in pictures: Activists in nairobi staged a peaceful protest AT the yetu festival ahead of the standard bank agm

A group of activists from the StopEACOP campaign staged a peaceful protest at the second edition of the Stanbic Yetu Festival on June 10th, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya.

By donning t-shirts and displaying posters and banners with messages asking standard bank “to stop funding our destruction”, the intention was to grab the attention of festival attendees and hopefully initiate an opportunity to create awareness of Standard Bank's involvement in the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and the human rights concerns and potential environmental impact associated with the project.

While promoting the Stanbic Yetu Festival, the bank, a subsidiary of Standard Bank, explained on its website that the event sought to celebrate Kenya's talent, promote arts and music, and contribute to the entertainment industry and economy. However, it is crucial to question the contradiction between promoting arts and music on the one hand and financing a project like EACOP that undermines the same commitments for the youth in Tanzania and Uganda who equally desire a better life that’s now threatened by the controversial project.

The decision to peacefully disrupt the Stanbic Yetu Festival was another powerful reminder of the many options activists have in harnessing an opportune moment to shed light on pressing environmental concerns.