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Wind power firm regrets shooting to death of teen
Daily Nation
Macharia Mwangi
26 February 2015
The company putting up a wind-power plant in Nyandarua has expressed its regrets over the death of a teenager following protests over the implementation of the Sh13 billion project.
In Summary
- Mr Wakaba dispelled fears that the project was a health hazard, saying they had adopted “world accepted standards,” when coming up with the project.
- Meanwhile, a family whose land the firm will set up a turbine has claimed that they had not been party to the talks, despite being among those affected by the project.
The company putting up a wind-power plant in Nyandarua has expressed its regrets over the death of a teenager following protests over the implementation of the Sh13 billion project.
Kinangop Wind Park chief Executive officer James Wakaba termed the shooting as regrettable adding that they were monitoring the situation and would make their position clear after today’s meeting between the local leaders.
The teenager was reportedly shot as protesters stormed Magumu Police Post in an attempt to free nine of their colleagues who were arrested on Tuesday morning by the police on incitement charges.
Mr Wakaba said it was “in the company’s best interest” to undertake the project in a peaceful atmosphere, devoid of any protests by the community and the Persons affected by the Project.
“After the meeting by the local politicians and the community representatives we will advise the investor accordingly,” said the CEO.
He said the firm had carried out a comprehensive sensitisation campaign and addressed major concerns by the public, before deciding to go ahead with the implementation programme.
HEALTH HAZARD
Mr Wakaba dispelled fears that the project was a health hazard, saying they had adopted “world accepted standards,” when coming up with the project.
“The fears expressed by the residents are unwarranted. This is the cleanest form of energy,” he added.
Meanwhile, a family whose land the firm will set up a turbine on has claimed that they had not been party to the talks, despite being among those affected by the project.
“One of the turbines is set to be erected on our farm, but we have never been approached by anyone,” claimed the family members.
The family called for thorough vetting of all claimants alleging that some of those listed as affected persons were actually “masqueraders” adding that it had delayed compensation of all affected persons.
Daily Nation
Hmmmm …. where to start?
Why not start with the criminal charges arising from the wind power outfit’s efforts to “save the planet”?
Where the farming family whose land was filched, says: “One of the turbines is set to be erected on our farm, but we have never been approached by anyone,” STT thinks that’s a “slam dunk” case of property theft.
Given that the local police were, in all probability, paid by the wind power outfit concerned to arrest those nine pesky protesters in the first place, it’s a fair call to suggest that their arrests and detention, were also unlawful.
Then there’s the small matter of murder.
It’s not the first time that wind power outfits have resorted to a bit of good old-fashioned “BIFFO” in answer to legitimate community opposition to their plans to carpet the world in giant fans.
Oh, no. Wind power outfits have belted protesters in Taiwan (see our posts here and here) – and been responsible for the murders of dozens in South America.
Spanish wind power outfit, Unión Fenosa was responsible for the persecution and assassination of community leaders in Guatemala and Colombia.
In Guatemala, eight social leaders who demanded the expulsion of the transnational corporation have been murdered since October of 2009, four of them in March of 2010, according to FOE. Australian Green Left Weekly reports in 2010 dozens of social leaders had been shot and eight killed in the struggle between Union Fenosa and communities in the west of Guatemala. On October 24, Victor Galvez was shot 32 times as he left his office, where he was meeting with neighbours whose electricity supply had been cut off by one of Union Fenosa’s subsidiaries (see our post here).
But, in the Kenyan wind farm killing fields, it’s nice to know that the wind power outfit’s spin master at least had the grace to “regret” the shooting of someone, with a clearly justified grievance over its plans to steal local property, destroy a fragile environment and spear a fleet of blade-chucking, pyrotechnic, sonic-torture devices devices into the heart of an agriculturally productive, thriving little Kenyan community (for a clearer view, click on the photo below).
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Unlawful homicide tends to put the ordinary degree of wind industry malice and malfeasance in the shade, however.
You know, matters such as the “comprehensive sensitisation campaign”, engaged in here, directed at erasing local community “concerns”: read “lying, dissembling, bullying, bribing” and otherwise engaging in a form of thuggery, engineered by external forces (see this paper), not seen in Africa since the Belgians were “winning” hearts and minds in the Congo, during its bloody efforts at colonial control.
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The irony in the spin master’s statement that: “The fears expressed by the residents are unwarranted. This is the cleanest form of energy” is, as usual, lost on the spinner.
Most sane people tend to fear the barrel of a gun; and the statement about this being “the cleanest form of energy” is one that can only ignore the bloody mess that followed the murder of an innocent teenage boy.
STOP THESE THINGS 
This is a link to a Kenyan paper where a couple of people have referred to the mindset of Kenyan farmers leading to this killing – greed and envy being behind it.
http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/farmer-shot-dead-several-injured-day-two-kinangop-wind-park-protests
We have made this comment to the paper:
We find many of these comments very interesting. As you see by our title, we are anti windpower; many of us have studied the subject long and hard and we find it wanting. By and large it’s ineffective; it’s divisive within communities; it represents a danger to wildlife but, above all, it impacts upon people across the world; their amenity in one form or another; their health in many cases to the point where people have had to move from their homes.
It’s true that those of us outside Kenya know nothing about the country, its farmers; its legislation; its planning policies and so some of the remarks about the farmers’ behaviours might be correct; we simply don’t know and are not prepared to comment on what we don’t know or understand; only on what we do.
What we do know is that there is, prima facie, striking similarity between Kenya and any other country in the world, as reported at least, in the way in which those with jurisdiction over land marginalise their neighbours in the matter of wind turbines.
How incredibly stupid (and of course ideology driven) to think that wind turbines that, by sheer quantity, will need constant maintenance will survive for long in Africa. Africa that can’t even maintain simple roads and other infrastructure.
Reblogged this on ajmarciniak.
How can this industry stand there and continue to ignore local people, no matter where we live we all should be able to be heard and our concerns listened to and acted on.
The same lies are used around the world, and no, no-one has been shot here, but damage has been done by the refusal of the industry to accept they are responsible for damaging peoples health.
We also know that those with the power to stop it have instead changed rules and regulations to suit the industry, we know the industry’s powerful lobbyists have worn out shoe leather and carpet as they move around Houses of Parliament and PM’s Party Offices. We know they have wined and dined those they believe will ensure their industry prospers at the cost of our lives and livelihoods.
Can we see any difference to how they behave here and in Africa, or anywhere else?
They turn a blind eye to the use of force and guns, to the death of locals just to make a buck..
Does anybody know the name of the boy who was shot and killed? See above article…thanks
Mr Wakaba, what a lying grub, fans built to world standards, the world standards he is talking about are not worth a pinch of salt. They call it saving the planet, I call it destroying the planet and destroying peoples lives. It looks like the cops over there are just as big a grubs as well. Goverments never learn either.
http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/Kinangop-power-project-conflict/-/1107872/2635236/-/mk75oh/-/index.html