Uganda: Lawsuit filed in British court against oil pipeline project
A move that could threaten its shutdown
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
raised a number of Ugandan farmersA lawsuit has been filed against EACOP Ltd, registered in England and Wales and responsible for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project, at the High Court of the United Kingdom. The lawsuit demands that the company be compelled to apply Ugandan constitutional, environmental, and climate law provisions to the project's activities.
A step aimed at obligating the company to comply with legal protection
The lawsuit, filed before the pipeline began operations, was a legal move aimed at obligating the company to comply with legal protections guaranteed by Ugandan legislation, despite being registered in the United Kingdom.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is approximately 1,443 kilometers long and aims to transport crude oil from Ugandan fields to the Tanzanian coast. French energy company TotalEnergies holds the largest stake in the project.
Prosecutors assert that the lawsuit's success could ultimately lead to the pipeline's shutdown. They point out that the project is expected to affect over 100,000 people due to land acquisitions, and that it passes through vital freshwater systems, areas of ecological significance, and protected natural habitats, raising concerns about its environmental and social repercussions.
In another context, Ambassador Iman Yaqout, Ambassador of the Republic Egypt The Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Congo, Jean-Claude Jacquos, following his assumption of the culture and tourism portfolio within the new government, to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture and tourism.
The Egyptian Ambassador congratulated the Congolese Minister on assuming his new position, and also congratulated him on the occasion of the opening of the Congolese National Museum last May, emphasizing Egypt's aspiration to strengthen mutual tourism and receive more Congolese tourist delegations in the coming period.
The ambassador affirmed Cairo's keenness to expand the horizons of cooperation with the Republic of the Congo in the cultural and tourism fields, which contributes to strengthening bilateral relations and exchanging expertise between the two countries.
For his part, the Congolese Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jean Claude Jacquossot, expressed his great appreciation for Egyptian civilization, its ancient history, and its cultural heritage, affirming his country's keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt, and to benefit from its leading expertise in museum management and operation, cultural heritage preservation, and the protection and restoration of archaeological artifacts, in addition to building the capacities of Congolese cadres in these fields.
