Kampala, Uganda
Environment activists in Uganda, particularly in the Albertine region, are living in fear after one of them disappeared, Tuesday, in what appeared to be a covert operation in Kampala capital.
Stephen Kwikiriza, a member of the Kingfisher community and advocate of environmental justice, vanished in thin air in an enforced disappearance.
Kwikiriza is also an employee with the Environment Governance Institute (EGI) in the contentious oil project area on the shores of L. Albert.
This is when people have disappeared, from their loved ones and their community. They go missing when state officials or someone acting with state consent, grabs them from the street or their homes and then deny it, or refuse to say where.
The Kingfisher project is an oil project in western Uganda on the shores of Lake Albert, developed by the Chinese company China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), of which TotalEnergies is the main shareholder.
According to fellow activists, this is a planned move aimed at targeting all human rights defenders and environmental activists in the country, particularly those opposing the multi-national corporations and government interests.
Information from his close associates indicates that he went to Kampala in the morning with no inkling of the danger that awaited him. But in a brief moment, he managed to send a distressing message to his colleague Samuel Okulony, confirming his abduction by he identified as Uganda People’s Defense Forces -UPDF officers.
Since then, all communication has been cut off since his known contacts are unreachable thereby amplifying fears for his safety and well-being.
The Kingfisher Oil Project, spearheaded by the Chinese company -China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) with TotalEnergies as the main shareholder, has been a flashpoint of human rights and environmental concerns.
So as the international community turn its gaze towards Uganda, there is an urgent call for Kwikiriza’s immediate release, and to end the repression of those stepping out to fight for the rights of others and and speak against any form of injustice.
Already it’s confirmed that a legal team is actively calling and visiting various military and police detention centres to locate him and intervene accordingly.
Still, members of the StopEACOP coalition are equally concerned because Kwikiriza had been staying at a Safe House in an undisclosed location since mid-March, due to threats from the UPDF deployed in Kingfisher.
This incident follows the arrest of seven Ugandans on May 27, 2024, which took place outside the Chinese embassy in Kampala. They were detained while attempting to deliver a petition outlining the adverse effects of the oil project, including the loss of their land, environmental degradation, and violations of human and community rights.
The StopEACOP coalition and its national and international partners condemn this latest abduction and all the recent escalation of intimidation and arrests and urge the Ugandan authorities to release the human rights defender.
END
English 