Erog member Chris Owala [in spects, listening] and chair Rashid Mohamed [in kanzu, whispering] in Mombasa on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO

Environmental rights defenders have raised the alarm over increasing threats against their colleagues, who they say are being intimidated and silenced through trumped-up criminal charges.

This follows the conviction of two environmental rights defenders from Kilifi county last week.

The Environmental Rights Organization (Erog) has condemned the tactics being used to silence rights defenders.

Erog said the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders and the African Commission’s Resolution 196 had both warned that trumped-up criminal charges had become the leading tool for silencing defenders.

Killing attracts attention, but a wildlife possession case does not, the organisation said.

Peter Komora, a rights defender based in Malindi, was convicted on October 29 by the Mariakani Law Court of possessing two elephant tusks and is awaiting sentencing on November 9.

However, he was acquitted on another charge of dealing in wildlife trophies in Kilifi Criminal Case E522 of 2020.

“The court acknowledged his defender work. The officers named were never called (to testify). The bribery allegation remains uninvestigated,” Erog chair Rashid Mohamed said.

“This is a clear case of framing and a classic example of a defender being silenced with trumped-up charges.”

He spoke in Mombasa on Friday during a meeting to mark Erog’s 10th anniversary.

Komora has been instrumental in supporting the Marereni community in defending its land and community rights against exploitation by powerful corporate interests.

In addition to his work on land and community rights, Komora has been involved in efforts to combat wildlife poaching, including through collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

“He took part in a sting operation with KWS aimed at apprehending people involved in poaching. He was then arrested, prosecuted and convicted of a charge of dealing in wildlife trophies (Kilifi Criminal Case E522 of 2020),” Mohamed said.

David Katana, another land and environmental defender, has also been facing criminal charges and has been in remand since 2024.

According to Mohamed, Katana has dedicated himself to cleaning beaches and protecting public access to Kenya’s coastal resources.

He has also played a significant role in mobilising communities to defend public beaches against illegal appropriation and attempts to convert public land into private developments.

A private developer in Kilifi brought charges against Katana, including trespass, after he challenged the developer’s attempt to appropriate public land for a private resort.

“The complainant in his case, E987 of 2024, admits the land dispute. The investigating officer admitted in court that he never visited the scene. The KFS officer who assessed the damage was never called to testify,” Mohamed said.

“We are increasingly concerned that people who protect community rights, public resources and the environment are being arrested, prosecuted and punished for their legitimate work,” the Erog chair said.

Katana has since been found guilty by the in Kilifi Criminal Case E987 of 2024.

Chris Owala, an Erog member who works with Community Initiative Action Group Kenya, said what was happening in Kilifi was not isolated but part of a regional and global crisis.

According to Global Witness, more than 1,900 land and environmental defenders have been killed globally over the past decade, while hundreds more have been criminalised, jailed and threatened.

In 2023/24 alone, more than 196 defenders were killed, most of them while protecting forests, water resources and indigenous land from mining, logging, agribusiness and wildlife trafficking.

According to Global Witness, most of the attacks occur in the Global South, where impunity exceeds 95 per cent.

Owala said defenders in East and Central Africa faced similar patterns of attacks, including criminalisation through false wildlife, forestry and trespass charges, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) brought by investors, enforced disappearances and killings.

“In Kenya, the National Coalition on Human Rights Defenders documented over 50 cases of judicial harassment of land and environmental defenders in the last year alone – from Lamu, Taita Taveta, Turkana, Narok and now Kilifi counties,” Owala said.

He said defenders in Kwale and Lamu counties had been charged with incitement for opposing mining and coal projects.

In Taita, defenders protecting Tsavo National Park had been labelled charcoal barons, Owala said.

Erog chair Mohamed said communities were facing challenges arising from irresponsible investments affecting land tenure rights, particularly in carbon credit projects.

He said the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) had not been respected. As a result, land and environmental rights violations, ranging from pollution to land acquisition without community participation, were widespread.

Mohamed said the Community Land Act, 2016, outlines how land should be acquired and classifies land into three categories: public, communal and private.

“Community land laws must, therefore, be followed as stipulated in the CLA (Community Land Act) 2016,” Mohamed said.

Erog Uganda’s Jennifer Baitwamasa said the organisation stood in solidarity with its convicted colleagues and called for a review of their cases, particularly those of Komora and Katana.

“We will work towards justice. Erog will not stand by as defenders are framed,” Baitwamasa said.

She condemned the use of trumped-up charges to silence defenders through the misuse of forest and wildlife laws.

Baitwamasa called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and KWS to immediately investigate the Sh300,000 extortion allegation raised in one of the two Kilifi defenders’ cases.

“No defender should have to buy justice,” she said.

Baitwamasa also called for greater protection for defenders and their families.

The Erog Uganda member urged human rights organisations, the media and communities to show solidarity by attending Komora’s sentencing on November 9 at the Mariakani Law Courts in Kilifi county.

“A defender who protects elephants, forests and community land is not a criminal. Framing defenders is injustice. We will pursue justice,” Baitwamasa said.