By Mike Sebalu
A group of human rights defenders has stormed TotalEnergies head office in Kampala’s Industrial Area (8th Street) to deliver a petition against the planned implementation of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
The controversial oil pipeline is intended to transport Crude Oil from Uganda’s oil fields in the Bunyoro to the Tanga port in Tanzania. Once completed, the pipeline will be the longest-heated crude oil pipeline in the world.
However, its construction has drawn fierce criticism from across the globe, the latest was the European Union Parliament which raised concerns over human rights violations in both countries before asking TotalEnergies to delay the project for another year to allow ample time for the issues raised to be addressed.
According to Solomon Nabuyanda, an independent human rights defender who participated in today’s protest, in the petition, they seek to highlight the negative impact of the project on the environment and gender violence among the project-affected communities.
They also demand that TotalEnergies excuses itself from this project in order to protect families and the environment.
