Democracy work: Community's push for regulatory compliance

This case study describes the efforts of Natural Justice and the community-based organization Vision of Hope to address environmental and public health violations caused by a slaughterhouse in Isiolo town, Kenya. By utilizing access to information requests and formal complaints based on the Environmental Management and Coordination Act and the Public Health Act, the group successfully pressured the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and the Isiolo county public health office to issue a closure notice to the facility in July 2017.

• A slaughterhouse in Isiolo town caused significant environmental and health issues for approximately 1,000 residents in neighborhoods including Camp Odha, Camp Bule, and Camp Garba. The facility was characterized by open drains clogged with "bowel waste, blood and meat on the floor" and a "pool of sewage waste in the nearby lagoon", resulting in a strong stench that lowered property values.
• Investigations by Natural Justice and Vision of Hope revealed that the slaughterhouse was in violation of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA). Access to information requests to the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) established that the facility "did not have an environmental license" and had not undergone required environmental audits.
• The community filed a complaint with the Isiolo county public health office, arguing that the odor was a "public nuisance" and a violation of section 118 of the Public Health Act. They requested an abatement notice based on the office's mandate under section 116 of the Public Health Act to maintain the district in a "clean and sanitary condition".
• Following seven months of lobbying, a public health officer inspected the site and a closure notice was issued to the slaughterhouse in July, shortly before Kenya's general election. While the slaughterhouse later reopened, the intervention demonstrated that regulatory institutions could be used to hold businesses and government accountable.

APA

Abraham, D. (2017). Democracy work: Community's push for regulatory compliance. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/democracy-work-communitys-push-regulatory-compliance/

Chicago

Abraham, Dalle. Democracy work: Community's push for regulatory compliance. Natural Justice, 2017. https://naturaljustice.org/democracy-work-communitys-push-regulatory-compliance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abraham |first1=Dalle |title=Democracy work: Community's push for regulatory compliance |publisher=Natural Justice |date=10 November 2017 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/democracy-work-communitys-push-regulatory-compliance/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abraham2017democracy, author = {Abraham, Dalle}, title = {{Democracy work: Community's push for regulatory compliance}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/democracy-work-communitys-push-regulatory-compliance/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }