Police Assault and Arrest Protesters in Kenya – Villagers Oppose Construction of Nuclear Power Plant

Last week, police assaulted members of the Uyombo village community and arbitrarily arrested two community activists. The Center for Justice Governance & Environmental Action (CJGEA), funded by KIOS, has supported the Uyombo village community in opposing the government’s plans to build a nuclear power plant in the area. The program manager of CJGEA was also arrested when he went to the police station to clarify the situation.

Uyombo Village forcibly entered

On Monday, May 20, 2024, the Kenya Nuclear Power and Energy Agency installed an earthquake seismic station in at a secondary school in the village without informing the community. After one woman from the community questioned this, she was brutally assaulted by police. Next day a group of heavily guarded individuals, suspected to be from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), forcibly entered Uyombo village along with the police. When community members began to protest peacefully, the police assaulted them and fired into the air. The police fired nearly 140 bullets and 70 tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd. The community was not informed or consulted at any stage of the planning process.

Two community activists trained by CJGEA were assaulted and arrested when they went to the police station to clarify the situation. After their arrest, CJGEA program manager Gordian Kimbio visited the police station to check on the detainees’ well-being and to inquire about the possibility of posting bail for their release, but he was arbitrarily detained. He spent the night in jail and was released the following morning. He has been ordered to report to the police regularly under the threat of re-arrest during the investigation.

Nuclear Power Plant has been planned without community consultation

The Kenya Nuclear Power and Energy Agency plans to build small nuclear reactor power plants in the Uyombo village area of Kilifi County. The area includes the Malindi-Watamu, designated as a UNESCO marine biosphere reserve, and the Arabuko Sokoke Forest, both of which are ecologically and biologically significant. The plans have not included consultations with the local community, who fear that the reactors will destroy the unique marine ecosystem and the community’s livelihood, fishing. The community is also concerned about potential forced evictions from the area. Residents point out that the area hosts many fish species and corals found nowhere else and serves as a habitat and sanctuary for turtles, dolphins, and migratory birds.

CJGEA has supported the Uyombo village community in opposing the government’s plans to build a nuclear power plant in the area. CJGEA is now accused of inciting hatred and violence within the Uyombo community. CJGEA’s Executive Director Phyllis Omido was during the events on a business trip in Austria, and neither she nor any other organization employees were present in Uyombo during the incident.

On her Facebook page, CJGEA Executive Director and environmental defender Phyllis Omido stated that the community has made various efforts to engage in dialogue with government authorities, but their initiatives have been ignored. Omido asserts that when the community is denied access to information and participatory decision-making, there is little room for rights to be realized. She claims that the authorities have betrayed both the Kenyan and the Uyombo communities. In a article published released by Right Livelihood, Omido also commented on the authorities’ intentions:

“The government has decided against the will of the community and without public participation to put up a nuclear power plant. If they had gone into the community to seek a peaceful process, why were they so heavily armed?”

The office of the Kenyan Ombudsman has also commended the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency’s disregard for information disclosures and public engagement with the local community regarding the nuclear plant plans and has ordered the agency to address these shortcomings.

Rights of the community must be respescted

It is concerning that the community’s concerns have not been heard in the planning of the nuclear power plant. Meeting peaceful protests with force, violence, and arbitrary arrests constitutes a human rights violation. Instead of intimidation and silencing, Kenyan authorities should safeguard the activities of activists and organizations defending community rights. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, Mary Lawlor, has also highlighted the gravity of the situation.

KIOS is monitoring the situation and continues to support the work of human rights and environmental defenders.

KIOS has supported CJGEA’s work and followed Phyllis Omido and the residents of Owino Uhuru’s fight against a lead smelter since 2015. Read more about this case here!