The Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court on Tuesday remanded ten youths to Luzira Prison for staging a protest against the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project. They were accused of causing a nuisance on a public road in Kampala.
They appeared before Grade One Magistrate Rophine Acayo and denied the charge of being a nuisance on a public road, contrary to Section 67(1)(e) of the Road Act, Cap 346. All are residents of various locations in Kampala and Wakiso Districts.
Prosecution alleges that the accused, together with others still at large, on August 31, 2026, at about 9 a.m., assembled on King George Way Street in Kampala Central and placed themselves on the road in a manner that caused danger or inconvenience to traffic.
According to the charge sheet, the youths were dressed in orange T-shirts bearing the words “Rooted in Resistance” and were carrying placards opposing oil development.
The placards reportedly carried messages including “Prioritize Other Sectors of the Economy,” “Oil is Temporary, Nature is Permanent,” and “Oil Today, Problems Tomorrow.”
The Prosecution alleges that the protesters obstructed the road and caused danger or inconvenience to traffic. They, however, denied the charges.
The court heard that the accused did not have sureties available to stand for them at the time of their appearance.
The Magistrate remanded all the suspects to Luzira Prison until September 18, 2026, when they will return to court for mention of the case and hearing of their respective bail applications.
The accused are Lucky Nyamadri, 20, painter; Shakirah Kasoga, 24, salon worker; Isaac Akampulira, 26, casual worker; Daniel Mugabe, 23, builder; Ochola Ivan, 25, mechanic; Enoch Opolot, 22, student; Sharifah Nantongo Sharifah, 21, tailor; Dorothy Asio, 21, shopkeeper; Rahma Namuddu, 20, businesswoman; and Tino Sharon Shaluwa, 23, salon attendant.
This is not the first group of protesters to be remanded to Luzira by the Buganda Road Court on charges stemming from holding a protest against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The protesters were demonstrating against the development of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, which will transport crude oil from the Albertine region of Uganda to Tanzania’s seaport of Tanga.
The project launched in 2021 has since been at the centre of controversy over issues such as the delayed payment of project affected persons and the secrecy surrounding the host government agreement for the pipeline, the Tariff and Transportation Agreement and Share Holding Agreement signed between Uganda and Tanzania.
But the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has since indicated that the project will go on as planned as the European Union made a resolution calling for a halt to extractive activities in protected ecosystems in an oil pipeline project.
In May 2026, the High Court in Kampala ordered the government to pay 40 million shillings in general damages to four environmental activists who were unlawfully detained beyond the constitutional 48-hour limit following their arrest during an anti-EACOP protest.
Civil Division Judge Collins Acellam found that the state violated the applicants’ fundamental right to personal liberty and each of the four activists was ordered to receive 10 million shillings .
The activists Alphonse Nkurunziza, Vicent Lubega Nsamba, Gerald Wenani, and David Musiri are members of the pressure group Rooted in Resistance the same group which those who have been remanded also subscribe too-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
