Kenya’s 1st nuclear power plant faces opposition from coastal residents

(AFRICA NEWS) – An area has been set aside in Kenya’s southern county of Kilifi for the construction of the country’s first nuclear facility. The project on the coast of the Indian Ocean is expected to be fully operational by 2034. But it has faced fierce opposition.

On Friday (Oct. 11), a group of activists and environmentalists took to the streets. “We say that this project has a lot of negative effects, there will be malformed children born out of this place, fish will die, and our forest Arabuko Sokoke, which is known to harbour birds from abroad, will be lost,” Francis Auma, a human rights activits said.

With an estimated budget of 500 billion Kenyan shillings ($3.9 billion). The plant is expected to generate 1,000 megawatts of power and is part of Kenya’s long-term strategy to reduce its reliance on hydroelectric and fossil fuel energy sources.