Communities Across Africa Launch Coordinated Protests Against TotalEnergies Operations
A continent-wide wave of protests erupted across more than 10 African countries from August 18-24, as activists and frontline communities demanded French oil giant TotalEnergies cease operations, pay reparations, and pave way for community-centered energy transition.
The Africa Week of Action, coordinated under the KickTotalOutOfAfrica umbrella, saw dramatic scenes across Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Senegal. Hundreds marched from Standard Bank’s headquarters to TotalEnergies’ offices in Johannesburg, while over 1,000 people in Togo showed the company a symbolic “Red Card” at a football tournament.
In Zimbabwe, artists and youth activists staged creative resistance events, with Trust Chikodzo of Magamba Network stating: “Creative actions help us move hearts in a political landscape so often devoid of rationality. By using art, we can tell our own African story against fossil fuels.”
The protests culminated in community tribunals, including one in Uganda’s Kyakaboga that attracted over 250 villagers. Communities cited biodiversity loss, poisoned rivers, displacement, and human-animal conflict as consequences of TotalEnergies’ operations, particularly around drilling in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park.
A significant victory emerged from South Africa, where a court nullified a permit issued to Total for gas exploration in Cape Town following community legal action.
Source: allafrica.com
