Two Chinese nationals remanded over theft of EACOP materials in Hoima
According to police, the suspects have been identified as Qiao Tian Peng and Zhang Dong Geng, both Chinese nationals employed on the EACOP project.
Workers of EACOP showing a section of the pipline in Kabaale sub-county in Hoima district recently. (Photo by Wilson Asiimwe)
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Two Chinese nationals have been remanded to Kiryatete Government Prison in Hoima city over allegations of stealing construction materials from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) sites in Hoima and Buliisa districts.
Police in the Albertine region recently began investigating a series of thefts involving materials from the pipeline project in the two districts. Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson, confirmed that several cases are still under investigation.
He said the first case file was opened at Kabaale Police Station in Kabaale subcounty, Hoima district, on August 12, 2025, and later registered as CRB 468/2025 at the Hoima Central Police Station in Kitoba subcounty.
According to police, the suspects have been identified as Qiao Tian Peng and Zhang Dong Geng, both Chinese nationals employed on the EACOP project. They were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Hoima on August 28, 2025 and subsequently remanded.
The duo is accused of conniving with locals in Hoima and Buliisa to steal materials, including drums of lubricants, aluminium cable wires, fuel, and other items, valued at sh114 million.
Police said the arrests followed a tip-off from a whistleblower who reported the matter to EACOP authorities and security agencies. The suspects were charged with theft before being remanded.
The EACOP pipeline, stretching 1,443 kilometres and valued at $5 billion, will transport crude oil from Hoima in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.
Jointly owned by TotalEnergies (62%), CNOOC Uganda (8%), the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (15%), and the Uganda National Oil Company (15%), the project is described as the longest electrically heated pipeline in the world.
It will cover 296 kilometres across 10 districts in Uganda and pass through 25 districts in eight regions of Tanzania.
Construction is being undertaken by a joint venture between China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd and Worley Limited. More than 150 kilometres of the pipeline have so far been laid in Uganda and Tanzania.
The project will include six pump stations, two pressure reduction stations, and a marine export terminal in Tanzania.