The highly expected verdict in the court case challenging the construction of Lamu coal plant has been postponed to 24 June by the National Environment Tribunal (NET) in Nairobi. The judgement was supposed to close an appeal which commenced before the NET in October 2016, halting the development of the Lamu Coal Plant.
Explaining the reasons of the postponement, NET judges said “the judgement itself is not ready. There are still issues’.
Since its initial proposal, the Lamu coal project has faced fierce resistance from residents and environmental activists denouncing its multiple negative impacts on the populations, ecosystems and livelihoods of Lamu county, a UNESCO heritage site and popular touristic destination. They also claimed that the environmental impact assessment study conducted by Amu Power contains a poor analysis of the alternatives and economic justification for the coal plant.
Reacting to that development, activists in Nairobi said they remain determined and vigilant to oppose the first-ever coal plant in Kenya.” For the last five year, we have demonstrated how this project is ecologically disastrous, economically unviable, socially unfair and morally unjustifiable. We will continue our mobilisations against the project and invite citizens in Nairobi and everywhere in Kenya to join our march scheduled on May 25th to reject the coalonisation of Kenya and create awareness of the viable and needed shift to renewable energy” said Rukiya Khamis, organiser at 350.org.