By Jackson Onyango
The Appellate Division of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) composed of five judges has started hearing an appeal lodged by a group of Civil Society Organisations against the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
The appeal is against the judgment of the First Court of Instance of EACJ that dismissed a petition by the group on grounds that it had been filed late.
The appellants contend that the judges erred in their decision for which they are now asking for reinstatement of the case by the appeals division of the East African Court of Justice.
Both Uganda and Tanzanian governments are represented in court as the respondents led by representatives from the respective attorney generals’ chambers.
It is argued by the appellants that the construction of the heated oil pipeline covering 1143 kilometers from the shores of Lake Albert to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania poses environmental dangers.
They say that the pipeline crosses sensitive ecosystems like wetlands and parks.
Besides, they, in the case that was dismissed with costs by the EACJ First Court of Instance highlighted concerns of human rights abuse, citing assault of the project-affected persons and their eviction from their ancestral lands.
