By Spy Uganda
Ugandan environmental activists hit out at a mega oil project by TotalEnergies in East Africa. Four leading youth activists were received by the French National Assembly yesterday (Wednesday) to pressure the government to take a stance on the project. Vanessa Nakate, nicknamed the “African Greta Thunberg”, was among them.
Nakate is a Ugandan climate activist and author of the book A Bigger Picture. She talked to RFI’s Christina Okello and told her that she had come to France to ask the government to make it clear what its position on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, (EACOP).
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The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), also known as the Uganda–Tanzania Crude Oil Pipeline (UTCOP), is under construction and intended to transport crude oil from Uganda’s oil fields to the Port of Tanga, Tanzania on the Indian Ocean. Once completed, the pipeline will be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world. Because of the large scale displacement of communities and wildlife, global environmental groups are protesting its construction and finance.
However, activists say that this is a dangerous development against the environment. “I’ve come here to ask the French government to stand with us, to stand with the people, and with the planet, to make a decision about whether they are in support of the EACOP project in my country or not,” Nakate said.
The oil pipeline will start in Buseruka sub-county, Hoima District, in Uganda’s Western Region. It will travel in a general south-easterly direction to pass through Rakai District in Uganda, Bukoba in Tanzania, loop around the southern shores of Lake Victoria, continue through Shinyanga and Singida, to end in Tanga, a distance of approximately 1,410 kilometres (880 mi).
