Outrage over kidnapping of East African pipeline opponent
Activists are calling for an investigation into the kidnapping and beating of Stephen Kwikiriza, a vocal opponent of a controversial drilling and pipeline project in Uganda.
Kwikiriza was kidnapped on June 4 in Kampala by what appeared to be plainclothes officers of the Ugandan army. Five days later, he was dropped off 240 kilometers away, on the side of a road in Kyenyoyo. Kwikiriza said he was stripped down to his underwear, given only minimal food and a bucket for the toilet. He said he was beaten and lost consciousness, sustaining injuries that required hospital treatment.
“This is an enforced disappearance, a very serious crime under international law,” said Brad Adams, director of Climate Rights International. “Due to a long history of impunity in Uganda, a swift, independent and transparent investigation must be conducted to ensure those responsible are brought to justice. »
Kwikiriza had previously faced threats because of his work at the Environmental Governance Institute, where he documented the damage inflicted by the Kingfisher oil field in eastern Uganda. The Ugandan army provides security for the China National drilling company and is said to have engaged in violence and sexual abuse against the local population, as well as the destruction of fishing boats.
Kingfisher is one of two oil fields that would supply the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which would stretch 900 miles to the Tanzanian coast. Led by French oil giant TotalEnergies, the project threatens to displace more than 100,000 people. Last year, a report implicated TotalEnergies in coercion and intimidation of families living along the pipeline route, drawing condemnation from activists, businesses and governments around the world.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders said Kwikiriza’s disappearance is part of an “alarming repression” against pipeline opponents. In response to the kidnapping, activists criticized TotalEnergies for not doing more to protect critics.
Juliette Renaud, of Friends of the Earth France, said the CEO of TotalEnergies “repeatedly emphasizes that they are committed to respecting freedom of expression, but they have always turned a blind eye to harassment, threats and the increasing arrests of environmental defenders. defenders. »
The Ugandan subsidiary of TotalEnergies declared The Guardian that she was relieved to learn that Kwikiriza had been released and that she hoped for his full recovery. He added that he “does not tolerate any threats or violence against those who peacefully defend and promote human rights.”
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