• He said NuPEA failed to carry out public participation and convince the community
• NuPEA chief executive Justus Wabuyabo however said this is an ongoing process
Image: ELIAS YAA
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro has opposed the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Uyombo village.
He is the third political leader from the county to object to the project, after Kilifi North MP Owen Baya and Kilifi Woman Representative Gertrude Mbeyu.
Mung’aro said the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) failed to carry out public participation and convince the community of the importance of the project.
“People wonder why I have been very quiet on the nuclear power plant proposal in Uyombo,” he said.
“When the CS and NuPEA came to my office, I told them to go to the ground and talk to my people.
“I promised them I would go with what my people will say. NuPEA failed to convince the people and the residents declined to have the plant constructed. So I have no option but to also heed what my people say.”
The governor said the nuclear agency has not been sincere with the people.
“They have not had any public engagement in Uyombo. We have seen nuclear power plants cause massive destruction in other countries. We cannot accept such a plant to be built in our country,” he said.
He urged NuPEA to take the plant to another location.
“They told me they have other options, including Kwale, so they can go to the other areas,” he added.
Kilifi North MP Owen Baya also said NuPEA has failed to effectively engage with the local community on the project's benefits and risks.
The deputy majority leader in the National Assembly added that NuPEA has demonstrated their "incapability" to run a nuclear power plant.
“When NuPEA first came here, they asked if they could be given time to talk to the citizens to get their opinions about setting up a nuclear plant there,” he said.
“I took them to Uyombo and we had a meeting at Uyombo Girls. They said they were ready to engage the public about the matter, but they have not done it.”
Baya criticised NuPEA for neglecting its duty to conduct comprehensive public participation forums.
“Since 2021, we have given NuPEA the opportunity to do this work for all those years,” he said.
“However, the work that Nupea has done has been to exclude some citizens. There are those citizens they want to talk to and those they do not.”
He said NuPEA should provide detailed Environmental Impact Assessments, Socio-Economic Impact Studies and public participation reports.
These documents are crucial for the government to make an informed decision on whether the project should proceed, he said.
NuPEA CEO Justus Wabuyabo said public participation is an ongoing process.
Wabuyabo said the agency has held several meeting with stakeholders over their plan to set up the nuclear power plant.
"In our strategic plan, public participation is in three phases and we are entering the second phase," he said.
"We have held meetings with locals and we are planning to engage them more. Public participation is at the core of our mandate and we cannot run away from it."
Wabuyabo said they are engaging the people opposing the setting up of the power plant.
"We have invited Phylis Omido and her group who are leading the anti-nuclear campaign for engagement. The response is positive and we will engage them positively," he said.
On the EIA, the CEO said the setup of the seismic tower will form part of the information to be included in the EIA.
"The office of the ombudsman visited us and we gave them a report of what we have done not only in Uyombo but across the country," Wabuyabo said.
Baya said he recently introduced a motion to disband NuPEA, proposing that it be reduced to a department within the Ministry of Energy due to its failure to meet its responsibilities despite receiving substantial funding.
“We gave them money to go and do benchmarking. They took their chosen people, not the residents of Uyombo,” he said.
“If they establish a nuclear plant there, what will happen to the tourist hotels that have been set up in Watamu near the proposed site? What will happen to those hotels? What will they do about the tourism, which is a source of livelihood there?”
Baya has been accused by Uyombo residents of neglecting them during their protest against the setting up of the plant.
Kilifi Woman Representative Getrude Mbeyu said Uyombo residents should not be forced to consume poison.
“We don’t want this nuclear plant in Uyombo or anywhere in Kilifi county. We have read about nuclear power plants and now know the truth they are keeping from us," she said.
She said its negative impacts, such as production of radioactive waste that can remain dangerous for thousands of years, were not properly explained to the residents.