This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
On July 17, 2020, the Environment Court awarded Ksh 1.3 billion compensation to 3000 victims of lead poisoning from Owino Uhuru slums in Changamwe Mombasa.
Phyllis Omido, Executive Director of the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA), who was a victim of lead poisoning by a battery manufacturing factory TRC Ltd, said the four-year court battle led to the ruling by Justice Anne Omollo in Mombasa.
Omido explained that residents have been suffering from the effects of the poisonous substance since 2009, when four children tested positive after investigations.
She claimed that water and soil samples tested positive for lead after people started complaining of health complications, with some showing visible symptoms of the poison according to medical reports.
Omido appealed to the Government to team up with the people, compensate victims, and buy medications.
According to the court ruling, the company has 120 days to clean up the environment or risk paying an additional Ksh 700 million to the locals to carry out the cleaning.
Omido said if the payment is made, each of the victims will receive Ksh 17 million, which will help them purchase drugs and cater for long-lasting remedies from the effects of the poison.
Several families have been affected by the lead poisoning, including Jackson Wanyama, who lost two children, and Stephen Okelo, who lost his six-year-old son in 2016.
Irene Akinyi, who tested positive for lead in 2009, is ailing and frequents the hospital with a swollen neck and fevers.
