACOP project threatens pristine ecosystems, biodiversity hotspots, water resources, and community lands," said campaigners.
Nov 20, 2023
Campaigners assembled on Monday in four African countries and in Europe, rallying outside the headquarters of several Chinese financial institutions and embassies with one demand of Chinese officials: Withhold financing for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The global campaign #StopEACOP has already helped push banks and insurers in North America, Europe, and Japan to refrain from getting involved in the project, which is being spearheaded by French multinational TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
Now, the state-owned China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE), the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim), and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) are reportedly considering financially supporting the pipeline, which could lead to 379 million tons of fossil fuel emissions even as climate and energy experts warn there is no place for new gas and oil extraction on a pathway to limiting planetary heating to 1.5°C.
"Today, people stood united across borders to say this dangerous pipeline project must be stopped," said Zaki Mamdoo, #StopEACOP coordinator. "We urge SINOSURE, China Exim Bank, and the ICBC to listen to local communities and respect their rights, aspirations, and agency. By refusing to provide insurance or financing for EACOP, these entities must prove that they are not simply interested in profiting at the expense of Africa's well-being."
Organizers rallied at Chinese embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Kampala, Uganda; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and Tshwane, South Africa. In London, United Kingdom, climate campaigners held a solidarity action outside the offices of SINOSURE and in Paris, France they rallied at the offices of the China Exim Bank and the ICBC.
The planned pipeline would run from Hoima, Uganda to Tanga, Tanzania, transporting oil from two oil fields and potentially connecting to oil blocks in the DRC.
"The controversial EACOP project threatens pristine ecosystems, biodiversity hotspots, water resources, and community lands," said #StopEACOP, as well as "contradicting global climate goals."
Campaigners had planned to deliver petitions opposing the 896-mile pipeline, as well as documents containing analysis of the socioeconomic and climate impacts of the project. According to #StopEACOP, the pipeline would run through the basin of Lake Victoria, which more than 40 million people depend on for food and water; displace landowners who say they have already faced threats and intimidation; and run through the habitats of endangered animals including lions, giraffes, roan antelopes, and sables.
#StopEACOP reported that officials at the embassies refused to receive the documents.
Organizers also denounced authorities for arresting seven advocates in Kampala.
"Every time activists and communities stand up to peacefully oppose EACOP in Uganda, they are brutalized and arbitrarily arrested," said Brian Atuheire, executive director of the African Initiative on Food Security and Environment (AIFE). "Today, seven young activists have been detained for peacefully protesting outside the Chinese Embassy in Kampala. Despite the repression, we remain resolute and have drawn strength and courage from the incredible show of solidarity from comrades worldwide."
Richard Senkondo, executive director for the Organization for Community Engagement, said any institution supporting EACOP "is perpetrating injustice."
"This pipeline will destroy our land and water—our very way of life," said Senkondo. "It poses a grave threat to the environment and the well-being and rights of our communities."
"We are united with allies around the world in our continued resistance against this harmful project," Senkondo added. "Instead of supporting such projects, we urge these Chinese institutions to be a true ally to the African continent by favoring the development of people-centered renewable energy to power Africa's future."
Climate Activists Demand Justice for 'Unjustly' Arrested Ugandan Anti-EACOP Protesters
"The arrests of these activists are a clear attempt to silence dissent and suppress opposition to the EACOP," said one organizer.
Jul 12, 2023
Climate campaigners around the world on Wednesday urged Ugandan authorities to drop charges against four climate activists arrested and jailed overnight after peacefully protesting a highly controversial oil pipeline under construction in the region.
Bob Barigye, Mutesi Zarika, Naruwada Shamim, and Nalusiba Phionah were violently arrested Tuesday in the capital Kampala for protesting the environmental and social impacts of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The activists—who were later released on bond—were charged with inciting violence.
However, the #StopEACOP coalition—which said the protesters were "unjustly" arrested and jailed—argued that photos and videos from the demonstration show that it was peaceful.
"The arrests of these activists are a clear attempt to silence dissent and suppress opposition to the EACOP," the coalition's campaign coordinator, Zaki Mamdoo, said in a statement. "We call upon the international community and civil society organizations to join us in condemning these arrests and demanding justice for those detained."
Samuel Okulony, director of the Environment Governance Institute, said that "it is not a crime to voice opposition to the controversial EACOP project or to advocate for the government and project proponents to explore alternative, sustainable solutions."
"Peaceful protest and dialogue are fundamental pillars of a democratic society, and these rights must be protected and upheld," Okulony added.
Charity Migwi, the African regional campaigner for U.S.-based 350.org, condemned the arrests "in the strongest terms possible."
"These activists were exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest against a project that they believe will have devastating consequences for the environment and the people of Uganda and beyond," she said, urging the Ugandan government to "drop all charges against them."
This isn't the first time anti-EACOP activists have been arrested for peacefully protesting the pipeline. Last October, nine student leaders were arrested by police and subsequently charged with inciting violence for holding a Kampala demonstration in support of a European Parliament resolution condemning the project's human rights and environmental violations. Four more anti-EACOP activists were arrested last December.
Barigye, a 34-year-old biology teacher and climate activist, was arrested in January for anti-EACOP organizing despite having police permission to protest. Barigye told African Arguments earlier this year that he was held for four days, during which time he was "psychologically tortured" by police.
"They threatened my life and family," he said. "They dragged me into a filthy cell, made me starve... I could not sleep as they would interrogate me at any time of the night."
"We are looked at us the enemies of the state," Barigye said of the anti-EACOP activists. "The police now prefer psychological torture because physical torture will create bad publicity around the oil pipeline project, which could push away investors and insurers... The government doesn't want to be in the international spotlight for the wrong reasons."
If completed, the $3.5 billion, nearly 900-mile EACOP would transport up to 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day from fields in the Lake Albert region of western Uganda to the Tanzanian port city of Tanga on the Indian Ocean.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch published a report detailing how EACOP has devastated the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in its path while exacerbating the climate emergency.
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