Nema loses bid to overturn Sh700m court award for lead poison cleanup
Crime and Justice
By
Patrick Beja
| Mar 10, 2026
Residents of Owino Uhuru slum in Mikindani in Mombasa county have again won a case against agencies over a review of Sh700 million awarded by the Supreme Court for the cleanup of lead poisoning caused by a battery smelting plant in the area.
The Environment and Land Court sitting in Mombasa dismissed an application by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) after the agency claimed that the toxins had disappeared.
“The upshot of the foregoing is that the court is that the 4th respondent’s (Nema) application dated September 22, 2025, is unmerited,” Justice Yuvinalis Angima said in a judgement dated March 5, 2026.
Owino Uhuru residents and the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA) successfully sued Nema, several government agencies and Metal Refinery and were awarded Sh1.3 billion and Sh700 million for cleaning lead poison in the village.
READ MORE
Experts dismiss CS Wandayi's claims, fault opaque fuel deals, policy failures
Kenya to benefit from Sh1.29 trillion Afreximbank emergency fund
Inside State's plan to auction Kenya's generational mineral wealth
KBA hosts forum to strengthen credit analysis in banking
Broke Kenyans cut spending as Iran war drives up costs
Sh84 billion target miss: Inside KRA's Sh10.2b daily collection headache
KRA falls Sh84billion short of Q3 target, collects Sh2.04 trillion
Sh8tr treasure: Inside US-China scramble for Mrima Hill
Why Africa's growth depends on bankable projects, not capital
But in its notice of motion dated September 22, 2022, Nema told the court that there was new evidence the polluted environment at Owino Uhuru had naturally remediated and hence declare that there was no significant contamination in the soil and water at the village.
The application was based on the affidavit sworn by Nema Director General Mamo B Mamo who said Nema collected soil and water samples from the area where the lead smelting plant was situated.
But in an affidavit sworn by executive director Phyllis Omido, CJGEA said lead is a heavy metal and chemical element that does not decompose, biodegrade or naturally disappear over time.