NAIROBI, Kenya — A Kenyan High Court delivered a significant ruling Thursday, allowing a major class action lawsuit against oil giant BP to move forward over claims of environmental contamination dating back decades.
Nearly 300 residents filed the legal action in February through the Land and Environment Court in Isiolo, claiming BP’s oil exploration activities resulted in widespread toxic contamination that poisoned drinking water supplies across northern Kenya.
According to the legal filing, the contamination included dangerous radioactive substances that infiltrated groundwater systems, leading to illness and death among hundreds of local residents and their livestock.
“During operations at the sites, hazardous and toxic contaminants were improperly disposed, discharged and released into the environment,” the petition states.
The controversial drilling operations took place during the 1980s under Amoco Corporation, which BP purchased in 1998. During that era, Amoco conducted unsuccessful drilling attempts at multiple locations near Kargi and Kalacha communities within the Chalbi Desert region of northern Kenya.
The legal complaint claims that over 500 people residing close to the drilling locations succumbed to cancer and related diseases after consuming water tainted with dangerous heavy metals and cancer-causing substances. Legal documents identify specific pollutants including radium isotopes, arsenic, lead and nitrates that were allegedly placed in unprotected disposal sites or abandoned in the open.
The lawsuit additionally targets several Kenyan government departments and agencies overseeing environmental protection, water resources, mining operations and public health, accusing them of inaction despite clear evidence of environmental damage.
Court proceedings are set to continue in May.
BP has remained silent on the matter and did not provide a response to requests for comment.
