Controversial Mombasa lead factory catches fire

Firefighters tackle the blaze at the Kenya Metal Refinery in Mombasa County on Thursday. The cause of the fire has not yet been established. [Photo:Kelvin Karani/Standard]

The controversial lead factory suspected to have poisoned close to 3,000 residents of Owino Uhuru slums in Mombasa over several years caught fire on Thursday evening.

Fire fighters battled for hours to put out the fierce inferno that gutted a section of the Kenya Metal Refinery associated with a local politician.

Medical and environmental protection experts had determined earlier this year that thousands of local residents, including former factory employees, ingested lethal levels or doses of lead through inhalation or other effluents from the plant.

Traces of lead were traced in soils around the plant and reports show some women miscarried and children died after the alleged exposure.

The fire outbreak has sparked conspiracy theories over its cause as the police had opened a criminal investigation of the factory following the expose by KTN and The Standard newspapers mid this year.

In August, about 3,000 residents resolved to sue the state and its standards and protection agencies for failing in their duties of monitoring lead emissions and effluent.

They demanded Sh1.6 billion in compensation saying their lives have been ruined or affected adversely by the poisoning.

According to documents seen by The Standard on Saturday, the politician is one of the directors of the defunct Kenya Metal Refinery listed as the respondent but he has in the past denied this and exonerated himself from blame.

The fire is believed to have started at a go-down where batteries are kept inside the factory. The fire gutted property believed to be worth more than Sh40 million sending plumes of dark, pungent smoke over the slums for hours.

“We don’t know what could have triggered the explosion but I have been told that a group of people were seen throwing something from behind the factory,” said Erastus Kimenye, the general manager.

 As the hungry flames licked away parts of the factory, terrified residents fled the area. Workers claimed some residents surged towards the factory demanding the closure of the plant that has continued to operate despite its controversial history.

Several explosions were heard from the factory but it is unclear if anyone was hurt.

Kongewea and Kazandani MCAs Jabess Mudhai Oduor and Mohammed Ndanda asked residents to remain calm as authorities investigate the cause of the inferno.