Save Lamu & 5 Others -versus National Environmental Management Authority & Another National Environment Tribunal Appeal No. NET 196 of 2016 Summary

The National Environment Tribunal (NET) revoked the EIA licence for Amu Power Company Limited's proposed 1050MW coal plant in Kwasasi, Lamu County. The tribunal found that public participation was "non-existent" during the ESIA study phase and that the process was "procedurally unfair." Key failures included the lack of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the LAPSSET corridor, the omission of critical infrastructure designs (such as a 2,000-acre limestone quarry and conveyor belt), and a failure to account for Kenya's Climate Change Act, 2016. While some air quality and ecological mitigation measures were deemed adequate, the tribunal found the ash-handling plans risky due to tidal flooding and climate change. Consequently, the licence was revoked, requiring the proponent to either restart the ESIA process in accordance with the law or appeal the decision.

• The tribunal determined that public participation during the ESIA study phase was "non-existent" and in violation of the law, noting that the project proponent proceeded to identify impacts and provide mitigation measures in "complete disregard of the people of Lamu and their views."
• The public hearing held on 26 August 2019 was found to be "procedurally unfair and made the process defective" because it occurred before the deadline for public comments had lapsed and devolved into a "popularity contest" rather than a consultative meeting.
• The tribunal concluded that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) should have been conducted on the LAPSSET corridor components, and without one, no meaningful analysis of alternative project locations could be performed.
• The ESIA Study Report contained significant omissions, specifically failing to provide actual designs for a 15 kilometer coal conveyor belt, a coal handling berth, and a 2,000 acre limestone quarry.
• Mitigation measures for the ash yard were deemed inadequate because the site is prone to tidal flooding, a risk the tribunal noted would be "exacerbated by climate change."
• The project failed to account for the Climate Change Act, 2016, in its ESIA Study Report, which the tribunal considered a significant omission given the nature of a coal-fired power plant.
• The tribunal revoked the EIA licence because the conditions set by NEMA were too general and did not reflect the specific mitigation proposals of the respondent, making it impossible to determine if NEMA had performed a proper evaluation.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). Save Lamu & 5 Others -versus National Environmental Management Authority & Another National Environment Tribunal Appeal No. NET 196 of 2016 Summary. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Final-NET-Judgment-summary.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Save Lamu & 5 Others -versus National Environmental Management Authority & Another National Environment Tribunal Appeal No. NET 196 of 2016 Summary. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Final-NET-Judgment-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Save Lamu & 5 Others -versus National Environmental Management Authority & Another National Environment Tribunal Appeal No. NET 196 of 2016 Summary |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Final-NET-Judgment-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendsave, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Save Lamu \& 5 Others -versus National Environmental Management Authority \& Another National Environment Tribunal Appeal No. NET 196 of 2016 Summary}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Final-NET-Judgment-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }