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UK High Court bid
Four Ugandan farmers filed a case in the United Kingdom’s High Court against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), seeking to apply Ugandan constitutional, environmental and climate law to EACOP Ltd., the project’s UK-registered operating company.
“Four Ugandan farmers have launched a legal challenge in the UK High Court against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), seeking to apply Ugandan constitutional, environmental and climate law to EACOP Ltd”
The claim targets EACOP, a 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) pipeline that would transport crude from Uganda’s oilfields to Tanzania’s coast, and it asks the court to enforce Uganda’s legal protections against a company incorporated in England and Wales.
French energy firm TotalEnergies is described as majority-owned in the project, and the lawsuit is filed before the pipeline begins operations, with claimants saying a successful ruling could ultimately prevent the pipeline from becoming operational.
The dispute is framed around the farmers’ argument that the project would affect more than 100,000 people through land acquisition and cross critical freshwater systems and protected habitats, and the legal strategy is aimed at holding a multinational corporation accountable in its home jurisdiction for overseas operations.
Competing narratives
The African Energy Chamber says the UK court “cannot decide Uganda’s energy future,” arguing that decisions about Uganda’s energy future should be made in Uganda rather than in London, and it characterizes the legal challenge as foreign-backed litigation targeting strategically important African energy projects.
In the same framing, the Chamber’s NJ Ayuk calls the effort “This is colonialism 2.0,” and it argues that the timing is tied to EACOP approaching a major milestone as Uganda prepares to become an oil-producing nation.
Avaaz and AFP describe the case as the first legal action in the United Kingdom against the $5.6 billion project, named Eacop, and they say the action filed in the High Court of London seeks to prevent the operation of the oil pipeline before it has even begun transporting oil.
AFP quotes claimant Rachael Tugume saying, “We fear that tomorrow there could be oil leaks, because I do not think these pipelines can stay underground for years without deteriorating or breaking,” while Avaaz says the case is the first time Ugandan climate and environmental law has been brought before a foreign court.
What’s at stake next
The legal challenge is positioned as a bid to stop EACOP before it begins transporting oil, with the claim described as seeking an injunction to prevent the pipeline from becoming operational and to enforce Uganda’s legal protections against EACOP Ltd.
“Twenty-six Ugandans and five French and Ugandan associations have filed a new lawsuit in France on Tuesday to demand 'reparations' from TotalEnergies for the 'damages' they say were caused by its controversial megaproject in the African country”
Agence Ecofin reports that EACOP was at an advanced stage of construction, stating it had reached an 82% completion rate and that stakeholders had targeted July 2026 for the first oil shipment, while also noting that commissioning is expected within a few months but remains subject to completion of remaining works and planned technical tests.
Ecofin also says the infrastructure is expected to transport about 216,000 barrels per day of Ugandan crude and that the project’s cost reaches about $5.6 billion, a roughly 55% increase over initial estimates, with cost overruns described as threatening Uganda’s projected oil revenues.
Climate Home News adds that the court will consider concerns about whether cases challenging the multibillion-dollar pipeline would get a fair trial in Uganda, and it quotes Leigh Day partner Matthew Renshaw saying, “We are proud to represent the four brave principled individuals,” as the case proceeds in London.
