Abstract:
Disproportionate dumping of toxic waste or exposure to diffe rent environmental hazards, particularly in areas predominantly inhabited by poor or marginaliz ed communities, including populati ons in the informal se ttlements (slums), has beco me the commonest form of environmental injustices in many developing countries. Low-income co mmunities in Kenya bear the brunt of environmental injustice, particularly from co rporate bodies. Despite the fact that the poor bear little responsi bili ty, they su ffer disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards, with serious implications on liv es and livelihoods. Most often, media and activism have been conceived theoretically as having an intrinsic and somewhat sy mbiotic relati onship. Each relies on the other for stories and publicity. In many developed countries, the media plays a si gnificant role in exposi ng rogue industries perpetrating corporate environmental crime. This is, however, unco mmon in Kenya and many other African countries. Often, Kenyan media is preoccupied with violent crime and politics, and the role of exposi ng environmental injustices has been left to a few environmental activists. The case of Phyllis Omido, an environmental activist from Kenya, who highlighted the plig ht of Owino Uhuru sl um dwellers in Mombasa, afte r years of lead poisoning and numerous adverse health effects on the residents, serves as a good example. While Omido’s efforts in fighting environmental injustices, got international recognition, review of literature, reveals a dearth of scholarly work on roles women activists’ and media in fighti ng ever increasing cases of environmental injustices in Kenya. This paper, therefore, explores the case of Owino Uhuru lead poisoning, highlig hti ng the implications of co rporate environmental crimes on the society, roles of women in environmental activism, as well as the place of media and the Internet in environmental activism in Kenya
