- Stephen Kwikiriza, a member of the community affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)-associated Kingfisher oil project and a community observer with Environmental Governance Institute (EGI) Uganda, was finally released after being abandoned by his captors along the roadside in Kyenjojo district on Sunday, June 9th at around 8:30 p.m, approximately five hours drive from the site of his abduction in Kampala.
Mr Kwikiriza had been reported missing for six days after being abducted by plainclothes officers believed to be from the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF). Mr Kwikiriza is known for his outspoken criticism of the Kingfisher oil field activities operated by China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). Moments before his phones were disabled, he sent a text message stating he had been arrested by members of the UPDF.
The UPDF has provided security for CNOOC’s operations at the Kingfisher field since 2018, and local communities have accused the UPDF of human rights violations, including seizing and burning fishing boats, arrests, sexual violence and other forms of abuse and mistreatment.
Mr Kwikiriza’s disappearance sparked outrage among fellow Ugandan human rights and environmental advocates and the international community, including the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, who took to Twitter(X) to call for Mr Kwikiriza’s release.
Mr Kwikiriza has recounted the harrowing details of his abduction and the six days he was held in captivity. During this time, he was subjected to appalling conditions: forced to strip down to his underwear and kept in a room with minimal food and only a bucket for sanitation. Upon his arrival at the location where he was held, Mr Kwikiriza was beaten and reported that he was knocked unconscious, a clear indication of the violent treatment he endured.
Mr Kwikiriza has also informed the campaign that during his week-long detention, his captors repeatedly interrogated him regarding the interest of the international community in his disappearance and their pressure for his release.
The StopEACOP campaign and allied organizations call for a full, impartial investigation into this deeply concerning incident involving the abduction, unlawful detention, mistreatment and abuse of a prominent human rights defender.
Since the peaceful demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy in Kampala on 27 May 2024, where 7 activists were arbitrarily arrested, several other Ugandans campaigning against the EACOP and related oil projects have faced forms of repression including, being arrested, searched, surveilled or, as in the case of Stephen Kwikiriza, abducted.
Adriko Sostein, another representative of the communities affected by the Kingfisher oil project, was arrested and charged with unlawful assembly on 5 June 2024 by the police after presenting a petition concerning the Kingfisher oil project and its impacts on community members and climate change. He has been released on police bond but will need to present himself to police again today, 13 June 2024.
These cases come after many others with at least 56 intimidations and abuses related to Total’s Tilenga and EACOP projects recorded in Uganda and Tanzania, over a period of almost 4 and a half years.
Related news: Bloomberg reports that Standard Bank said it is set to move forward with funding for TotalEnergies’s planned East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project after completing a years-long review. “We have done our governance processes internally,” Standard Bank chair Nonkululeko Nyembezi said in an interview in Rio de Janeiro this week. That includes a credit review and “the environmental and social due diligence, which took quite a long time,” she added.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
