Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Rachel Kawala has confirmed the arrest of 10 youths from Rooted in Resistance (RR) after they marched through Kampala carrying placards and demanding an end to oil drilling in Uganda.
Kawala said the youths were arrested around King George Street and Parliamentary Avenue while protesting and carrying placards.
She said they were arrested on allegations of being a public nuisance and will be processed before being presented to court.
The youths had marched on foot from the Railway Grounds, dressed in orange shirts and carrying large and small banners with messages opposing Uganda’s oil drilling activities.
They were heading to Parliament and the RR Pearl Tower One offices to deliver fresh petitions demanding reforms in Uganda’s petroleum policies and investment priorities.
But their march was cut short when police moved in to arrest them.
Officers spent several minutes struggling with the protesters, who resisted as police tried to pull them away and force them into waiting police vehicles.
The situation became tense, forcing police to bring in a second convoy with more officers to assist in making the arrests.
The latest arrests come after a similar attempt by Rooted in Resistance on August 10, when four members of the group were arrested after trying to deliver a petition.
The group is demanding what it describes as an oil-free economy, arguing that Uganda should reduce its dependence on petroleum and instead invest in productive sectors that can create jobs, grow incomes and generate wealth for ordinary Ugandans.
The youths are also calling on Parliament to review Uganda’s petroleum policies and investment priorities and redirect national resources towards sectors they believe can deliver sustainable and widely shared economic growth.
At the centre of their protest is the environmental impact of oil drilling in the Bunyoro sub-region.
The activists argue that oil activities could pollute the environment, with toxic substances potentially finding their way into Lake Albert and the Nile River.
They warn that pollution could contaminate water, kill fish and threaten communities that depend on the lakes and rivers for their livelihoods.
The protesters are also raising concerns about oil activities around Murchison Falls, saying drilling and related operations could disturb wildlife because of noise and increased human activity.
They argue that the activities could interfere with wildlife movements, including migratory animals, while also affecting crops and communities living around the oil-producing areas.
The group further warns that damage to Uganda’s wildlife and natural environment could hurt the country’s tourism industry, which relies heavily on national parks and other natural attractions.
Rooted in Resistance wants Parliament to reconsider the country’s oil policies and how public money is being invested.
The youths say Uganda should instead put more resources into sectors capable of creating sustainable and widely shared wealth while protecting the environment.
The government has continued to defend the development of Uganda’s petroleum industry, saying oil will contribute to economic growth, create employment and generate revenue for national development.
Authorities have also maintained that petroleum activities are governed by environmental laws and regulations intended to minimise damage to communities and ecosystems.
For the 10 arrested protesters, police say they will face the legal process, with Kawala confirming that they will be presented before courts of law.
In April 2026, police arrested six activists from Rooted in Resistance, formerly known as Students Against EACOP, after they marched towards TotalEnergies’ Kampala offices to deliver a petition demanding that EACOP be stopped and investment shifted towards renewable energy.
The same month, eight anti-EACOP activists were convicted of common nuisance by Buganda Road Court over an earlier protest. They had been on remand since August 2025.
One of the most visible waves of opposition emerged around 2021–2022, when activists and civil-society organisations stepped up campaigns against EACOP and other petroleum developments. Demonstrations, petitions and public campaigns were organised in Uganda and internationally.
In 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing serious concerns about human-rights violations and environmental risks associated with the EACOP project. The resolution called for a temporary suspension of the project, although Uganda and Tanzania rejected the criticism and continued with development.
Uganda is now at the final stages of a long-awaited journey to becoming an oil-producing country, with government maintaining that the country is on course for first oil in 2026.
The country’s two main oil developments, Tilenga in the Buliisa area and Kingfisher in Kikuube, are being developed alongside the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which will transport crude from the Lake Albert region through Uganda and Tanzania to the port of Tanga for export.
As of June 2026, Tilenga was about 74% complete, Kingfisher about 79% complete, while EACOP had reached about 90% completion, according to the Uganda Investment Authority.
