Hrw Accuses Ugandan Authorities Of Arresting Activists Protesting Oil Project

Ugandan authorities are facing allegations of harassment, arrests, and physical abuse of activists and demonstrators protesting a major East African oil project led by French energy company TotalEnergies, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released on Thursday. The $10-billion oil project, a collaboration between TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, aims to develop oilfields in Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni has portrayed it as an economic opportunity, but it has encountered opposition from human rights activists and environmental organizations. The project, which involves drilling approximately 400 oil wells in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda's largest protected area, has faced legal action in France. The European Parliament has also expressed concerns about the wrongful imprisonment of environmental activists and the inadequate compensation of people displaced from their land. The oil extracted from the project will be transported through a 1,445-kilometer (900-mile) pipeline to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. TotalEnergies has claimed that those displaced by the project received fair compensation, and measures have been implemented to safeguard the environment. HRW conducted interviews with 31 individuals in Uganda and Tanzania between March and September 2023, including 21 activists. Many of them reported experiencing threats, harassment, and arbitrary arrests. John Kaheero Mugisa, the former head of the Oil and Gas Human Rights Defenders Association advocating for fair compensation for displaced individuals, revealed that he had been arrested multiple times. His health has deteriorated during seven months in prison. Activists working in Uganda's capital, Kampala, as well as Buliisa and Hoima, the towns closest to the oilfields, reported that their offices were raided in 2021. One activist shared, "Most of us limit our work because of pressure and threats from our local officials. We fear arrest and losing our livelihood." Jealousy Mugisha, a project-displaced individual, traveled to France for a court hearing and was detained and interrogated for hours upon his return to Uganda. Government security agents at the airport warned him against further involvement, stating, "You are not supposed to witness in France again. If you go again, you will lose your life."