It is a grassroot organization formed in 2009, with the aim of saving Lamu which was on the verge of sinking as a result of developing projects coming to the region, in 2011 the umbrella organization was registered comprising of over 40 local organizations in Lamu, years later the deCOALonize movement was formed in 2016 spearheading the coal campaign at the national level, the decoalonise initiative extended its wings to Kitui County in Mwingi, the proposed region for coal mine, after the government of Kenya introduced its plan to construct the first ever coal power plant at Kwasasi in Lamu County.
Case study launch in Lamu
In 2016, Save Lamu and Kwasasi mvunjeni group with support from Accountability counsel and Natural Justice filed a case against the proposed Lamu coal power plant, in 2019 Amu Power license was revoked by National Environmental Tribunal, the journey was full of thorns cutting all sides, leading to Save Lamu the environment organization facing so many challenges including forceful arrest of few of the organizations members, office ransack, tagged as anti-development by the government, lack of political goodwill, backlash from the community among many others.
On 10th December 2024, in commemoration of Human Rights Day, we launched our case study, siting remarkable story of our collective actions to protect our land, waters and cultural heritage from a proposed coal plant, for a decade and counting now, Save Lamu with support from AJWS, Accountability Counsel, Heinrich Boll foundation, Natural Justice, Katiba Institute fought to prevent a project that threatened the environment and the way of life of the people of Lamu.
Mohamed Athman, Robi Chacha and Raya Famau
By documenting this journey, we hope to inform and empower communities worldwide facing similar challenges, and find possible ways to address their concerns to relevant authorities.
Case study English version
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17dGcEf1Nkz_uFDIvFy3UxpDgsVETl-a8/view?usp=drive_link
Case study Kiswahili version
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W3kkEiXMltFJtFbnDYhdcef_hFnEE_f4/view?usp=drive_link
Case study Video Documentary