Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni launched the drilling process at the Kingfisher Oil Field, operated by the Chinese oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Museveni thanked China for its continued cooperation with Africa, right from the time the continent was fighting colonialism. He stressed that China is cooperating with the continent in the economic sector to ensure mutual benefit.
The president said the country would carefully use the oil revenues for the development of the country. The government has previously said the revenues would be used for transport and energy infrastructure development.
Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong said the investment by the CNOOC in Ugandan oil fields is the largest investment by China in Uganda. Zhang was optimistic that the investment will contribute to the well-being of Ugandans.
Chen Zhuobiao, CNOOC Uganda president, said the corporation is committed to ensuring that there is skills, knowledge and technology transfer to Ugandans. Chen said the corporation will ensure that the local people benefit from the oil by providing, among others, contracts to local companies.
He reiterated that the CNOOC will continue to adhere to high standards of environmental protection.
Proscovia Nabbanja, chief executive officer of Uganda National Oil Company, a state-owned oil enterprise, told reporters that 31 wells will be drilled in the Kingfisher Oil Field, producing 40,000 barrels of oil per day.
Nabbanja said Kingfisher will be drilled at the same time with the Tilenga oil field operated by French oil giant TotalEnergies. She said 426 wells will be drilled in the Tilenga area producing 190,000 barrels of oil per day.
She said the crude oil drilled from both fields will be evacuated to a Central Processing Facility before it is exported to the international market through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to the Tanzanian seaport of Tanga.
Nabbanja said Uganda is still on track to produce its first oil by 2025.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), the country also plans to construct an oil refinery.
At the same event, Uganda officially endorsed the start of the construction of the EACOP, after it handed over a construction license.
A construction license is required to enable the EACOP project to formally start on-the-ground construction activities in Uganda as part of the development of the 1,443-km pipeline from the oil fields to the Tanzanian seaport of Tanga.
“This marks another step forward for EACOP as it allows the commencement of our construction activities in Uganda upon completion of the ongoing land access process,” said EACOP Managing Director Martin Tiffen.
Uganda in 2006 discovered 6.5 billion barrels of oil, of which 1.4 billion barrels are commercially viable, according to the MEMD.
The EAPCCO is a regional law enforcement body bringing together 14 member countries. It was founded in 1998 as a regional practical response to the need to join police effort against transnational and organized crime.
Sports is one of the disciplines devised by member states to bring together regional law enforcement agencies towards a common goal.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Jeanne Chantal Ujeneza, while opening the three-day preparation meeting, observed that sports is a unifying factor in realizing the EAPCCO agenda.
“This will not be a competition but getting together, playing together and showing our citizens of our mission as Police officers and Police institutions, which is to ensure security of our countries and the region,” DIGP Ujeneza said.
Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Bosco Gahigi, from Interpol central bureau in Nairobi, said sports carries critical ingredients of information sharing and fighting crimes through networking.
Law enforcement agencies from the 14 EAPCCO countries will compete in 16 sports disciplines, including athletics, football, basketball, handball and boxing. Others include beach volleyball, Karate, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, netball, Judo, rugby and shooting.
As per claim filed last year, the family of Rusesabagina who was handed 25-year jail term, says that he was lured into Rwanda from the United States where he had been granted refugee status. It further reads that Rusesabagina was kidnapped under a breach of Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
His family also claimed that the Government of Rwanda, its leader and former Minister of Justice and State Attorney General, Amb. Johnston Busingye were involved in the process ‘of abducting and luring Rusesabagina into Rwanda’.
The lawsuit further indicates that Rusesabagina was drugged and taken to Rwanda where he was ‘tortured and imprisoned illegally’.
In consideration of these objections, the family demanded his release as well as a compensation worth US$400 million (over Rwf409 billion).
The court’s decision on 23rd January 2023 reaffirmed Rwanda’s position that it did not kidnap Rusesabagina who is serving his 25-year sentence after he was found guilty of terrorism charges.
Judge Richard J. Leon stated that the lawsuit is not persuasive where there is no evidence that Rwanda violated other country’s sovereignty.
During trial proceedings, the court resolved that Rusesabagina brought himself to Kigali after he was tricked into travelling to Burundi in 2020 by the promise of work.
As court proceedings began, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda said that the country was ready to defend its stand.
Since Rusesabagina was arrested in 2020, his family ignored the basis of accusations against him but kept sounding alarms to exert pressure on Rwandan government to release him.
The Court of Appeal recently upheld the 25-year jail term handed to Rusesabagina over membership of terrorist group and complicity in terrorism acts through by MRCD/FLN group which he led.
The crimes were committed between 2018 and 2019 when MRDC/FLN combatants plotted attacks to Rwanda which claimed lives of nine innocent residents in Southern Province.
They left many others gravely injured, and caused significant material and economic damage in South-West Rwanda.
90 victims in this case from the districts of Nyaruguru, Rusizi and Nyamagabe have appealed for compensations amounting to over Rwf1.6 billion.
This incident is a violation of Rwanda’s airspace for the third time since November 2022.
Short videos and photos shared on social media show the warplane’s left wing burning and the other side of the plane with bullet holes.
The warplane was shot but did not crash down immediately and continued to fly until it landed at Goma airport where firefighters rushed to put out fire on the burning wing.
Following the incident, the Government of Rwanda released a statement announcing that defensive measures were taken and warned the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against repetitive provocations.
“Today at 5:03 pm, a Sukhoi-25 from the DR Congo violated Rwanda airspace for the third time. Defensive measures were taken. Rwanda asks the DRC to stop this aggression,” reads the brief statement.
Witnesses who were at the small border between Rwanda and DRC have told IGIHE that they heard loud explosion while returning from Goma and saw a jet in the sky flying back to Congo.
Previously, DRC’s fighter jets violated Rwanda’s airspace two times where one landed briefly at Rubavu airport.
Rwanda has condemned provocations by DRC which has been in the past few days making utterances alluding to imminent attacks on it.
On Wednesday last week, Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula released a statement whose conclusion reflected previous utterances by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi at the United Nations (UN) Security Council on 20th November 2022 where he said that his country resolved ‘to put an end to insecurity in eastern part of the country whatever the cost’.
Reacting to the statement, Rwanda referred to it as a threat of war.
Goma airport where DRC’s jets are parked is currently used by mercenaries from Europe who manage it and oversee maintenance of the Sukhoi fighter jets acquired from Russia.
Recently, the Government of Rwanda released a statement indicating that the recruitment of foreign mercenaries by the DRC is a clear indication that the country ‘is preparing for war, and not peace’.
President Paul Kagame recently said that Rwanda is overstocked to deal with those mercenaries, if need be.
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[Rwanda says DRC fighter jet violates its airspace ->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/rwanda-says-drc-fighter-jet-violates-its-airspace]
[Rwanda condemns repeated violations of its airspace by DRC fighter jets->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/rwanda-condemns-repeated-violations-of-its-airspace-by-drc-fighter-jets]
[Rwanda condemns DRC over utterances alluding to imminent attacks->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/rwanda-accuses-drc-of-making-utterances-alluding-to-imminent-attacks]
[Kagame assures that Rwanda is overstocked to deal with DRC’s mercenaries->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/kagame-assures-that-rwanda-is-overstocked-to-deal-with-drc-s-mercenaries]
[DRC turns back on negotiations with Rwanda->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/drc-turns-back-on-negotiations-with-rwanda]
[The fate of DR Congo’s aircraft which violated Rwanda’s airspace 26 years ago->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/the-fate-of-dr-congo-s-aircraft-which-violated-rwanda-s-airspace-26-years-ago]
[DRC wants a war – Analysis->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/drc-wants-a-war-analysis]
