The Defenders Coalition strongly condemns the continued arrest, detention, and judicial harassment of environmental human rights defender James Odhiambo Lawi and community members opposing the proposed nuclear power plant in Siaya County.
Mr. Lawi was summoned by the Bondo Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on 30 July 2026 regarding a peaceful community procession opposing the proposed nuclear plant. Mr. Lawi presented himself to the DCI, where officers immediately arrested him and placed him in police custody.
On 31 July 2026, the State arraigned Mr. Lawi at the Bondo Law Courts on terrorism charges. Although the Court granted bond subject to a KES 180,000 surety posted by family or friends, his sureties are unable to satisfy this condition. Consequently, Mr. Lawi remains remanded at Siaya Prisons, where his health is rapidly deteriorating as a direct result of the continuous denial of necessary and regular medical care.
The Defenders Coalition is concerned with the persecution of Mr Lawi and reiterates that raising concerns about environmental, health, and human rights impacts of development projects is a constitutional right. It is neither a crime nor an act of terrorism.
The use of miscellaneous court applications to justify prolonged detention without charge violates the right to liberty and constitutes punishment before trial. Furthermore, unreasonable bail and bond terms create insurmountable barriers to release, effectively transforming pre-trial liberty into continued detention. These stringent conditions disproportionately target grassroots defenders who lack financial means.
Pre-trial detention must never be weaponized to silence environmental defenders or intimidate communities exercising their constitutional freedoms.
The Defenders Coalition calls on the relevant authorities to:
1. Provide James Odhiambo Lawi with immediate access to adequate medical care and release him from unnecessary detention.
2. End the criminalization of environmental human rights defenders and withdraw all unfounded terrorism-related allegations aimed at suppressing civic action.
3. Respect the fundamental freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and public participation.
4. Promote judicial fairness by setting balanced pre-trial release conditions that uphold constitutional rights for all citizens.