Students storm Parliament over Eacop project
The students march to Parliament against EACOP. Photo/ Busein Samilu
What you need to know:
- Their petition comes about six months after the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) dismissed a case that had been filed by civil society organizations protesting the construction of the pipeline.
- Government and oil companies have on several occasions dismissed reports of harassing locals and argued that it does not pose danger to the environment as argued by the activists.
A section of students from various universities on Wednesday petitioned the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, asking the House to prioritise debate on environmental and human rights issues being raised on the negative impact of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop).
In their May 29 petition seen by this publication, the students from universities, including; Makerere, Kyambogo, Makerere University Business school (Mubs), among others under their umbrella Students Against EACOP Uganda argue that the construction of the 1,443km heated pipeline from Hoima to Tanga, Tanzania poses existential consequences to most of the region’s natural resources that’s Lake Victoria where a third of it passes through it, forests and rivers.
Led by Martha Amviko from Kyambogo, John Otule from Makerere and Yuda Kaye from Mubs, the students marched to the House while shouting ‘stop Eacop’ before the Parliament police intercepted them near the main gate and engaged them.
“Eacop once constructed threatens the regions biodiversity as it passes through the regions national parks and greatly contributes to mass extinction of the most endangered species like the great apes and hugely puts at risk their survival as the oil pipeline would escalate the level of carbon emissions and hence contributes to a growing frustration and justification for an urgent need to protect the endangered species,” the petition reads in part.
Their petition comes about six months after the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) dismissed a case that had been filed by civil society organizations protesting the construction of the pipeline.
Like the students’ arguments, the activists in their 2020 lawsuit informed the EACJ that the project will harm fragile ecosystems in areas rich in biodiversity as well as the livelihoods of tens of thousands of local people.
Five judges in their ruling said that the activists had filed the case late and therefore, it could not be adjudicated upon “for having been filed outside the time period prescribed.”
The project also nearly faced a setback in September 2022 when the European Union Parliament called for its suspension over allegations of human rights violation which was later cleared after it was realised that it was not true.
Eacop is a 1,443km crude export pipeline system that will be constructed to transport crude oil from Kabaale – Hoima District in Uganda to a maritime port facility on the Chongoleani peninsula Tanga in Tanzania.
It is being constructed by four partners including Total Energies who owns 62 percent shares, China National Offshore Oil Company (Cnooc) with 8 percent, Ugandan and Tanzanian governments each with 15 percent shares.
The pipeline will pass through 10 districts of; Hoima, Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Gomba, Sembabule, Lwengo, Rakai and Kyotera; 27 Sub-counties, threeTown Councils and one hundred seventy-one (171) villages.
Ms Amviko said that the pipeline construction has resulted in the displacement of thousands of Ugandans from their ancestral lands making them lose their properties.
“French giant Total Energies and Cnooc have since then promised to compensate the victims but testimonies that have widely been shared on the internet prove that a biased compensation process that has entirely excluded a number of the persons affected by the pipeline was conducted leaving these people frustrated and starving and some have been displaced to refugee settlement camps,” she said.
Government and oil companies have on several occasions dismissed reports of harassing locals and argued that it does not pose danger to the environment as argued by the activists.
This was the first time the students have been escorted to submit their petition to the Parliament leadership. Previous attempts were blocked by police.
In their petition, the students want Parliament to order an immediate reinstatement of people who were evicted off their land, table a motion that will safeguard Ugandans’ safety, and unveil efforts towards safeguarding the environment.
“Our humble plea is for you to prioritize the will of ordinary Ugandans against a few individuals who want to reap big from the suffering of Ugandans by registering record profits. We will remain committed to complying with anything as long as it meets the above demands and puts the government at the right side of history,” they said in the petition.
[email protected]
