KILIFI, Kenya — Dozens rallied against a proposal to build Kenya's first nuclear power plant in one of the country's top coastal tourist hubs which also houses a forest on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Kilifi County is renowned for its pristine sandy beaches where hotels and beach bars line the 165-mile-long coast and visitors boat and snorkel around coral reefs or bird watch in Arabuko Sokoke forest, a significant natural habitat for the conservation of rare and endangered species, according to the U.N. organization.
The nuclear plant, proposed last year, is set to be built in the town of Kilifi — about 522 kilometers (324 miles) southeast of the capital, Nairobi. Many residents have openly opposed the proposal, worried about what they say are the negative effects of the project on people and the environment, leading to a string of protests which at times turned violent.
The Muslims for Human Rights group (MUHURI) took part in a march Friday in Kilifi to the county governor's office where protesters handed him a petition opposing the construction of the plant.
Some chanted anti-nuclear slogans while others carried placards with ''Sitaki nuclear'', Swahili for ''I don't want nuclear.''
The construction of the 1,000MW nuclear plant is set to begin in 2027 and be operational by 2034, at a cost of 500 billion Kenyan shillings ($3.8 billion).
Francis Auma, a MUHURI activist, told the Associated Press that the negative effects of the nuclear plant outweigh its benefits.
''We say that this project has a lot of negative effects; there will be malformed children born out of this place, fish will die, and our forest Arabuko Sokoke, known to harbor the birds from abroad, will be lost,'' Auma said during Friday's protests.