Before the judgment came, there were years of travel, frustration, and waiting. Members of Save Lamu remember court sessions postponed without warning, days spent on the road, and the weight of being told that opposing the construction of a coal plant meant opposing progress. They were called dreamers and obstructionists. Yet they kept showing up—not because it was easy, but because they knew what was at stake.
Lamu sits on Kenya’s northern coast, part of a chain of islands where fishing dhows still trace routes carved by centuries of Swahili trade. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2003, home to mangroves, coral reefs, and communities whose lives are bound to the sea. When plans emerged in 2015 for a 1,050-megawatt coal-fired power plant—the first in East Africa—residents understood the scale of the threat. The project, proposed by Amu Power Company and backed by foreign and domestic investors, promised to create jobs and cheap energy. But it also meant dredging coastlines, displacing families, and covering the ancient town in soot.
The community’s resistance began quietly: conversations under palm trees, letters to local authorities, peaceful processions in Lamu and Nairobi, meetings in schoolyards. Fisherfolk spoke of their dwindling catches. Mothers worried about ash falling on the sea, which serves as one of the main economic backbones in Lamu and beyond. Religious leaders warned that the project would destroy sacred land. Out of this growing concern came a wave of organizing — elders, youth, women leaders, and environmental defenders coming together to form Save Lamu, a coalition built deliberately to make their voices count.
“The hardest part was the long, exhausting journey to justice,” Khadija Shekuwe, Save Lamu’s coordinator, recalled. “For years, we traveled from Lamu to Malindi or Nairobi for court sessions, often at great cost—only to find hearings postponed. It was financially and emotionally draining. But what kept us going was our love for Lamu—for our marine resources, our land, and our people.”
Save Lamu reached out to lawyers, scientists, and advocacy groups. Together, they examined the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and discovered what the community had suspected: public participation was inadequate, cleaner energy alternatives were ignored, and mitigation plans fell short of Kenya’s constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment.
In 2019, the National Environment Tribunal (NET) agreed, ruling that the EIA license issued to Amu Power was invalid. The decision stunned observers who had assumed the project was unstoppable. But Amu Power appealed—and the case moved to the Malindi Environment and Land Court.
Six years later, in 2025, justice was finally delivered. The court upheld the NET decision, confirming that the process leading to the license had been unlawful. It affirmed that public participation is not a procedural step to be checked off but a constitutional safeguard that ensures development serves the people, not the other way around.
“This judgment is a powerful affirmation of justice for the people of Lamu,” said Somo Mohamed Somo, chairman of Save Lamu. “It means our voices have finally been heard and respected. Development cannot come at the expense of people’s health, heritage, and environment.”
For the people of Lamu, this victory is deeply personal. It is about fisherfolk who refused to surrender their ocean, farmers who defended their soil, and young organizers who turned information into action. It is about communities learning the law, using it, and reshaping it to serve justice.
“This victory belongs to the people of Lamu,” Somo Mohamed said. “For over a decade, we stood together through intimidation, fatigue, and countless delays. Seeing the court finally affirm that our environment, culture, and livelihoods matter is deeply emotional.”
The judgment’s implications reach far beyond just Lamu County. Across Africa, communities are facing extractive projects, mines, pipelines, and plants that promise development while deepening inequality. Lamu’s win signals that another path is possible: one where citizens engage with the state as rights holders, not as afterthoughts. It reinforces the constitutional principles that define modern environmental governance—participation, accountability, and the precautionary approach—and sets a precedent for people-centered climate action across the region.
The struggle also reshaped the community itself. Over time, legal empowerment became part of everyday life. Save Lamu held public education sessions about environmental law, trained youth to monitor policy, and invited journalists to document the process. They learned that advocacy could be both legal and cultural, that defending the land also meant defending identity.
Today, the organization continues to push for renewable energy alternatives and for development models rooted in consent and sustainability. “It feels incredible, a mix of relief, pride, and deep gratitude,” the community shared. “This victory shows that when we are united, we can protect what matters most.”
The coal plant may be finished, but its legacy endures in a community that resisted fossil fuels and destructive development and has embraced renewable energy. Their journey illustrates what legal empowerment looks like: law in the hands of people who refuse to be silent.
For the Legal Empowerment Fund, this story embodies a core truth: when communities have the tools to understand, use, and influence the law, they can shift the balance of power. Lamu’s residents did more than stop a coal plant. They redefined what justice means—not an outcome delivered from above, but a practice built from the ground up.
About Save Lamu
Save Lamu is a coalition of community networks and local organizations in Kenya that works with 40 other local organizations working under the Save Lamu umbrella. It advocates for sustainable, inclusive and responsible development to preserve the environmental, social and cultural integrity of Lamu and promote community participation in decision-making processes.
This story was produced by the Legal Empowerment Fund in collaboration with Save Lamu.
