Barigye Bob - Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (StopEACOP)
Sources
On 9 December 2022, human rights defenders Barigye Bob, Ivan Kabale, Musoke Hamis Walusimbi, and Ssemwanga Jackson were arrested violently by the police without an arrest warrant. The four defenders are members of the global campaign Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (StopEACOP). The campaign is led by an alliance of local groups, communities, and African and international organizations protesting against the construction of the East African Crude Oil pipeline (EACOP). Their arrest happened when they were participating in a peaceful demonstration against EACOP. Three of the human rights defenders were detained at Kampala Central police station. Ssemwanga Jackson was kept at an unknown location until the morning of 12 December 2022. He was then brought to Kampala Central police station by the authorities. The four human rights defenders were released on 12 December 2022. Nonetheless, on 14 December 2022, Barigye Bob, Ivan Kabale, Musoke Hamis Walusimbi, and Ssemwanga Jackson, while reporting to Kampala Central police station as instructed, were detained again brought to Court. The four human rights defenders were released on bail and officially charged with “common nuisance”, they are expected to appear in Court on 19 January 2023.