Opposition to Kilifi nuclear plant due to misinformation – PS

Uyombo residents in Matsangoni, Kilifi county are opposed to plans to set up a nuclear plant in their village because of misinformation, Energy PS Alex Wachira has said.

Wachira on Friday said the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency has done a poor job in sensitizing the residents on the Sh500 billion project that will be implemented in 2034 if all goes well.

“I want to put Nupea on the spot. Nupea came here and talked but they never came back. That is wrong,” Wachira said during a public baraza with the residents in Uyombo village on Friday.

He said one or two attempts at sensitization are not enough.

“When you see a beautiful lady, you don’t go to her and say ‘What is your name? I want to marry you!’ You first have to seduce her so she can gradually open up to you.

“And if she refuses the first time, you don’t give up. You continue trying every now and then and at every opportunity you get,” Wachira said.

On July 12, in a meeting with Nupea officials at the same venue, the residents said they had not been properly consulted over the plans and were sceptical of the project and the potential harm it would cause to their families.

They said the ‘secrecy’ and half-truths with which the project is being planned worries them.

Environmental and human activists including the Centre for Justice and Environmental Action, Muslims for Human Rights, Ujamaa Centre and Turtle Watch are opposed to the setting up of the nuclear plant in the area.

They say the threats a nuclear plant poses including health risks, accidents and environmental damage from uranium mining, processing and transport, cannot be ignored.

Uranium is radioactive and its mining requires a high level of safety measures because it can be destructive and toxic.

However, on Friday, Wachira, who was accompanied by Nupea officials including acting CEO Justus Wamuyabo and chairman Ezra Odhiambo, and Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority chairman Peter Anyanga, said the government will put all the safety measures in place to prevent any harm.

He accused the rights activists of inciting the residents against the project.

“Why do we listen to a few who want to poison us? People who don’t want us to develop?” PS Wachira posed.

“Those who have sponsored t-shirts should come and sit with us so we can discuss their concerns,” he said.

He was referring to CJEA executive director Phyllis Omido who distributed t-shirts with the words “Nuclear power? No thanks” printed on them.

Earlier, police attempted to stop Omido from distributing the t-shirts claiming no protests were allowed at the meeting.

However, the residents overpowered them and they grabbed and wore the t-shirts, with speaker after speaker making reference to them in their speeches.

Wachira and his team announced a raft of goodies that Uyombo residents are set to benefit should they allow the plant to be successfully established in their village.

He said he would increase the public participation budget for Nupea to conduct more sensitization sessions with the residents.

“We are going to make a supplementary budget to increase the public participation funds so that what has been lacking, the dialogue and information, can be done. We need to move step by step,” the PS said.

The PS said they will adopt two or three primary schools in the area from which they will sponsor a number of children up to the university level who will eventually be employed at the nuclear plant once it is commissioned in 2034.

“We want your children to run this facility,” Wachira said.

The government officials, including Nupea chair Ezra Odhiambo, announced that an electricity project will also be set up in the area which will see the residents get uninterrupted electricity supply.

PS Wachira said the last mile project will be implemented in the area by the Japan International Corporation Agency (Jica) in October.

A Sh1 billion power substation will be set up in the neighbouring Bomani area to stabilize the power supply.

He said another Sh2.8 billion electricity project to supply electricity in Galana Kulalu will also be set up to ensure there is sufficient food security, especially in Kilifi county.

The stable power supply will attract more investors who will eventually open up the place, Wachira and Odhiambo said.

Omido said the government is out to sweet-talk the residents into accepting the project.

“The goodies that they announced are the responsibility of the government and should have been done a long time ago,” Omido said.

She said there is no need to educate children only for them to die because of harmful radiation and other hazardous waste.

The residents remained unconvinced insisting the nuclear plant project will harm both the environment and their families.

They said the title deeds for plot GL 487, which the government had given them but with a catch, which is to set aside space for public utilities, have come out but they have irregularities, which will pose problems when it comes to compensation if the project starts.

Benjamin Dadu of Lenga Community Development Organization said out of the many people who have land in the area, 25 did not receive their title deeds, while over 20 had their lands reduced.

“You find that one has a six-acre piece of land but in the title deed, it is indicated that they own only two acres. This is why people fear this project has more than meets the eye,” Dadu said.

He said some title deeds came out with names of people unknown in the area.

“This means there are people who have titles but they do not have the actual land on the ground. How did they get these titles?” Dadu posed.

He said the list of title deeds that came out should be thoroughly probed to avoid problems should there be a necessity to compensate people for lands acquired for the nuclear plant project.

PS Wachira said he will sort out the matter with his Lands counterpart.

Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority chair Peter Anyanga, a former Nyatike MP, insisted the nuclear plant project will benefit the residents.

He also accused Nupea of failing to give sufficient information to the Uyombo residents.

“They came and went back with the money and awareness was not created at all. They came with big cars and went back in them. That is not right,” Anyanga said.

He said since the PS is the ministry’s accounting officer, he should sign documents to release funds for more public sensitization forums.

Odhiambo said the intended Sh500 billion nuclear plant will not harm residents because the government will ensure all safety measures are put in place.

“The government is responsible for the safety and security of all Kenyans. It cannot therefore bring a project that will harm Uyombo residents,” he said.

Nupea acting CEO Justus Wamuyabo said the project will not start until the government is given the all-clear signal to do so by several local and international bodies like Nema and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

PS Wachira said the local community should create a 15-member committee that will be responsible for seeking clarity on all the things not clear to the residents on their behalf.

However, the locals immediately rejected a woman, Katsaka Kirao.

Kilifi County Director of Energy Wilfred Baya said the county has already set up a committee to look into the whole project idea, identify the needs of both the Uyombo residents and the county, the positives and negatives of the plant and ways to mitigate them, and to help in sensitization of the residents.

The committee, according to Baya, is yet to have its first meeting.

Baya said no one’s land will be taken for the nuclear plant project.

“The public space that was to be set up on GL487 is what Nupea will use,” the county government director said.

He said Nupea cannot start buying land when they are still conducting feasibility studies.

“This project will come for the benefit of Kilifi residents. It will not come to harm Kilifi residents. It is meant to benefit the Kilifi resident just like any other Kenyan,” Baya said.