The Kenyans taking on multinational chemical companies
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Welcome to the documentary podcast from the BBC World Service.
The question is, do Africans, do Kenyans deserve a clean and healthy environment and clean food as Europeans do, as Americans do? That is a question that we are posed and our answer is to the affirmative, yes.
Outside the law courts in Nairobi, TV cameras are huddled around an activist and a lawyer.
Thousands of Kenyans have been affected by the use of these pesticides. And what we see is really shocking.
It's a striking scene. They're both dressed in suits and they're passionately addressing the cameras. And behind them is a group of farmers, men and women. There's about 20 now, I would say, farm workers and their families all gathered around. Some of them, I have to say, don't look very well. I know there's a lot of cancer patients here and I know they've travelled a really long way to be here today. They're here because today this court in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is hearing a case about the use of chemicals in farming. It's brought by a young lawyer against the Kenyan government and several multinational chemical companies. This is Assignment on the BBC World Service. I'm Josephine Casserly, and in this edition, I'll be following this unprecedented case.
It's November 2025 when I'm in Nairobi for the latest in a series of court dates. When I arrive at the courthouse, Kelvin Kubai, the young Kenyan lawyer who's the architect of this case, is running late. So we're just rushing through security and Kelvin is trying to get his tie on. So hopefully we're not running too late. I take a seat on the front row of the court. It's a large echoey room that feels kind of like a school assembly hall. The front two rows are full of activists, lawyers and media. Then behind us are several rows of plastic chairs where the farm workers who file in quietly take a seat. At the front of the room is a wooden table where Kelvin sat with his laptop in front of him. It's connecting him by video call to the judge and the lawyers for the defendants.
I believe this microphone is off. My lady, can you not hear me?
Today, they're discussing whether Kelvin and his team can go out into communities to find people who they believe have been affected by agrochemicals. And for them to potentially join this case, making it akin to a class action. Outside, I meet Priska. She's a nurse who's been at the heart of this case. She's in her mid-50s and has a shaved head and is wearing a bright pink blazer and large gold earrings. It's her who's accompanied many of these farm workers to the court. Did it feel like a success in there today?
Yes, it's not going badly. So now they can be officially processed? Yes, now they can officially be processed and they will be enjoined in the case.
OK.
It's a victory for Prisca and the lawyers. But this is only the start. The farm workers at the court today have a whole host of health issues. And we don't know if they're actually linked to agrochemicals. Lawyer Kelvin and his team are arguing that hazardous chemicals, such as pesticides and herbicides, are used in large volumes in Kenyan farming. These products kill insects and weeds, and they make farming, which is one of Kenya's key industries, more productive. But those bringing the case say that they're having a catastrophic effect on the health of many in this region. Some of the chemicals used here have been linked to cancer, Parkinson's disease and infertility, though the evidence is often disputed.
According to data from 2020, 44% of pesticides used in Kenya are banned in the EU. The quest to find proof of the impact of these chemicals is going to be far from straightforward.
What legal case is being brought against the Kenyan government and multinationals?
And this mission starts immediately. The next day, I go with Prisca to the part of the country where she grew up. We drive three hours north of Nairobi to a region that's called the food basket of Kenya because it's the country's agricultural engine. Produce grown here not only feeds Kenya, but is exported to Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere in Africa.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–5:06
2
What legal case is being brought against the Kenyan government and multinationals?
5:06–10:46
3
Who are the activists and lawyers leading the pesticide lawsuit in Nairobi?
10:46–22:58
4
Why are farmers and health workers alleging pesticides are harming communities?
22:58–28:25
5
What is the agricultural landscape in Timau and how are chemicals used there?
28:25–29:02