As Ugandans rallied on January 24th 2023 in Buhuka village, Kyangwali Kikuube district to commemorate Uganda’s historic day of launching oil drilling in the Albertine region, opposition politicians Dr. Kizza Besigye and Bobi Wine engaged in a public campaign aimed at undermining the development of Uganda’s oil and gas industry.
The two organized an Anti-EACOP public campaign at Emerald Hotel in Kampala under the cover of African Initiative on Food Security and Environment (AIFE-Uganda), an NGO that openly de-campaigns Uganda’s effort to develop her Oil and gas sectors and has been funding individuals and groups against EACOP.
AIFE-Uganda was established in 2016 by Atuhaire Brian Katana under the guidance of Dr. Kizza Besigye the then Presidential flag-bearer for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) with an aim of using the organization as a political tool.
According to sources, after losing the 2016 Parliamentary race for Igara West Constituency on the FDC ticket, Katana together with Mwijukye Francis were sponsored by Besigye to study economic sabotage through activism from abroad.
Media sources state that the public debate was organized to sabotage Uganda’s oil development and not by any coincidence that it was hosted on the same date President Museveni officiated the launching of Kingfisher Oil drilling in Kikuube district.
As the biblical phrase in the book of Job 1:6 states; “When the children of God were rejoicing before their father, Satan came also among them.”
Similarly, It’s not a surprise in the eyes of open minded and right thinking Ugandans that when the entire country is anticipating economic development through the oil and gas sector, the two and the foreigners they serve are working tooth and nail to sabotage Uganda’s development.
On record, several protests have been organized by opposition politicians and their agents within and outside Uganda mostly targeting the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) considering its significant role in the transportation of oil from the Albertine region to Tanzanian coast of Tanga.
The European Union Parliament on September 14th 2022 passed a resolution calling upon the governments of Uganda and Tanzania and their development partners to halt the construction of EACOP citing human rights and environmental concerns.
To the dismay of most Ugandans, the NUP party President Robert Kyagulanyi took it to his social media pages celebrating the EU Parliament decision on the construction of EACOP and development of Uganda’s oil and gas sector.
According to Kyagulanyi, Uganda, a sovereign state must rely on the orders of external actors before developing and utilizing her natural resources.
However, despite the negative energy by opposition politicians and their external funders, oil drilling has been launched and the road to 2025 Uganda’s first oil is very straight.
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