Raid on human rights training organised by the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action (CJGEA) for the Uyombo Community.
On 21 September 2023, a training on the environment and human rights that was organised by the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action (CJGEA) for the Uyombo Community, was disrupted by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Matsangoni.
The Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action (CJGEA) is a grassroots environmental justice organisation which mainstreams a human rights-based approach towards environmental protection of marginalized and ignored communities found around extractive industries and highly hazardous sites.
On 21 September 2023, a training on the environment and human rights that was organised by the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action (CJGEA) for the Uyombo Community, was disrupted by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Matsangoni.
The Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action (CJGEA) is a grassroots environmental justice organisation which mainstreams a human rights-based approach towards environmental protection of marginalized and ignored communities found around extractive industries and highly hazardous sites.
On 21 September 2023, a training on the environment and human rights, organised by the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action (CJGEA) for the Uyombo community was disrupted by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Matsangoni. Uyombo is a seaside community in Matsangoni, Kilifi County, that has been designated to host Kenya's first nuclear reactor. CJGEA decided to organise a human rights training for the benefit of the Uyombo community to inform them on energy policies, nuclear power, how to protect themselves from potential harm, and the extent to which risks to their welfare outweigh the benefits from the nuclear reactor. The objective of this training was also to raise awareness surrounding the need to preserve a clean and healthy environment by highlighting the environmental damage that can result from uranium mining, and to explain the communities’ human rights in this regard.
While on her way to the training venue, the CJGEA executive director was informed that the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Matsangoni had interrupted the meeting with a contingent of fully armed police officers. Upon their arrival, these officers forcefully dispersed the training. They removed the chairs, the equipment to be used for the public address, and the projector from the venue. They have also specified that CJGEA is required to obtain a permit from them in order to conduct any human rights training activities in Uyombo in the future.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern for the safety of environmental human rights defenders, for members of CJGEA, namely in relation to the disruption of their training, and for all those who peacefully defend the rights of the community. Member of CJGEA have, in the past, also been subjected to police raids. Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the intimidation and harassment of these environmental human rights defenders, which it believes is intended to hinder their valuable and peaceful work in defence of environmental and land rights in Kenya.
