The National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) has demand the unconditional release of all eight activists, who were arrested by Ugandan Police on May 27, 2024 during a rally to the Chinese Embassy in Kampala to deliver a protest letter against funding of exploration activities by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
NAPE expressed concern that instead of being engaged meaningfully, they were arrested, saying this kind of humiliation and inhuman treatment constituted not only a human rights abuse, but also has no place in the modern world and should be totally condemned.
Reacting to the development, Executive Director of NAPE, Frank Muramuzi, said: “The use of excessive force to arrest peaceful and unarmed civilians is a big shame to a civilian force like police and violates the Ugandan constitution.
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“NAPE strongly warns and calls upon the police to stop this harassment and intimidation of environmental activists and calls for unconditional release. NAPE maintains that detaining environmentalists for protesting is unlawful and culprits should be punished.”
Speaking further, Muramuzi added: “In any case, the EACOP and other oil development projects are public investments that should be kept under scrutiny by the citizens. If these investments are to come at a cost of denying citizens their rights, then they need to be fought at any cost.
“OilWatch Africa supports calls for release of the detained activists and frowns on the harassment of citizens fighting for the rights of Africans to a safe environment as enshrined in Article 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
