"E.Africa Court Dismisses Activists' Case Over Massive Oil Project", Barron's, 26 November 2025

Four civil society groups first filed a petition in 2020 demanding full legal scrutiny of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), citing its far-reaching human rights, environmental, and climate impacts.

On Wednesday, the EACJ threw out the case on procedural grounds, ruling it was filed outside the 60-day limit, upholding a 2023 decision by a lower court.

Rights groups say more than 100,000 people have been affected by the project, many losing their land without adequate compensation and some pressured into signing agreements they did not fully understand.

But TotalEnergies told AFP that "approximately 18,500 households," representing 99.2 percent of those affected, have signed compensation agreements, while 767 were relocated.

Only 42 landowners have refused to sign, TotalEnergies said.

"Seventeen involved disagreements over their valuation, 18 were subject to ownership conflicts," the company said, adding that seven remained unreachable.