Global Witness is growing increasingly concerned for the safety of communities and campaigners challenging the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) – set to run through Uganda and Tanzania – with reports of police repeatedly harassing and intimidating those who voice their opposition to the project.
Since last month, nine community members have been repeatedly summoned by police, forced to travel around 120km back and forth to the station, where they are reportedly interrogated but not charged with any offenses. This week, they had their phones confiscated and sent for “inspection”, while they were forced to sign statements about their relationship with climate activists.
Police have forced the community members to return to the station twice this week alone, as fears grow their phones will be used to track down and criminalise other campaigners. Today, police threatened that their questioning and summoning of campaigners won’t stop until they give up information.
These interrogations come just months after Global Witness received information that police were ordered to arrest Tanzanian activist Richard Senkondo, 32, so he could be interrogated by the country’s national intelligence and security agency, the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS). Richard has been living in hiding ever since.
Hanna Hindstrom, Senior Investigator at Global Witness, said:
“The targeting of critics of the EACOP pipeline casts a chilling shadow over environmental activism in Tanzania. We urge the Tanzanian authorities to immediately withdraw the arrest order for Richard and cease their harassment of communities.
“TotalEnergies is set to make untold millions from the displacement of communities along the EACOP route, apparently ignoring the fact that this destructive project has been made possible by silencing anyone brave enough to speak up for their rights.”
Police’s search for Richard and the harassment of communities is the latest in a crackdown on defenders linked to the EACOP pipeline, who TISS officers have also previously interrogated, according to a 2023 Global Witness investigation into the impacts of the pipeline on communities, in which Richard is featured.
The report notes that at least 47 defenders protesting oil or EACOP were arrested in Uganda alone between September 2020 and the time of publication in December 2023. Included in these figures are seven students who were arrested in Uganda on 24 November for peacefully opposing EACOP.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Since publication of the Global Witness report, the crackdown has continued. On December 11 2023, 42 households in Uganda – including several prominent defenders featured in Global Witness’s report – were given four day’s warning of a court case aimed at forcing them to accept compensation for their homes and land. The ruling was delivered within four days of filing the case, and after only one hearing.
In early January 2024, four more students in Uganda were arrested for protesting the pipeline.
Until recently, the situation in Tanzania has been opaque, with an effective ban on civil society mobilising around the pipeline.
Zaki Mamdoo, coordinator of the Stop EACOP campaign, said:
“The silence from the diplomatic corps in Tanzania speaks volumes about the influence of the fossil fuel industry. Where is the outrage that ordinary people are being forced off their lands without enough compensation and then threatened into silence by a repressive regime to make way for a European oil project?”
Hanna Hindstrom, Senior Investigator – Land and Environmental Defenders
Evie Calder, Senior Communications Advisor, Forests and Defenders
Source: allafrica.com
Share this news
This Year's Most Read News Stories
Tanzania: Samia Hands Over NBC’s 354m/ – Crop Insurance Compensation to Farmers Affected By Hailstorms
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has handed over a cheque of 354m/- from the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) as compensation to tobacco farmers, who were affected by hailstorms during the previous farming season in various regions across the country.
Handing over the cheque in Dodoma, the compensation is part of the crop insurance service provided by NBC in collaboration with the National Insurance Corporation (NIC).
Furthermore, President Samia has also handed over health insurance coverage to members of the Lindi Mwambao Cooperative Union based in Lindi Region, through the Farmers’ Health Insurance service provided by the bank in partnership with Assurance Insurance Company.
While visiting the bank’s pavilion at the Nanenane Agricultural Exhibition and being received and briefed by the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Theobald Sabi, she said: “This crop insurance is one of the crucial solutions in ensuring farmers have a reliable income, without fear of challenges such as natural disasters, including hailstorms.
“I call upon all farmers in the country to make the best use of this important opportunity by accessing these kinds of insurance services. I also highly commend NBC and all the stakeholders participating in this programme.”
Elaborating further on the crop insurance service, the Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, stated that it will help to recover the loss farmers incurred, especially in various calamities beyond their control.
Citing them as floods, fires, and hailstorms, which have significantly affected the well-being of farmers and caused some to be reluctant to invest in the crucial sector, Mr Bashe added: “However, our President, this step by NBC is just the beginning, as this is the second year since they started offering this service, and the results are already visible.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
“As the government, we promise to continue supporting the wider implementation of this service, with the goal of ensuring that this crop insurance service reaches more farmers.”
ALSO READ: NBC participates in TFF 2023/24 awards, promises to enhance competition
On his part, Mr Sabi said that the farmers who benefited from the compensations are from 23 primary cooperative unions in the regions of Shinyanga, Geita, Tabora, Mbeya, Katavi, and Kigoma.
He added: “In addition to these insurance services, as a bank, through this exhibition, we have continued with our programme of providing financial education and various banking opportunities to farmers, alongside offering them various loans, including loans for agricultural equipment, particularly tractors, to eligible farmers.:
At the NBC booth, President Samia also had the opportunity to be briefed on the various services offered by the bank to the farmers namely crop insurance and health insurance services.
There, the President had the chance to speak with some of the beneficiaries of the services, including the Vice-Chairman of the Lindi Mwambao Primary Cooperative Union, Mr. Hassan Mnumbe, whose union has been provided with a health insurance card from the bank.
Source: allafrica.com
Kampuni ya Elon Musk kuzindua mtandao Tanzania
Huduma ya mtandao ya Elon Musk ya Starlink inatarajiwa kupatikana nchini Tanzania katika robo ya kwanza ya 2023, huku wachambuzi wakisema maendeleo hayo mapya yatakuza uchumi wa kidijitali.Continue Reading
Ankaya Village: Experience active living and wise investment in Zanzibar
Ankaya Village offers more than just a place to live—it’s a lifestyle choice that’s as enriching as it is rewardingContinue Reading
