How child's illness inspired woman to fight for lead poisoning victims

It was a case of David versus Goliath for the woman who led Mombasa’s Owino Uhuru slums’ lead poison victims in a 10-year battle against State agencies and tycoons. 

The state had unlimited resources, but Phyllis Omido, an environmental activist, was driven by love and a dream of justice for her children, and other victims of lead poison.

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court ELC awarded Sh1.3 billion for hundreds of victims of lead poisoning and Sh700 million for the restoration of their land.

Omido now says the win was out of sheer determination. At some point, the residents of Owino Uhuru doubted if the fight will bear fruit. But she soldiered on.

In the last two years, state agencies and forces linked to the lead-acid battery recycling factory also unleashed threats on Omido.

Before she launched the war against the factory, Omido worked as an administration manager at the Metal Refinery company. 

The company was built near the Owino-Uhuru slums in 2006 on land linked to former Nyali MP Awiti Bollo but later closed down over a protest by residents that led to one death.

Keeping silent

The factory was situated in the middle of the slum occupied by over 5,000 residents. The slum was contaminated through effluents and emissions from the factory.

Omido said that in 2018 she realized something was wrong with the company, and approached her employer to raise her fears that the business was threatening the lives of the locals.

The 46-year-old mother of two, a son and daughter, was instructed to shut up or she will be dismissed for propagating rumours that could injure the image of the factory.

However, it was in 2010 after her two-year-old son fell ill. Despite multiple tests and treatment in the best hospitals, the boy’s condition continued to worsen. Later the boy tested for lead poisoning.

It was not clear why the boy’s blood contained high levels of lead, but medical experts told Omido that he may have ingested it from breast milk. She resigned from her job out of shock and frustration.

“I was employed as an administration manager for about four months or so and then my son started to become critically ill and after several tests, he was found to be suffering from lead poisoning. I resigned and began to enlighten other workers and the community,” says Omido.

Omido told the high court in Mombasa that immediately after quitting her job, she tested three more children and all of them tested positive for lead poisoning.

Arrested for protesting

Her attempts to write letters and share findings with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the Ministry of Public Health, and the County Government of Mombasa failed to prompt action.

With aid from friends, she tested three children—Daniel Basil, Catherine Auma, and Moses Odhiambo—from the slums, confirming her fears that her employer was the source of the poison.

When the first worker, “Karissa,” died and others became critically ill, she organised protests to force government action, but to no avail.

“I was arrested in 2012 for leading protests and charged with illegal gathering and incitement. That’s when we registered the Centre for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA) to run the *Tuna Sauti* campaign as a legal platform,” Omido recalls.

After numerous pleas to the Senate, National Assembly, and other agencies, NEMA was forced to investigate lead levels in the slums. The report revealed severe lead contamination and called for urgent restorative action. In some areas, lead levels in soil and water were 16,000% above acceptable limits.

Court records reveal that Linet Nabwire died in childbirth after enduring three miscarriages caused by lead poisoning. Her son’s blood also contained dangerously high levels of lead.

“The medical report showed over 238 micrograms per decilitre of lead in her blood—a lethal level. If we had known earlier, her life might have been saved,” Omido testified.

Despite protests, the refinery operated until 2015, when the East African Community banned lead exports, forcing its closure.

“The national and county governments were negligent, allowing the refinery to operate without an environmental impact study and disregarding the suffering of Owino Uhuru residents,” Omido says.

Angeline Aloo, whose 13-year-old daughter was poisoned, praised Omido: “We were suffering in silence until she fought for us, even when hope seemed lost.”

Omido now champions justice and environmental protection through the Kenya Anti-Nuclear Alliance, opposing risky projects in vital ecosystems.