Kampala, Uganda – In an intersection of climate justice and corporate accountability, dozens of university students were violently arrested today as they marched toward KCB Bank’s headquarters in protest of the financial institution’s involvement in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
Waving placards and chanting “No money for dirty oil!”, the students mostly from Makerere University and Kyambogo were intercepted by anti-riot police near Kampala Road just meters from their destination.
The peaceful protest turned chaotic after security forces fired teargas and physically dispersed demonstrators, dragging several into waiting police vans.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a 1,443-kilometer project stretching from Uganda’s oil fields in Hoima to the Tanzanian port of Tanga, is Africa’s longest heated pipeline.
Hyped by the Ugandan government as a game-changer for development, the project has become a lightning rod of global controversy with critics warning of environmental devastation, displacement of communities and long-term climate fallout.
The protest comes on the heels of reports that Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has committed debt financing to EACOP despite growing international pressure for financial institutions to divest from fossil fuel projects.
Activists claim KCB’s backing enables climate destruction on an industrial scale.
“We are the generation that will inherit this planet. KCB is funding our future’s death sentence,” shouted a student protester from Makerere, moments before being detained.
Witnesses say the demonstration was initially peaceful until riot police in full gear stormed the scene, arresting organizers and dispersing onlookers.
Today’s events mark an escalation in the youth-led #StopEACOP campaign that has gained international traction. From Kampala to Paris, students and activists have called out banks, insurers and governments that support the multibillion-dollar pipeline.
Environmental watchdogs such as 350.org, Fridays For Future Uganda, and AFIEGO have backed the protests, stating that EACOP will result in over 34 million tons of carbon emissions annually putting local ecosystems and Lake Victoria at risk.
While the Ugandan government has defended the pipeline as a vital infrastructure project that will lift millions out of poverty, critics argue that its benefits are overblown and short-lived. Communities in the path of the pipeline continue to report delayed compensation, forced evictions and intimidation.
At the time of publication, KCB Bank had not issued an official statement addressing today’s protest or its position on EACOP. Civil society groups say they plan to increase pressure on the bank in the coming weeks through letter campaigns, international petitions, and more demonstrations.
Also Read: Dr. Kizza Besigye Arraigned Amid Tight Security at Nakawa
