FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARUSHA, Tanzania (Nov. 27, 2025) — The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) Appellate Division yesterday upheld the decision by the First Instance Division of the EACJ which, in November 2023, dismissed a case filed by four East African civil society organisations (CSOs) in November 2020, much to the disappointment of the EACOP-Project Affected Persons (PAPs) who viewed the court as having shut the door of justice on them.
The court ruled that the case filed by Natural Justice (Kenya), Africa Institute for Energy Governance(AFIEGO) Uganda, Centre for Food and Adequate Living (CEFROHT) Uganda, and the Centre for Strategic Litigation (Tanzania) fell outside the required filing period. For the StopEACOP Coalition, the judges have chosen to treat a profound question of people’s rights, environmental survival, and climate justice as a mere procedural filing. In doing so, they have delivered a heavy blow to the promise of regional justice and cast a deep shadow over the court’s own credibility as the body tasked with ensuring adherence to the East African Community (EAC) Treaty.
“We strongly condemn the ruling made by the East African Court of Justice, which has told millions of
people across the region that technicalities matter more than their lives, their land, and their future. That is not neutrality nor objectivity. It is a choice in favour of oil companies and the governments that serve them”, said Zaki Mamdoo, StopEACOP Campaign Coordinator.
The StopEACOP Coalition maintains that the decision to dismiss the case on procedural grounds prevents examination of the substantive issues including land compensation disputes, transboundary impacts, environmental impacts including impacts on water sources and protected areas, and the project’s overall alignment with the EAC Treaty on its commitments to sustainable development, the protection of human rights, and the responsible and ethical management of transboundary resources.
“In refusing to hear the harms of EACOP on a technical pretext, the legitimacy of this court now hangs
by a thread, and history will have to decide whether it was a forum for justice or simply an office providing cover for corporate plunder”, continued Mamdoo.
Independent bodies, local and international civil society organisations have documented the negative
impacts of the controversial EACOP project from irregular land acquisition processes, potential risks to the Lake Victoria basin that over 40million people depend on to human rights violations. Similar concerns have just been raised by civil society groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following disastrous pollution recently observed by local communities and subsequently corroborated by a scientific report published by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW), pertaining to cross-border oil developments in the region. To that end, the CSOs in DRC under the banner Notre Terre Sans Pétrole (Our Land Without Oil) have taken their government, the government of Uganda, and the Secretary General of the EAC to the EACJ over an ecological disaster, disrupting the livelihoods of fisher communities in Lake Albert and Lake Edward as a result of lake asphyxiation and chemical contamination linked to oil activity in the region.
While the StopEACOP Coalition holds out hope for this legal effort, the dismissal of yesterday’s case
sends a chilling message to all those seeking regional remedies for regional harms: that even the highest court in the region may refuse to hear evidence when powerful interests are at stake represents a grave injustice.
“We must insist that the court, and all regional institutions, do better. We will continue to demand that
they live up to their mandates. But this ruling also shows us that we cannot afford the illusion that these institutions will save us. Our survival depends on continuing the struggle on every front and with every tool available to us, organising in our communities, confronting financiers and insurers, challenging governments, and building a renewable energy future for our communities,” said Rachael Tugume, an EACOP-impacted community member from Hoima.
###
For more information, including detailed legal context, please refer to the press release from the litigating organisations, linked here.
The complete court judgment is linked here.
For media enquiries, contact: info@stopeacop.net
About the StopEACOP Campaign
The StopEACOP Coalition is an alliance of local groups, communities, and African and global organisations. The coalition has been calling for a stop to the proposed pipeline and associated oil fields at Tilenga and Kingfisher. The StopEACOP Campaign is gathering momentum, building pressure on the remaining supporters and financiers of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). To date, 43 banks and 30 (re) insurers have already ruled out support for EACOP.
