KILIFI, Kenya (AP) — Dozens have spoken out against a proposal to build Kenya’s first nuclear power plant in one of the country’s main coastal tourist centers, which is also home to a forest tentatively listed by UNESCO world heritage site.
Kilifi County is known for its pristine sandy beaches where hotels and beach bars line its 265 mile coastline and visitors can boat and snorkel around coral reefs or bird watch in the Arabuko Sokoke Forest, an important natural habitat for the conservation of rare and endangered species , the UN organization said.
The project proposed last year will be built in the town of Kilifi, about 522 kilometers southeast of the capital Nairobi. Many residents have openly opposed the proposal, concerned about the negative effects of the project on people and the environment, leading to a series of protesters who sometimes turned violent.
Muslim for Human Rights (MUHURI) led the march on Friday in Kilifi to the provincial governor’s office, where they presented him with a petition opposing the construction of the factory.
Some chanted anti-nuclear slogans, while others carried signs reading “Sitaki nuclear,” Swahili for “I don’t want nuclear.”
Construction of the 1,000 MW nuclear power plant is expected to begin in 2027 and be operational in 2034, at a cost of 500 billion Kenyan shillings ($3.8 billion).
Francis Auma, a MUHURI activist, told the Associated Press that the negative effects of the nuclear power plant outweigh its benefits.
“We say this project has many negative impacts; Deformed children will be born in this place, fish will die, and our Arabuko Sokoke forest, known to harbor the birds from abroad, will be lost,” Auma said during Friday’s protests.
Juma Sulubu, a resident who was beaten by police during an earlier demonstration, attended Friday’s march and said: “Even if you kill us, just kill us, but we don’t want a nuclear power plant in our Uyombo community.”
Timothy Nyawa, a fisherman, joined the rally out of fear that a nuclear power plant would kill the fish and thus his source of income. “If they set up a nuclear power plant here, the fish farming sites will all be destroyed.”
Phyllis Omido, executive director of the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action, who also attended the march, said Kenya’s eastern coastal cities rely on ecotourism as their main source of income and that a nuclear power plant would threaten their livelihoods.
“We host the only East African coastal forest, we host the Watamu Marine Park, we host the largest mangrove plantation in Kenya. We don’t want nuclear power to ruin our ecosystem,” she said.
Her center submitted a petition to parliament in November 2023, calling for an investigation and claiming that locals had limited information about the proposed factory and the criteria for selecting preferred sites. It also raised concerns about the risks to health, the environment and tourism in the event of a nuclear disaster, saying the country was undertaking a “risky undertaking” without appropriate legal and disaster response measures in place. The petition also raised concerns about the safety and handling of radioactive waste in a country prone to flooding and drought.
The Senate suspended the investigation until the July filing of a bipartisan lawsuit seeking to halt construction of the plant, alleging that public participation meetings were rushed and Energy Agency (Nupea) was urged not to start the project.
Nupea said construction was years away and environmental laws were pending, adding that there was adequate public participation.
The nuclear agency also published an impact assessment report last year recommending the introduction of policies to ensure environmental protection, including detailed plans for the treatment of radioactive waste and measures to limit damage to the environment, such as setting up a nuclear unity in the national environment. managing authority and emergency response teams.
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