The Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court has sentenced eight environmental activists linked to the pressure group Rooted in Resistance to 11 months in prison after finding them guilty of causing a public nuisance.
The group was convicted over their role in an Anti-East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) protest held at Stanbic Bank headquarters in August 2025, where they were accused of disrupting public order.
Court heard that the activists unlawfully occupied a public road during the demonstration, an act the prosecution said caused inconvenience and posed danger to road users.
The State maintained that the actions of the accused met the legal threshold for the offence under Section 65(e) of the Road Act.
In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Rophine Achayo held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that all ingredients of the offence had been established.
“The prosecution has proved the offence of nuisance on the road beyond reasonable doubt,” the magistrate ruled, before convicting and sentencing the accused.
The eight, many of them university students, have been on remand at Luzira Prison since their arrest after repeatedly being denied bail.
Following the sentencing, defence lawyer Kato Tumusiime criticised the ruling, saying it was aimed at discouraging civic activism and limiting the right to peaceful protest.
“We believe that the whole intent of this conviction and the sentence of 11 months is to really demotivate other activists from exercising their rights to petition and demonstrate peacefully,” he said.
He added that the legal team would challenge the decision in the High Court.
“We shall go ahead with the instructions of our clients to appeal against the action, which is grievous and unfair,” he said.
Tumusiime further noted that time already spent on remand should be considered in the final computation of the sentence.
The case has drawn attention from civil society groups, with renewed debate over the handling of protests and the space for civic activism in Uganda.
