Project-affected Persons (PAPs) under the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
Project (EACOP) in Hoima were blocked by the Police from holding a peaceful demonstration throughout the city.
Numbering about three hundred, the protestors planned to storm the offices of the Petroleum Authority in Hoima to demand a halt to activities for the planned construction of the heated crude oil pipeline. They had also planned to deliver their petitions to TotalEnergies and EACOP.
The group had converged at Kitara Secondary School in the heart of
Hoima City before it was rounded up by heavily armed
security personnel comprised of the Police Field Force Unit-FFU and Uganda
People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
Commanded by the Resident City
Commissioner (RCC) of Hoima, Badru Mugabi who doubles as the head of security
in the area, the security stormed Kitara Secondary School
Mugabi engaged the protestors urging them
to use legal means to express their dissatisfaction about the EACOP project but
not resorting to violence.
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Christopher Opio, the project's representative of the PAPs noted that in April 2024
they delivered their petition before Hoima Magistrate’s Court over the same
issues including unfair compensation, human rights abuse, and environmental and
economic injustice, among others.
He says that to date, they had not
received any response from the government and court yet Mugabi, the Hoima RCC had
earlier assured them of an immediate solution to their grievances.
He says they decided to say no and
put their concerns in writing so that they could deliver the petition
to the concerned offices.
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Later Mugabi selected a few of the
PAPs’ representatives and escorted them to deliver their petition to the
offices of EACOP.
In their petition, a copy of which
Uganda Radio Network-URN has seen, the PAPs demand that the EACOP project
should be stopped immediately to grant ample time for their grievances
to be properly understood and meaningfully addressed.
They further demand an end to the
alleged harassment and intimidation perpetrated against them by the project
implementers.
They also demand an immediate end
to the arrest and harassment of grassroots environmental and human rights
defenders who are advocating for the rights of the communities affected by the
projects.
The PAPS in their petition further demands
for the protection of natural parks and biodiversity, adding that all
oil activities in national parks and protected areas should stop so that
biodiversity is preserved for future generations.
In 2022, the EU Parliament passed
a resolution to stay the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) for a
year.
The EU Parliament then wanted the
entire EACOP project delayed citing alleged gross human rights violations and
environmental concerns.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa last week said the land acquisition for the EACOP project was at 95%.
"All resettlement houses have been constructed and handed over. So far, 95% of affected persons have received compensation, and 97% have signed compensation agreements, with the remaining payments ongoing," said Nankabirwa.
She however revealed that there are 112 cases under consideration for compulsory land acquisition due to
issues such as untraceable individuals, landowner disputes, refusal of compensation offers, and lack of legal title.
Those compensated for EACOP opted for cash, land for land, or asked EACOP to construct houses in exchange for the land where the pipeline is to be laid.
According to Nankabirwa, the EACOP project spans approximately 2,740 acres in Uganda, affecting 3,660 individuals, with 177 requiring resettlement housing.
