Activists protest delayed ruling on Lamu coal power project case

Environmental activists from Lamu County have protested the delayed ruling on the Sh200 billion proposed coal power plant project case in the area.

The activists from the Save Lamu organisation took to the streets of Lamu Island town, claiming that the delayed ruling was a ploy by the government to actualise the project.

Led by Mohamed Athman, a director with the Save Lamu organisation, the activists carrying anti-coal banners marched through the streets of Lamu old town and boarded boats as they protested.

“We are agitating for safe methods of generating power in the country and the world because we do not want harmful sources of energy in Kenya since our habitats would be destroyed if such were implemented,” said Athman.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  GSU officer kills partner and child in Lamu after domestic dispute
• 
  Cargo worth Sh2m lost as dhow sinks near Lamu
• 
  Inside State House meeting where Western leaders threatened to walk out of Ruto gov't
• 
  Family's torment over two sons who went missing

His sentiments were echoed by Ms Raya Famau, who claimed that unsafe power generation projects will affect the environment in a world that was currently tackling the effects of climate change.

“We oppose coal plant establishment not only here in Lamu but in the entire country since such projects have always had a negative implication on the environment and worsen the already unpleasant situation caused by climate change,” she said.

Chairman of the Lamu Island Beach Management Unit (BMU) Abubakar Twalib said fishermen had already suffered from climate change as it interfered with fish breeding sites and that the coal plant near the sea with add salt to injury.

“Our fishermen have already lost livelihoods due to the effects of climate change, which has affected the way fish breed, and establishing a coal project in our area is like burying us alive.

"In the event that the government forced that project on us, then we will suffer immensely since it will directly reduce fish populations, disrupt fishing, and harm our livelihoods as the fishing communities here in Lamu,” he said.

The project was first proposed in 2015 but was opposed by environmentalists from Lamu County and beyond, leading to a court case that has dragged on at the Malindi Environment and Land Court.

According to proponents of the project, the county would have benefited from 1,050 megawatts of coal-fired power and a reduction in the cost of electricity.

Already, the government had conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and signed financial agreements with the developer-Lamu Power, between 2015 and 2016.

However, in 2019, a court case was filed seeking to halt the development of the project on a 975-acre piece of land at Kwasasi village in Hindi in Lamu West Sub County.

The National Environment Tribunal revoked the environmental license of the project in September 2019.

However, the case has stagnated at the Environment and Lands Court (ELC) in Malindi, with the ruling dates being postponed several times, leading to the protests.