KAMPALA, Uganda — Police have arrested at least 10 youth activists from Rooted in Resistance after they marched through central Kampala to deliver a petition opposing continued investment in fossil-fuel infrastructure and calling for Uganda to pursue an alternative economic path centred on agriculture, tourism, renewable energy and manufacturing.
The arrests occurred Monday as the activists attempted to reach Parliament, with the demonstration causing traffic disruption along Parliament Avenue and roads leading to the parliamentary precinct.
According to Daily Monitor, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said 10 suspects were being held at Kampala Central Police Station on allegations of being a public nuisance. Police said the activists were in custody pending the recording of their statements.
The protest comes less than three weeks after police arrested four members of the same group during a similar march on August 10. Those four — Aniwallh Ssembalirwa, Hassan Mugoya, Aron Patrick Ariong and Ivan Okanya — were on August 29 remanded to Luzira Prison until September 4 after appearing before Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court on charges of public nuisance.
The activists’ campaign challenges Uganda’s decision to develop its petroleum resources, particularly the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which will transport crude from the Lake Albert region in western Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga for export.
The 1,443-kilometre heated and buried pipeline has become one of the most politically and environmentally contested infrastructure projects in East Africa.
Government officials, oil companies and project developers present EACOP as a major route to commercialising Uganda’s oil reserves, generating revenue, creating employment and supporting industrialisation. Activists, however, argue that the country risks locking itself into dependence on fossil fuels while exposing communities and sensitive ecosystems to environmental and social risks.
Activists demand a different economic model
Rooted in Resistance has been urging government to redirect investment towards sectors it says can generate broader and more sustainable economic benefits, including agriculture, tourism, renewable energy and manufacturing.
The activists also want existing petroleum policies reviewed and have raised concerns about environmental degradation and whether ordinary Ugandans will receive meaningful benefits from the country’s oil wealth.
Their argument is not simply about whether Uganda should produce oil. It is about what kind of economy Uganda wants to build.
That question has become increasingly urgent as the country approaches first oil.
The Uganda Investment Authority reported in July that EACOP had reached 90 percent completion by the end of June, with more than 1,443 kilometres of pipeline welded across Uganda and Tanzania.
By early August, government officials were reporting that construction had reached 91 percent, with first oil expected before the end of 2026.
The pipeline is designed to carry Uganda’s waxy crude from Kabaale in Hoima District to the Chongoleani Marine Storage Terminal near Tanga, where it will enter international markets.
For government, the approaching first-oil milestone represents the culmination of years of investment and negotiations.
For the protesters, it represents a narrowing window in which Uganda could still reconsider the direction of its energy and economic policy.
A growing confrontation
The latest arrests are part of a growing confrontation between young activists demanding greater scrutiny of the country’s oil strategy and authorities determined to maintain public order around Parliament and other government institutions.
During the August 10 protest, a group of about 20 Rooted in Resistance members carrying placards and banners was intercepted by police as it approached Parliament. Four activists were arrested after the group scattered.
The four later appeared before Buganda Road Court, where they were remanded to Luzira Prison over the same public nuisance allegations. Their lawyer, Peter Arinaitwe, argued that each case should be considered on its own facts rather than being treated in the same manner as an earlier case involving other protesters.
Police have urged activists to use constitutional mechanisms to present their grievances rather than disrupt roads or public institutions.
But the protests raise a deeper question about the meaning of democratic participation.
If citizens disagree with a national development project, where exactly should that disagreement be heard? Parliament? Courts? Public consultations? The street?
And when peaceful protest reaches Parliament Avenue, does the traffic obstruction become the central issue — or does the underlying argument about Uganda’s future remain unanswered?
EACOP says environmental safeguards are in place
EACOP and its partners maintain that the project has undergone extensive environmental and social assessment.
The pipeline company says Environmental and Social Impact Assessments were completed for both Uganda and Tanzania, with environmental approvals issued in 2020 for Uganda and 2019 for Tanzania. The assessments were intended to identify potential environmental and social impacts and establish mitigation measures.
The project also maintains a range of environmental and social management plans covering issues including biodiversity, land acquisition, community health and safety and human rights.
TotalEnergies, which is a major partner in Uganda’s oil development, has similarly said the EACOP and Tilenga projects are being implemented in a sensitive environmental and social context and that detailed environmental and social impact assessments were conducted.
The company says the projects comply with Ugandan and Tanzanian requirements and international standards, including International Finance Corporation performance standards.
TotalEnergies also says 3,759 Ugandan and 9,927 Tanzanian project-affected persons were identified under its land-acquisition programme, with 99.4 percent of compensation agreements signed and compensation paid, according to figures published on its Uganda EACOP project page.
The existence of assessments, however, has not ended the controversy.
Environmental groups and activists have continued to question the project’s effects on ecosystems, land, livelihoods and Uganda’s broader climate and development choices.
And that is the contradiction now confronting Uganda: the country is racing towards its first oil while a generation of young citizens is asking whether oil is actually the road to prosperity.
The pipeline is more than a steel corridor stretching from Hoima to Tanga. It is becoming a test of what Uganda believes development means.
Oil promises revenue.
Activists are asking what it will cost.
And with the pipeline already more than 90 percent complete, the argument is no longer about whether Uganda will enter the oil age. It is about what Uganda will become once it does.