Residents of Owino Uhuru stricken by deadly effects of lead poisoning

Seated under a mango tree, mothers in the sprawling slum of Owino Uhuru in Jomvu, Mombasa, chat in hushed tones, occasionally gazing at the children playing in the compound of a nearby school.

One of them, Rukia Hamisi, describes in detail the slum’s toxic and foul underbelly, highlighting the alarming levels of lead present in their children’s blood. “It is terrifying,” she says.

According to court papers, at least 30 people have died in the last eight years from the effects of lead poisoning. Residents believe the number could be higher.

In December 2018, Hamisi’s son, Yusuf, died from complications linked to high lead levels. The eight-year-old boy was one of 18 children diagnosed with dangerously high lead levels in their blood.

Like the other children affected, Yusuf sought help at Port Reitz Hospital, but there was no cure. Medics recommended that he take at least one packet of milk every day.

“The former county officials promised us free milk because most of us could not afford it. But they never fulfilled that promise,” said Rose Munni, another mother whose son, Ferguson Kimathi, is also affected by lead poisoning.

Munni is also struggling with the effects of the lead poisoning. Her blood showed the 11th highest concentration of lead, at 76.8 µg/dL. Her son, 13-year-old Kimathi, has signs of dementia and cognitive problems.

“His education has been a struggle because he forgets things very quickly,” said Munni, a food vendor along the yard wall where the lead-acid battery recycling factory once operated.

Hamisi and the other mothers know that the extreme poverty in Owino Uhuru, combined with stigma and misinformation about lead poisoning, has only fueled the spread of the poisoning and the deaths of their children and husbands.

The painful memory of Hamisi’s son’s death is overshadowed by what happened afterward. “We were called, as we boarded the ferry, and told not to take the body to our home in Kwale,” she said.

“Our family members in Tsimba Kwale think lead poisoning is infectious. We’ve been banished from the village and forced to bury my son outside this rented hut,” said Yusuf’s father, Hamis Salim.

Salim, the chair of the parents of children affected by lead poisoning in the area, said that a 17-year-old girl in the community has lost her sight, a 14-year-old boy is battling cerebral palsy, and others suffer from chest and abdominal pains.

According to hospital records, the children diagnosed with high lead levels are aged between 14 and 17 years. These children were born between 2007 and 2010, during the peak of operations at the lead-acid battery recycling factory in the area.

Angeline Oseya Aloo said her youngest daughter, 13-year-old Trofasa, was diagnosed with high lead levels on January 14, 2015.

“Painkillers aren’t working for my daughter, who sometimes complains of severe headaches and chest pains. She sat for her Grade Six exams while suffering from a severe headache,” Aloo said.

Oblivious to the danger they face, Trofasa and the other children continue to play in the playground as their parents paint a grim picture of their future.

“Most parents have died from lead-poisoning-related complications. I’m terrified of dying before I can get any compensation to provide my daughter with the best treatment,” said Aloo, fighting back tears.

Owino Uhuru slum shot to global infamy in 2006 after residents and human rights activists protested against a nearby smelting factory, Metal Refinery Ltd, which was emitting lethal lead pollution.

Analysis of the soil and water revealed alarmingly high lead levels in the village — 64,000 mg/kg, and in some areas, 109,000 mg/kg. The Environmental Protection Agency sets the acceptable limit at 400 mg/kg, or 1,000 mg/kg in areas with children.

Medical reports showed that more than 5,000 people in the area were exposed to lead poisoning from the factory’s emissions. Residents say they’ve lost loved ones due to complications related to the poison.

A 2009 report from the chief government chemist showed that three children from the area had blood lead levels exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended threshold of 10 µg/dL.

Twelve-year-old Catherine Auma’s blood had lead levels of 12 µg/dL, while 10-year-old Moses Odhiambo and 9-year-old Daniel Bazil had lead levels of 17 µg/dL and 23 µg/dL, respectively.

Government chemists called these levels life-threatening and advised immediate medical attention, but they did not blame the battery smelting plant for the high levels of the metal.

In Owino Uhuru, children play in highly contaminated sewage. Food vendors along the wall of the defunct factory continue working, unaware of the dangers surrounding them.

Among the residents tested, Irene Akinyi had the highest lead levels in her blood, at 420.0 μg/dL. She was the wife of one of the factory’s employers.

In 2020, the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA) rallied the residents to file a class-action lawsuit in Mombasa seeking compensation. They were awarded Sh1.3 billion.

“We don’t know what’s happening with our compensation case. No one talks to us,” said Jackson Osea, another victim.