- Ugandan Activists Face Court After Attempting to Deliver Anti-EACOP Petition To KCB
Ugandan prosecutors should withdraw criminal trespass charges against 11 environmental defenders arrested while attempting to deliver a petition opposing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, Climate Rights International has said.
The activists, known as the KCB11, were arrested on April 23, 2025, after visiting the Kampala headquarters of KCB Bank Uganda to submit a letter calling on the lender to end its financial support for the pipeline.
Climate Rights International alleges that a bank official led the group into the building’s basement under the pretext of arranging a meeting, where police and security personnel were waiting.
The activists were subsequently charged with criminal trespass and remanded to Luzira prison. They spent 85 days in detention before being granted bail on July 17, 2025, and released the following day.
More than 17 months after their arrest, the case has experienced repeated adjournments without a prosecution witness testifying, according to the rights organisation.
At a September 8 hearing, the court adjourned proceedings until September 29 and reportedly gave prosecutors a final opportunity to present witnesses. The court indicated that it could dismiss the case if the prosecution was again unable to proceed.
Climate Rights International argued that prosecutors should withdraw the charges rather than extend proceedings that had already imposed substantial costs on the accused.
“The fact that 11 people were arrested and held for 85 days in a horrible prison for delivering a letter is a travesty,” said Brad Adams, the organisation’s executive director.
“The government has compounded this by holding a ridiculous prosecution over their heads for the past 17 months. This is punishment by process, and the charges should be dropped immediately.”
The case has become a test of whether opposition to one of East Africa’s largest energy projects can be expressed without protesters being subjected to prolonged detention and criminal prosecution.
KCB Group was previously identified as one of five financial institutions expected to provide an initial tranche of financing for EACOP.
Climate Rights International said it wrote to KCB Group on September 14 seeking clarification about the role of KCB personnel in the arrests and whether the banking group had asked Ugandan authorities to withdraw the charges.
The organisation said it had received no response by the time its statement was published.
The absence of a public explanation leaves KCB facing questions about how a peaceful attempt to submit a petition allegedly ended with the arrest and detention of the petitioners.
Climate Rights International urged KCB Bank Uganda to clarify its role and publicly call for the charges to be withdrawn. It also asked the wider banking group to commit to receiving peaceful petitions without retaliation or criminalisation.
KCB had not publicly responded to the allegations contained in the organisation’s statement.
EACOP is a 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline designed to carry crude oil from the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields in western Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.
EACOP Ltd said in August that construction was 91 per cent complete, bringing the project closer to operation despite continuing opposition from environmental and human-rights organisations.
Climate Rights International said more than 100,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania would permanently lose land for the pipeline and associated Tilenga development.
It cited reports from affected families of inadequate compensation, lost income, food insecurity and difficulty paying school fees.
The organisation also estimated that the wider project could generate 379mn tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions over 25 years.
Project operators and government supporters have presented the pipeline as an essential route for unlocking Uganda’s petroleum resources, attracting investment and generating national revenue.
Opponents argue that the economic benefits must be assessed against displacement, livelihood disruption, environmental damage and the project’s long-term climate impact.
These competing positions make open civic participation particularly important. The arrest of individuals attempting to petition a potential financier risks turning a legitimate public-policy disagreement into a criminal matter.
Climate Rights International also raised concerns about reported remarks by Uganda’s Chief Justice, Flavian Zeija, concerning the handling of disputes involving petroleum projects.
Mr Zeija reportedly said on August 7 that it would be “equivalent to treason for a judicial officer to put an injunction stopping the progress of an oil project because of any dispute”.
He was also reported to have urged judicial officers to “be an aid to oil development rather than stepping on it”.
The rights organisation argued that comments from the country’s highest-ranking judicial officer warning judges against particular outcomes could be interpreted as placing pressure on courts hearing oil-related cases.
“The Chief Justice should be defending the independence of judges, not warning them against decisions that could affect favoured oil projects,” Mr Adams said.
“His remarks could reasonably make environmental defenders fear that courts will treat opposition to oil development as disloyal or criminal before their cases are even heard.”
Uganda’s Constitution protects freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and guarantees a fair and public hearing before an independent and impartial court.
Similar protections are contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including the right to be tried without undue delay.
The KCB11 proceedings must therefore be judged not only by whether prosecutors can eventually produce witnesses, but also by whether continuing the case after repeated delays remains consistent with the accused persons’ right to a fair and timely hearing.
Climate Rights International said the prosecution formed part of a broader pattern of pressure on opponents of EACOP and other oil developments.
It cited a May 2026 American Bar Association review of more than 25 criminal cases that reportedly identified mass arrests, vague charges, prolonged pretrial detention and repeated adjournments before cases were dismissed for want of prosecution.
“The KCB11 and other environmental defenders are doing what responsible citizens should do: raise concerns about decisions that will shape their communities and country for decades,” Mr Adams said.
“Uganda should listen to them, not imprison them or keep them trapped in an endless court case.”
The immediate question before prosecutors is straightforward: if no witness has testified after 17 months, does continuing the case serve justice—or merely extend the punishment of people who have not been convicted of any offence?
