On 4 June 2024, the Ugandan military allegedly abducted human rights defender and environmental activist Stephen Kwikiriza in Kampala. Kwikiriza is a member of the Kingfisher Project Affected Community and is part of the Ugandan environmental group Environment Governance Institute (EGI) which has been campaigning to halt the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). He was found abandoned by a roadside in Kyenjonjo district 5 days later.

He was reportedly tortured in detention, including severe beating requiring hospitalisation, deprivation of food for a day and a half, and humiliation.

TotalEnergies did not immediately reply to a request for comment by Reuters.