Phyllis Omido
Phyllis Omido in 2014
Born
Phyllis Indiatsi Omido

c. 1978
Kidinye Village, Vihiga County
Western Province, Kenya
NationalityKenyan
EducationUniversity of Nairobi
Organization(s)Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA)
Chief campaigner and founder
Known forOrganizing protests against a lead smelting plant
ChildrenKingdavid Jeremiah Indiatsi[1]
Awards2015 Goldman Environmental Prize

Phyllis Omido (born Phyllis Indiatsi Omido c. 1978),[2] dubbed the "East African Erin Brockovich", is a Kenyan environmental activist. She was one of 6 people to be awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015.[3] She is known for organizing protests against a lead smelting plant located in the middle of Owino Uhuru, a slum near Mombasa. The plant was causing lead poisoning by raising the lead content in the environment, killing residents, in particular children, and harming others, including her own child. The plant was ultimately closed.[4]

She is the founder of the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA).[2]

Personal life

Phyllis Omido was born in Kidinye Village, Vihiga County, to Margaret Omido and Alfred Omido. She has two brothers and a sister. Her eldest brother is George Mukutu. Omido's sister is named Susan Monyani Kasuki. Her youngest brother is Silas Enane.

Omido is a single,devoted mother of two children named Kingdavid Jeremiah Indiatsi[5] and Margaret Esma Ehwa[6] She studied Business Administration at the University of Nairobi and worked in industries in Kenya for more than 15 years.[7]

Activism

Organization against the smelting plant

The plant started operations in 2009 in Owino Uhuru. It salvaged the lead from old car batteries. The result of the process was lead fumes which were released into the environment. Also, acid wastewater was not treated and was released into streams used by residents to bathe.

While working there as a community liaison officer, Omido commissioned an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The findings showed that the plant was releasing lead into the environment. As community relations officer, she made a recommendation that the smelter close and reopen elsewhere. Her superiors disagreed and reassigned her, bringing in a different consultant to finish the EIA.

Shortly after she started working at the smelter, Omido's baby became ill. She rushed him to hospital. They initially thought it was typhoid or malaria, but it was determined to be lead poisoning. She concluded that it must have been from the smelter. She selected three, random children and gave them blood tests. Each had levels of lead that were above the safe level according to the standards set by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She then quit her job and began her campaign to close the plant.

In 2012, Omido, along with her son, was accosted by armed men outside her home but managed to escape.

After getting no results from company leaders and government officials to close the plant, she organized a demonstration. She was arrested along with 16 other members of CJGEA while lobbying against toxic waste. The CJGEA offices were raided and police confiscated documents and computers. After spending a night in jail, she was charged with "inciting violence" and illegal gathering. After a lengthy court battle, a judge dismissed the case under section 210. The magistrate stated that she had acted within the law.

She then started to get help from Human Rights Watch and other groups. She met with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxic waste. This prompted the Kenyan Senate to come to the plant to assess the claims. The plant was finally closed in January 2014.[8]

Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action

In 2009, Omido founded The Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA). Registered in Kilifi County and based in Mombasa, the organization was established to address environmental issues faced by the settlements near Kenya's industrial areas. In doing so, CJGEA has also become involved in addressing other issues, such as governance, policy change, and human rights. Programmes that the organization provides are climate change and environmental governance, activism and human rights, legal aid, and education.

CJGEA partnered with Human Rights Watch in the creation of a film on the poisoning of communities with toxic materials. It will focus on the death and health issues, as well as impunity and disregard for the environment and rule of law committed by the offenders. The film was launched on June 24, 2014 to coincide with the first UN Assembly on environment held in Nairobi.[9]

Recent work

In February 2013, representing CJGEA, Omido attended a United Nations Environment Programme consultation forum on human rights and the environment, sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program.

In 2013 Omido represented Kenya's HRDs at Risk in Dublin, Ireland.

In 2014 she went to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the Universal Rights Group Consultative Forum for Environmental Human Rights Defenders.

From September 5 to 7, 2014, she attended the 3rd United Nations Institute for Training and Research-Yale Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

On September 23, 2014, she was present at KIOS, the Finnish international human rights seminar.

She continues lobbying government. In 2014, three toxic waste smelters in poor, urban settlements were relocated to other parts of Mombasa.

In 2021, she was included in the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[10]

Awards

Omido was one of six recipients of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize. The award is the largest in the world for grassroots activists whose cause is the environment. She received a trophy along with prize money of US$175,000 or 5.7 million Kenya Shillings.[11]

Omido was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[12]

Other accolades she has garnered during her activism years are:

Year Award
2018 Mombasa County Environment Champion
2018 Italian Bar Association Woman of courage and Honorary member of the Bar
2020 Ethecon Blue Planet Award.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "The mother who defied threats to take on the factory spewing out toxin". The Independent. 4 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Philip. "Kenya's Phyllis Omido bags Goldman Environmental Prize". philsinfo.com.
  3. ↑ Pearce, Fred (20 April 2015). "'East African Erin Brockovich' wins prize for closing polluting lead smelter". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Meet Phyllis Omido: Kenya's 'Erin Brokovich'". The Burton Wire. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Single Mom Who Shut Down a Toxic Plant Readies for Round Two: Making Them Pay". TakePart. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. ↑ NATION, AFRICA (22 February 2019). "Mother stages protest outside Mombasa hospital over 'huge' bill-Kenya". nation.africa. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Miss Phyllis Omido". centerforjgea.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sahara Tribune » Kenyan environmental activist Phyllis Omido wins the prestigious Goldman prize". Sahara Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. ↑ HumanRightsWatch (23 June 2014), Kenya: Factory Poisons Community, archived from the original on 1 June 2015, retrieved 23 November 2017
  10. ↑ Calma, Justine (15 September 2021). "These climate stars are among the world's most 'influential' people". The Verge. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "Activist to sue factory over Owino Uhuru lead poisoning". Daily Nation. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  13. ↑ Cece, Siago; Atieno, Winnie (24 September 2020). "Kenya: Fight to Expose Lead Poisoning Pays Off for Whistle-Blower". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
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