Student union protests EU’s resolution on the Uganda - Tanzania oil project

Students have protested the European Union (EU) parliament resolution on the Uganda-Tanzania oil project through their umbrella organization, the Uganda National Students Union.

The students marched through the city in their school uniforms, holding placards urging the EU to abandon Uganda's oil.

The placards read, "European Union, leave our oil."

The students quietly marched toward the EU offices in Kampala, but police did not stop them despite Uganda's reputation for dispersing protesters.

Instead, police were spotted accompanying the students who were supposed to petition the EU at their Kampala offices.

Following the first demonstration conducted by activists last week, this is the second protest against the EU resolution to take place in Kampala.

There have been a variety of responses to the EU resolution on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in the country.

The EU parliament adopted the resolution on September 15, 2022 condemning human rights violations as well as major environmental and climate risks posed by the Tilenga and EACOP projects developed in Uganda and Tanzania by French oil major Total.

The EU Members of Parliament (MEPs) noted that over 100,000 people are being forcibly evicted to make way for this mega oil project, noting that they are being denied free use of their land – and thus their livelihood – even before receiving compensation.

The resolution also condemns the persecution and intimidation of civil society organisations and human rights defenders who dare to criticise the project, recalling that several activists have been arbitrarily detained, prompting several UN Special Rapporteurs to issue no less than four joint communications on the subject in the last two years.

President Museveni early this week slammed the EU resolution, and urged the EU MPs to “take away their ego” and leave Uganda’s issues to Uganda.

“I spent 12 years studying English and one of the words I picked up in those years is insufferable. Some of these people(EU MPs) are insufferable. You(EU MPs) need to control yourself not to explode.(They are) so shallow, so egocentric and so wrong that they think they know everything broadcasting their ignorance all over the place but they should calm down. This is a wrong battleground for them,” Museveni said.