Lockdown in Kilifi County Kenya: What lies on the other side?

This case study by Natural Justice describes the illegal expansion of salt pans by Kurawa Industries Limited in Magarini Sub County, Kilifi County, Kenya. The expansion has caused water salinity that destroyed the coconut crops of a local family, while government agencies and the company have failed to provide licenses, permits, or compensation reports, a situation exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

• Kurawa Industries Limited, a salt producing company in Magarini Sub County, expanded its salt pans from 2017 onwards, which led to the death of coconut cash crops for a neighboring family. This damage was caused by the illegal expansion and poorly constructed dykes that allowed saline water to seep into agriculturally productive land.
• Investigations by Natural Justice indicate that the salt pan expansion was illegal. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) provided a license for a different activity rather than the expansion, and the Department of Physical Planning in Kilifi County confirmed that the company never applied for a permit or submitted drawings and plans for the dykes as required by the Physical Planning Act.
• The company breached a 2014 Environmental Audit that limited salt production to specific salt producing zones. Despite reports of non-compliance sent to the NEMA Director General, the agency did not respond.
• Efforts to secure compensation for the affected family have been stalled. An Agricultural Officer from Magarini Sub County has failed to produce a damage assessment report despite a facilitated site visit, and COVID-19 lockdown measures in Kilifi County have further delayed responses from county departments and limited the family's access to water.

APA

Martens, C. (2020). Lockdown in Kilifi County Kenya: What lies on the other side? Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/lockdown-in-kilifi-county-kenya-what-lies-on-the-other-side/

Chicago

Martens, Claire. Lockdown in Kilifi County Kenya: What lies on the other side? Natural Justice, 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/lockdown-in-kilifi-county-kenya-what-lies-on-the-other-side/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martens |first1=Claire |title=Lockdown in Kilifi County Kenya: What lies on the other side? |publisher=Natural Justice |date=18 May 2020 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/lockdown-in-kilifi-county-kenya-what-lies-on-the-other-side/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martens2020lockdown, author = {Martens, Claire}, title = {{Lockdown in Kilifi County Kenya: What lies on the other side?}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/lockdown-in-kilifi-county-kenya-what-lies-on-the-other-side/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }