STATEMENT OF THE CENTRAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, COMMUNIST PARTY MARXIST KENYA (CPMK)
An Urgent Call for National and International Solidarity to Stop the Bloodshed and State Repression in Central Sakwa
30 July 2026
No democratic society can claim to uphold constitutional governance when peaceful public participation is answered with bullets, mass arrests and terrorism-related investigations. In Central Sakwa, one resident has been killed, seventeen community protesters have been hauled before the courts under terrorism-related investigations, community organisers have reportedly been subjected to persistent surveillance, artisanal miners have faced sustained threats that have driven many from their livelihoods, and residents have recurring night-time police raids that have created a pervasive climate of fear. Taken together with the broader pattern of enforced disappearances and abductions that has become an entrenched feature of state repression, citizens demanding transparency and accountability increasingly find themselves treated as security threats rather than rights-bearing participants in democratic governance. The events unfolding in Central Sakwa are not merely a local dispute over a development project; they represent a profound test of Kenya’s constitutional order, the rule of law and the democratic rights of its people.
The Central Organizing Committee (COC) of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPMK) expresses its full solidarity with the people of Central Sakwa, Bondo Sub-County, Siaya County, who are courageously defending their constitutional rights, their livelihoods and their environment in response to the proposed nuclear power project at Ka’John.
The unfolding events in Central Sakwa are no longer simply a dispute over a development project. They have become a national question concerning democracy, constitutional governance and the relationship between the Kenyan state and the people. They raise fundamental questions about whether development will be pursued through transparency, meaningful public participation and respect for the Constitution, or through coercion, criminalisation and the excessive use of state power.
The Right to Participate Is Not a Crime
The Constitution of Kenya guarantees every citizen the right to participate in public affairs, to access information, to assemble peacefully, to express opinions freely and to enjoy a clean and healthy environment. These rights are not concessions from the state; they are constitutional guarantees that bind every public institution.
The people of Central Sakwa have exercised these rights by attending public meetings, submitting objections, organising peacefully and demanding access to information concerning a project that could fundamentally alter their lives and environment.
No community should be punished for insisting that the Constitution be respected.
We Condemn State Repression
One Resident Killed, Seventeen Community Protesters Hauled Before Court Under Terrorism-Related Investigations
The Central Organizing Committee condemns the escalating use of state force against the people of Central Sakwa. The reported killing of one resident during the protests, the shooting of David Otieno Mboya with live ammunition, and the subsequent arrest of seventeen community members represent a deeply disturbing escalation in the state’s response to a community exercising its constitutional rights.
We are equally alarmed that the seventeen protesters were brought before the Bondo Law Courts after the prosecution sought their continued detention while investigating possible terrorism-related offences. Although the court rejected that application and released the accused on bond, the use of terrorism-related investigative powers against citizens protesting a public development project raises serious constitutional, legal and democratic concerns.
The criminalisation of community mobilisation, combined with reports of surveillance, intimidation and ongoing investigations targeting organisers, risks creating a climate of fear designed to suppress legitimate public participation rather than facilitate it.
The Central Organizing Committee demands an independent and impartial investigation into the reported killing, the shooting of David Otieno Mboya, the circumstances surrounding the arrests, and the legal basis upon which terrorism-related investigative powers were invoked. Those responsible for any unlawful use of force must be held accountable in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Development Must Be Accountable to the People
CPMK supports scientific and technological advancement that serves the interests of the people. However, no development project, regardless of its stated objectives, can be insulated from democratic scrutiny.
Communities whose land, livelihoods and environment are directly affected have the right to receive complete and accurate information, to participate meaningfully in decision-making and to hold public institutions accountable.
We therefore welcome the decision by the Friends of Siaya Anti Nuclear Plant (FSANP) to invoke Article 35 of the Constitution and the Access to Information Act by formally requesting disclosure of project documentation. Public institutions should respond fully and within the timelines prescribed by law.
Questions That Demand Public Answers
The available facts give rise to several legitimate questions that require transparent answers from the relevant authorities.
Why was the proposed site relocated from the coast to Central Sakwa, and what technical, environmental and socio-economic criteria informed that decision.
Have all Strategic Environmental and Social Assessments and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments been completed and made available for independent public scrutiny?
What is the exact extent of land proposed for acquisition, and what compensation and resettlement framework has been prepared for affected residents?
What hydrological, geological and seismic studies informed the selection of a site within the Lake Victoria Basin?
What emergency preparedness and nuclear safety plans have been developed?
What consultations have taken place with communities whose livelihoods depend upon Lake Victoria and with neighbouring East African states regarding any potential transboundary implications?
What legal and evidentiary basis justified investigating peaceful protesters under possible terrorism-related offences?
These are not partisan questions. They are questions of public accountability that deserve evidence-based answers.
Our Position
The Central Organizing Committee affirms that the events in Central Sakwa demonstrate the dangers of substituting coercion for democratic engagement. Public confidence in any major national project cannot be secured through secrecy, intimidation or excessive force. It must be built through openness, accountability and genuine participation.
The rights of affected communities are not obstacles to development. They are indispensable conditions for legitimate and sustainable development.
Our Call
The Central Organizing Committee calls upon:
The Government of Kenya to ensure that all actions relating to the proposed project comply fully with the Constitution and the law;
The Nuclear Power and Energy Agency to disclose all outstanding project documentation and engage openly with affected communities.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority to investigate the reported killing, the shooting of David Otieno Mboya and the policing of public assemblies at Ka’John;
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to monitor and report on the human rights implications of the ongoing developments;
Parliament and the County Government of Siaya to exercise effective democratic oversight over the project;
Progressive political parties, trade unions, environmental justice organisations, professional associations, faith communities, youth and women’s organisations to stand in solidarity with the people of Central Sakwa; and
The international community, including regional and international human rights and environmental bodies, to closely monitor developments and support the constitutional rights of affected communities.
Solidarity with the People
The struggle of the people of Central Sakwa is part of the broader struggle to ensure that the future of Kenya is shaped through democratic participation rather than imposed upon the people.
The Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Central Sakwa. We shall continue to support every lawful effort to defend constitutional rights, protect livelihoods, safeguard the environment and uphold the democratic principle that the people must be active participants—not passive subjects—in decisions that shape their future.
The people have the right to know.
The people have the right to participate.
The people have the right to be heard.
Issued by the Central Organizing Committee
Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPMK)