On 14 May 2025, activists from the #StopEACOP movement delivered a letter to the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) in Dar es Salaam, wherein they expressed concern over the bank’s decision to support the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. They also protested against the arrest of 11 Ugandan activists who were arrested at KCB Uganda on 23 April, and are still in prison awaiting a bail hearing scheduled for the end of May. EnviroNews Nigeria reports that the 11 activists were lured to the basement of the building by a KCB Bank Uganda official, where they were arrested by the police. “We thank our Tanzanian comrades for standing with us. These arrests reveal a dangerous pattern of banks colluding with state forces to criminalise dissent. We call on commercial bank regulators to investigate KCB Uganda’s role in this abuse. Financial institutions cannot be allowed to undermine human rights with impunity,” said Brian Atuheire, with AIFE Uganda.
