This archive report was first published on 10 July 2019.
On May 23, 2019, US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter visited a Malaria Diagnosis center in Kisumu. However, his support for the coal-fired power project in Lamu has sparked controversy.
Climate justice champion Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), has taken exception to McCarter's support for the project, saying the American envoy was not up to speed with the facts on the ground.
According to Mithika, the US envoy's tweets belittled the Kenyan Judiciary, and he questioned America's interest in the Lamu coal project, saying it was suspect that the envoy even appeared to intimidate an independent institution to serve his partisan interest.
“America's interest in the Lamu's coal project” is what Mithika sought to know, adding that President Trump's climate-denial diplomacy was well-known.
It was not clear whether the US Government had approved McCarter's tweets as an official statement of its stand. However, a US State Department official had told Time on July 8 that the US backs an approach that takes into account all forms of energy to support economic growth in the region.
“American companies and investors are ready to partner with Kenya to help them achieve an affordable and reliable power grid, in all forms of energy to support the exponential growth expected in Kenya's prosperous future using whichever source they choose,” the official was quoted as saying.
Alternatives to the coal project that the Government could exploit were highlighted by Mithika, who said Kenyans were not desperate for more power as what was available was not exhausted.
“We have many unexploited options, if the growth of Kenya's economy is the true motivation for such a project. We have agriculture, tourism, art, ports, energy, transport and many other safer economic pillars that would grow this economy without harming a fly,” Mithika said.
He enumerated the other sources: “Out of our total energy, 70 per cent is green. We generate 534MW from geothermal, and will by 2022 be doing 1,119MW. Our total geothermal potential is 10,000MW. We have not exploited wind and solar energy. The 365 turbines in Lake Turkana have a potential of 310MW.”
The National Environment Tribunal gave NEMA and Amu Power, the two respondents in the case, 30 days to appeal after the ruling made on June 26, and which barred the implementation of the project until adequate public participation and a fresh Environmental Impact Assessment were done.
