East African Crude Oil Pipeline case thrown out on procedural grounds

Arusha, Tanzania – The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) Appellate Division has upheld a decision regarding the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). In November 2023, the First Instance Division of the EACJ dismissed a case that four East African civil society organisations filed in November 2020.

This has disappointed the East African Crude Oil Pipeline-Project Affected Persons, who view the court as having shut the door of justice on them.

“A heavy blow to justice”

The Court ruled that the case filed by Natural Justice (Kenya), Africa Institute for Energy Governance Uganda, Center for Food and Adequate Living Uganda, and the Center for Strategic Litigation (Tanzania) fell outside the required filing period.

The StopEACOP Coalition believes the judges have chosen to treat a profound question of people’s rights, environmental survival, and climate justice as a mere procedural file.

In doing so, they have delivered a heavy blow to the promise of regional justice and cast a deep shadow over the Court’s own credibility as the body tasked with ensuring adherence to the East African Community Treaty.

Zaki Mamdoo, StopEACOP Campaign Coordinator, said:

We strongly condemn the ruling made by the East African Court of Justice, which has told millions of people across the region that technicalities matter more than their lives, their land, and their future. That is not neutrality nor objectivity. It is a choice in favour of oil companies and the governments that serve them.

The StopEACOP Coalition maintains that the decision to dismiss the case on procedural grounds
prevents examination of the substantive issues.

These include land compensation disputes, transboundary impacts, and environmental impacts including impacts on water sources and protected areas.

It also concerns the project’s overall alignment with the East African Community Treaty on its commitments to sustainable development, the protection of human rights, and the responsible and ethical management of transboundary resources.

Mamdoo continued:

In refusing to hear the harms of EACOP on a technical pretext the legitimacy of this Court now hangs by a thread, and history will have to decide whether it was a forum for justice or simply an office providing cover for corporate plunder.

Negative impacts of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline

Independent bodies and local and international civil society organisations have documented the negative impacts of the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline project.

Problems include irregular land acquisition processes, potential risks to the Lake Victoria basin that over 40million people depend on, and human rights violations.

Similar concerns have just been raised by civil society groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo following disastrous pollution recently observed by local communities. This was subsequently corroborated by a scientific report published by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, pertaining to cross-border oil developments in the region.

To that end, civil society groups in DRC under the banner “Our Land Without Oil” have taken their government, the government of Uganda, and the Secretary General of the East African Community to the EACJ over an ecological disaster, disrupting the livelihoods of fisher communities in Lake Albert and Lake Edward as a result of lake asphyxiation and chemical contamination linked to oil activity in the region.

While the StopEACOP Coalition holds out hope for this legal effort, the dismissal of yesterday’s case sends a chilling message to all those seeking regional remedies for regional harms: that even the highest court in the Community may refuse to hear evidence when powerful interests are at stake represents a gravely concerning injustice.

Recheal Tugume, an East African Crude Oil Pipeline-impacted community member from Hoima, said:

We must insist that the Court, and all regional institutions, do better. We will continue to demand that they live up to their mandates. But this ruling also shows us that we cannot afford the illusion that these institutions will save us.

Our survival depends on continuing the struggle on every front and with every tool available to us, organising in our communities, confronting financiers and insurers, challenging governments, and building a renewable energy future for our communities.

The StopEACOP Coalition is an alliance of local groups, communities, and African and global
organisations.

It has been calling for a stop to the proposed pipeline and associated oil fields at Tilenga and Kingfisher.

The campaign is gathering momentum, building pressure on the remaining supporters and financiers of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

To date, 43 banks and 30 (re) insurers have already ruled out support for EACOP.