Uganda and Tanzania ask East Africa Court of Justice to reject appeal against EACOP
The governments of Uganda and Tanzania have jointly requested the Appellate Division of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to dismiss a petition filed by four civil society organisations (CSOs) from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, aiming to halt the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Mr. Charles Ouma, Uganda's Deputy Solicitor General, and Mr. Mark Mulwabo from Tanzania's Office of the Solicitor General argued before a panel of five EACJ judges in Kigali, Rwanda, on February 24 that the appeal should be dismissed. They described it as a waste of national resources and a potential precedent for similar lawsuits. The appeal was filed in December 2024 by the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), the Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), Natural Justice, and the Centre for Strategic Litigation from Kenya and Tanzania. This marks their second attempt to block the multi-billion-dollar project. In November 2023, the EACJ's First Instance Court dismissed a similar case filed by the CSOs in 2020, ruling that it was time-barred. The court maintained that the CSOs should have filed their case in 2017, when the two governments signed the Host Government Agreements, rather than in 2020.
In the appeal, the five judges of the Appellate Division of the EACJ, who heard the case on February 24, contended that the lower court had unfairly focused on the timeline, overlooking critical issues, including the risks to ecosystems. They also argued that dismissing the case with costs was unjust, as it had been filed in the public interest by non-profit organisations for the benefit of all East African Community (EAC) member states. The appellants requested that the judgment be reversed. The panel, led by Justice Nestor Kayobera, listened to arguments from both the appellants' and respondents' lawyers as part of determining whether the case merits further consideration or should remain dismissed, as the lower court ruled. Mr. Justin Ssemuyaba, representing the appellants, informed the court that the claim that the suit was time-barred was invalid. He explained that the Inter-Governmental and Host Government Agreements related to EACOP were signed confidentially, preventing the CSOs from knowing about the agreements and challenging them in time. Mr. Ouma, representing Uganda's government, stated that the case should be dismissed to avoid wasting national resources and to prevent setting a precedent for similar suits. He added that the appellants had known about the key agreements and should have refrained from filing the case. Mr. Mulwabo, from Tanzania's Office of the Solicitor General, argued that the appellants could have challenged the project's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) reports, which the two governments had already committed to, rather than contesting agreements that were already in place.
The EACOP project, described by the governments as unstoppable, is a 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline running from Hoima in Uganda to Tanga in Tanzania. It will transport Uganda's crude oil, which is expected to be extracted starting in 2027. The project is being developed by four partners: Total Energies (62% stake), China National Oil Company (CNOOC) (8%), Uganda National Oil Company, and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (15% each).