STOP THE PROPOSED NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT IN KILIFI COUNTY UNTIL FULL, GENUINE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IS CONDUCTED.

To: 

H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto, CGH – President of the Republic of Kenya.

Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.

Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Forestry.

Hon. Gideon Mung’aro – Governor, Kilifi County.
 
Members of Parliament and County Assembly representing Kilifi County.

Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA).

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

Cc: Civil society organisations, the media, and the people of Kilifi County. 

Date: 23/6/2025.

Your Excellencies, Honourable Cabinet Secretaries, Governor, and Leaders,

RE: URGENT CONCERNS AND DEMAND FOR INCLUSIVE DECISION-MAKING ON THE PROPOSED NUCLEAR PROJECT IN KILIFI COUNTY.

My name is Paul Mwangi, I write as a resident and voter of Kilifi County on behalf of many silent but deeply worried citizens who have watched plans for a nuclear installation unfold with minimal transparency, shallow consultations, and escalating fear. We emphatically state:

1. No licence, ground-breaking, or binding agreement must proceed until every resident of Kilifi has had a meaningful chance to understand, question, and either endorse or reject the project.

2. The Constitution of Kenya (Articles 10, 35, 42, 69, and 174) guarantees public participation, access to information, and environmental protection. The cursory forums held so far violated both the spirit and the letter of these provisions as well as the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act and the County Governments Act. Notices were late, few venues, languages limited, and crucial documents unavailable.

3. The risks are existential. Accidents, sabotage, terrorism, waste storage failure, or geopolitical conflict could devastate Kilifi’s people, tourism, agriculture, and marine ecosystems in seconds. Current global tensions—including the Iran-Israel conflict—demonstrate how nuclear technology can escalate into mass destruction.

4. Kilifi residents stand to shoulder the dangers while outsiders pocket the profits. If government insists on pursuing this path, it must first put in place a legally binding benefit-sharing framework that guarantees local jobs, infrastructure, health facilities, scholarships, and an emergency preparedness system designed with our input and funded for the plant’s entire life-span and decommissioning period.

5. Viable alternatives exist. Kenya enjoys abundant wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal resources that entail far lower safety, security, and waste-management costs. A transparent comparative analysis must be released before nuclear energy is even considered.

OUR DEMANDS:

A. IMMEDIATE MORATORIUM. 

- Suspend all negotiations, feasibility studies, land acquisition, and regulatory approvals until the following steps are satisfied.

B. COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 
   • Conduct ward-level forums in all Kilifi constituencies, with adequate notice (minimum 30 days), materials translated into Kiswahili and local languages, and independent experts present to answer questions in plain language. 
   • Livestream and record each session; archive the recordings publicly. 
   • Allow written, oral, and online submissions over a 90-day window.

C. FULL DISCLOSURE 
   • Publish the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), feasibility studies, financial model, investor identities, and proposed waste-management and decommissioning plans. 
   • Clarify land tenure implications for fishermen, farmers, and indigenous communities.

D. INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT 
   • Establish a community-driven oversight committee that includes religious leaders, women, youth, elders, and civil society representatives, with decision-making power—not mere observatory status. 
   • Engage accredited international nuclear-safety agencies to conduct peer reviews that are publicly released.

E. EQUITABLE BENEFIT-SHARING 
   • Legislate compensation, revenue-sharing, health-insurance coverage, local procurement quotas, and a disaster-response fund accessible to every affected family. 
   • Sign a County-level memorandum of understanding co-signed by Governor Gideon Mung’aro.

F. ALTERNATIVES ASSESSMENT 
   • Commission an independent, publicly reviewed study comparing nuclear with renewable energy pathways in cost, safety, and climate resilience.

G. LEGAL AND MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY 
   • Any leader who sidelines or suppresses the people’s voice betrays their oath of office. I remind you that the “voice of the people is the voice of God.” 
   • Should these demands be ignored, I will crosscut all villages in Kilifi county to remind them that they do reserve the constitutional right to pursue peaceful demonstrations, litigation, and other lawful measures to protect our lives and environment.

Leaders who keep silent out of fear of losing positions, bribes, or favours must choose—now—between private gain and public trust. History will judge our actions today.

I am not an enemy of development; Am a defender of life, health, and the democratic principles that bind this nation together. Do the right thing: listen to Kilifi, consult Kilifi, and act only with Kilifi’s freely given, informed consent.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Mwangi.
Magarini Constituency.
Kilifi County.