In June 2019, six organisations issued a formal notice to French transnational corporation Total, informing it that its mega oil project in Uganda and Tanzania failed to comply with the company's legal obligations to prevent human rights violations and environmental harm. After an unsatisfactory response to the formal request by Total, a legal action was launched on October 23, 2019. The organisations report that since the lawsuit was filed, there have been increasing attacks in the oil region of Uganda, where Total is one of two operating partners of the Lake Albert Oil Project, together with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

Community leader Jelousy Mugisha and Fred Mwesigwa, two Ugandan defenders who testified in France on December 12, 2019 in the trial against Total for its activities in Uganda have been subject to intimidation and threatening acts upon their return to Uganda. On December 14, 2019 Mr. Jelousy Mugisha was arrested by immigration officials of Uganda upon arrival at the airport and was reportedly detained and interrogated for nine hours. Since his return, he has faced a serious of threats from security officials and break-ins at his house.