Phyllis Omido is the founder of the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA), an organization that advocates for environmental justice and human rights in industrial areas, offering programs in legal aid, education, environmental governance, and climate change.
Thanks to her human rights work, 17 toxic sites have been closed across Kenya. She has consulted the United Nations, resulting in a resolution on lead-acid battery recycling in Africa, and has built a network of 120 grassroots land and environmental defenders across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
In 2014 she won a court case against the smelter exposing people to dangerous chemicals in Owino Uhuru that lead to the definitive closure of the factory and many others that followed.
She is currently spearheading a campaign against Kenya’s plan to develop nuclear power in Kilifi, a pristine oceanside district known for its coral reefs, fishing villages and rich wildlife.
Read more about her work here