Nine remanded to Luzira prison over EACOP protests

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Nine students from various universities have been charged for being a common nuisance, and remanded to Luzira prisons.

They include Imran Ntabazi, a student at Gulu University, David Musiri and Vincent Lubega Nsamba, from Makerere University, and six Kyambogo University students identified as Gerald Wenani, Gonga Akisi, Marktom Kajubi, Benjamin Akiso, Alphonse Nkuruziza and Alex Waswa Lyazi.

The nine were arrested during protests held in Kampala on Tuesday to support a resolution recently passed by the EU Parliament, to delay the East African Crude Oil Pipeline over reports of human rights violations and environmental concerns.

The students who were dressed in university gowns armed with placards and banners calling for a halt of the oil pipeline project were intercepted by police around Kingdom Kampala Building on their way to the EU offices at Crested Towers. They were expected to hand over a petition asking the government to halt the EACOP project until safeguards are implemented to stop human rights violations and environmental degradation.

On Wednesday, they were arraigned before the Buganda Road Magistrates Court presided over by Grade One Magistrate Fidelis Otwao, where the prosecution accused them of obstructing and inconveniencing the public by being rowdy and blocking walkways during the said protest. They denied the charges and were remanded until October 10, 2022, for hearing of their bail application.

The move comes just days after a group of learners from various schools under their umbrella, the Uganda Students Association marched around Kampala and Hoima streets accompanied by brass bands and the police to protest against the same resolution.

The 3.5 billion dollar oil pipeline project which will transport crude oil from the Albertine region of Uganda to Tanzania’s seaport of Tanga has been at the centre of controversy over the delayed payment of project-affected persons and the secrecy surrounding the host government agreement for the pipeline, the Tariff and Transportation Agreement-TAT, and Share Holding Agreement-SHA signed between Uganda and Tanzania.

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