Matsangoni chief’s office in Kilifi county was the scene of high drama on Monday after human rights and environmental activists accompanied one of their own after she was summoned.
Environmental activist Phyllis Omido had received a summons from Matsangoni chief John Munga on Sunday after he accused her of inciting Uyombo residents against the proposed nuclear power plant that the government wants to establish in the area.
The activist has adamantly campaigned against the establishment of the power plant by the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (Nupea), saying it will affect the residents’ health and well-being.
“Habari ya jioni. Ofisi ilikua inakuomba kesho uje hapo ofisini saa mbili asubui kwa mazungumzo [Good evening. The office would like you to come to the office tomorrow at 8am for talks],” the chief’s text message reads.
However, on Monday, in the company of other human rights activists and lawyers, including Muslims for Human Rights’ Francis Auma, Concerned Citizens’ Bradely Ouna and activist and lawyer Sofia Rajab, among others, they did not find Munga in his office, although there were people waiting to be served.
The activists were directed to Munga’s assistant William Menza’s office instead.
Menza, however, said he had no idea what was going on and did not want to get involved.
“Go and do your other work. Simple as that. I was not involved. Understand me. I have no information to give about what happened,” he said.
Agitated, the activists threatened to close the chief’s office if Munga refused to serve the citizens who had lined up waiting for his services.
“It is not right to summon people who then come all the way to Kilifi from Mombasa only to find that the one who had summoned them has left office already,” Auma said.
“It is still not even 10am and the public officer has left office already. Is this how the residents here are served? Is this service delivery to the public."
Officers at Matsangoni police station, where the chief’s office is located, then tried to disperse the activists, preventing them from causing commotion in the station’s compound.
This forced the activists to camp outside the station for close to two hours, before addressing the press.
Anthony Kingi, a community leader who was also summoned together with Omido, said he did not know why he was summoned.
“They told me to come for talks. I don’t know what talks we are to have. This is the first time I have ever been summoned to the chief’s office,” he said.
Kingi, however, said he was sure it was about the nuclear plant, which he has also been opposed to.
The activists said they will not let the plant be established in Uyombo, which they said has a population of more than 34,000 people.
Omido said Nupea has been trying by all means to make the Uyombo residents consent to the establishment of the nuclear plant, including through bribery, intimidation and downright arrogance.
“The Uyombo community has said no to nuclear. It’s very clear. The community, as a sign of resistance, has burnt the merchandise that Nupea is forcibly distributing to them,” Omido said.
“Nupea is wasting taxpayers’ money. The presidential task force on review of Power Purchase Agreements said ... Nupea should be disbanded. This is an illegal entity. This is enraging the people of Uyombo.”
“Nupea is wasting taxpayers’ money. The presidential task force on review of Power Purchase Agreements said ... Nupea should be disbanded. This is an illegal entity. This is enraging the people of Uyombo.”
Nupea chief executive Justus Wabuyabo, however, dismissed the claims that the agency is an illegal entity, saying it is a state corporation established under the Energy Act of 2019, and which can only be abolished by another Act of Parliament.
“We recognise a nuclear power plant is a unique project, which requires that all persons involved are educated about it, and if there are any concerns, they are raised on the table and addressed,” he said.
Wabuyabo said Kenya is addressing the 19 infrastructure issues that have been proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a specialised United Nations agency that deals with all nuclear issues.
“One of the things that they expect us to do before we start constructing the nuclear power plant is to look into the issues of safety and security,” the CEO said.
The Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action executive director said the summons is a diversionary tactic to take the spotlight away from Nupea’s imposition of a nuclear reactor in a Unesco biosphere area.
“This area is nestled between the Arabuko Sokoke forest and the Watamu marine park. How do you put a nuclear power plant right in the middle? It does not make sense,” she said.
Omido said the government's intimidation tactic will not work.
There's no Act in Kenya that can allow the set-up of a nuclear power plant in an ecologically sensitive area.
Lawyer, human rights activist and Kilifi community member Rajab said she led the burning of the Nupea merchandise.
She said the agency is bribing the community with branded merchandise, including lessos, books and umbrellas, among others.
“Running a nuclear power plant is a very technical thing. Nupea has no capacity to run a nuclear plant. No one in Nupea has ever worked in a nuclear power plant,” she said.
She said a nuclear power plant at the very least costs $6 billion (Sh975.9 trillion).
“Can the government convince us that at this point this is a priority when Kenyans are suffering, with us getting into more debts and taxes being increased daily?”
Omido said developed economies are unable to deal with the radioactive waste produced in nuclear power plants. “Will a developing economy like Kenya manage to?” she said.
Charo Ngumbao, the chair of Arabuko Sokoke Forest Adjacent Dwellers Association (Asfada), said the forest covers 420km of trees and is surrounded by at least 52 villages.
Asfada also conserves the Mida Creek mangrove forest.
Arabuko Sokoke and Mida Creek are biosphere reserves under Unesco.
“It is conserved not only for Kenya but the whole world. There are species of wild animals that are only found in this forest, with more than 260 species of birds and over 280 species of butterflies,” Ngumbao said.
Over 600 species of traditional trees, including endangered species of medicinal trees, live in the forest.
All these will be destroyed if the nuclear power plant will be established in Uyombo.
More than 3,000 fisher folk and more than 70,000 women benefit from Mida Creek.