Eleven StopEACOP activists were arrested yesterday, 23 April 2025, in Kampala while attempting to peacefully deliver a letter to KCB Bank, demanding the bank withdraw its financial support for the destructive East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The demonstrators were detained by police in yet another show of force aimed at silencing legitimate dissent.

The arrests yesterday further expose the deep and dangerous complicity of financiers like KCB in the repression of peaceful activism. The 11 activists entered the bank calmly and requested to speak with the General Manager to hand over their letter. Instead, they were reportedly misled by a banking official—believed to be the Head of Marketing—who led them to the basement under the false pretense of arranging a meeting. There, police and security personnel were already waiting. The activists were immediately arrested, in what appears to be a coordinated ambush designed to criminalise peaceful dissent.

KCB is one of five financial institutions recently named as providing the initial funding tranche for EACOP. This latest crackdown follows the April 2 arrest of nine student activists at a similar demonstration targeting another of the five EACOP financiers, Stanbic Uganda, and furthers the pattern of long-standing repression of peaceful protest in Uganda.

“This is not just about a pipeline, it’s about democracy, accountability, and justice,” said Brian Atuheire, Executive Director at the African Institute for Food and Environment (AIFE) Uganda. “KCB has not only chosen to fund a project causing environmental and human rights abuses, it has now joined the ranks of those enabling political repression to protect profit.”

Despite mounting resistance across the region and globally, KCB and other financiers continue to ignore widespread calls to divest and disassociate. 30 insurers and reinsurers, alongside 43 banks, have already ruled out support for EACOP, many citing the project’s unacceptable social, environmental, and financial risks.

“As a Kenyan, I am deeply ashamed that KCB, a homegrown institution, has chosen to fund a project that threatens the very lifeblood of our region,” said Ashley Kitisya, Africa Programme Manager at Laudato Si’ Movement, “Lake Victoria is not just a body of water; it is a source of life and sustenance for over 40 million people across East Africa, including here in Kenya. By backing EACOP, KCB is endangering our communities, our ecosystems, and our shared future. This is a betrayal of the people KCB was meant to serve.”