Ms Marjolein Moreaux, a Belgian national and founder of Extinction Rebellion Belgium, was arrested alongside three Ugandan university students from the Justice Movement Uganda while marching to the Chinese Embassy to protest the planned construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Seven activists marched to the embassy to present a petition urging the Chinese government to withdraw support for the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), one of the primary funders of the EACOP project. Four of the activists were arrested.
Deputy police spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan, Luke Owoyesigyire, confirmed that four activists were arrested, stating they would face charges of common nuisance and inciting violence.
“Today is my birthday but the only gift I want is the Chinese government denouncing its support towards the EACOP. I visited Murchison Park last week and what I saw did not make me happy. I just want one thing, stop EACOP, because local people are being expelled from their houses, the wildlife is going to be chased away from their habitants and we lose both biodiversity and tourism. There is already a huge negative impact of global warming here in Uganda and the world at large brought by fossils fuel,” Ms Moreaux said.
Ugandan youth alongside a Belgian environmental activist protest at the Chinese Embassy in Kololo, Kampala on August 5, 2024. PHOTO | BUSEIN SAMILU
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