Four Ugandan farmers file a lawsuit in the U.K. High Court in London against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) while the project is still under construction. Multiple outlets report that the suit is aimed at a UK-registered entity involved in the pipeline’s backers and operations, and that it seeks to require the project to comply with Uganda’s constitutional, environmental, and climate-related laws. The farmers argue that their land lies along the pipeline’s planned route through Uganda and that the company financing or administering the project must be held to those obligations.
The case is described as a last-ditch effort to stop or delay the pipeline before it goes into service, with sources referencing an expected operational date in October. One report notes the company behind the project is linked to TotalEnergies, while others focus on the legal strategy of enforcing Uganda’s laws through the U.K. court because the relevant corporate structure is registered in the UK. The outlets characterize the filing as part of broader controversy around the pipeline’s social and environmental impacts.
