The Unwavering Faith of Bora Imani: Lessons from Environmental Injustices

The document details how quarrying by H-Young for the Malindi-Lamu road project in Kilifi County, Kenya, exacerbated water scarcity and health risks for the Bora Imani community, despite promises of poverty alleviation. While interventions by Natural Justice led to temporary remedies from NEMA and the Public Health Office, the company's eventual decommissioning of the site in February 2023 left the community struggling with water scarcity. The case emphasizes the need for sustainable environmental remedies, robust decommissioning plans, and climate-sensitive Environmental Impact Assessments.

• Quarrying activities by H-Young in the ADU ward of Magarini Sub County caused significant environmental and health harms, including the destruction of the community's main water pan through the accumulation of "sand and debris", and the contamination of remaining water sources due to a lack of sanitary facilities, which led to "cases of cholera".
• The Bora Imani community faced compounded vulnerabilities due to the intersection of industrial activity and climate-related shocks, specifically severe drought conditions in Kilifi County between 2016 and 2017 that left the area prone to "food insecurity, water shortages, and other climate-related shocks".
• Administrative interventions by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the Public Health Office provided only temporary relief, such as a water bowser truck delivered "every Tuesday and Thursday", which became unreliable during the COVID-19 pandemic and ceased entirely after H-Young decommissioned the quarry in February 2023.
• The case highlights four systemic lessons for future projects: the importance of community awareness of legal rights, the need for sustainable remedies that do not rely solely on the project proponent, the requirement for proper restoration plans during decommissioning to address "open pits, fencing, and aesthetic degradation", and the need for Environmental Impact Assessments to better incorporate "adaptive and mitigative measures to combat climate change’s effects".

APA

Muiruri, S. (2023). The Unwavering Faith of Bora Imani: Lessons from Environmental Injustices. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/the-unwavering-faith-of-bora-imani-lessons-from-environmental-injustices/

Chicago

Muiruri, Salome. The Unwavering Faith of Bora Imani: Lessons from Environmental Injustices. Natural Justice, 2023. https://naturaljustice.org/the-unwavering-faith-of-bora-imani-lessons-from-environmental-injustices/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Muiruri |first1=Salome |title=The Unwavering Faith of Bora Imani: Lessons from Environmental Injustices |publisher=Natural Justice |date=19 June 2023 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/the-unwavering-faith-of-bora-imani-lessons-from-environmental-injustices/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{muiruri2023unwavering, author = {Muiruri, Salome}, title = {{The Unwavering Faith of Bora Imani: Lessons from Environmental Injustices}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/the-unwavering-faith-of-bora-imani-lessons-from-environmental-injustices/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }