Another prominent eco-activist killed

Kenyan environmental activist Joanna Stutchbury has been shot dead while campaigning against developers encroaching on the Kiambu Forest near Nairobi. Friends said she had stopped her car to clear branches blocking her driveway and was shot several times. No arrests have been made. Neighbours found her body in the car with the engine running and valuables still in the vehicle, suggesting the attack was not a robbery. For many years, Stutchbury had spoken out against land invaders and private developers who had encroached on the forest. One of five perennial tributaries of the Nairobi River, is located in the forest. The tributaries form the Nairobi Water Basin and are a critical source of freshwater for the Thwake Dam, 200km away. The Daily Maverick reports that the forest is located on the outskirts of Nairobi, where property prices have soared in recent years. ‘Her murder is really awful,’ said Dr Paula Kahumbu, CEO of WildlifeDirect, a conservation NGO. ‘The conservation fraternity is very shaken. It’s devastating.’ Stutchbury is not the only eco-activist to be killed in Kenya. Joan Roots, Esmond Bradley-Martin and Joy Adamson were killed for defending the environment and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai was assaulted and jailed for her defence of another forest near Nairobi.

Joanna Stutchbury profile

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