British oil giant faces lawsuit over 500 deaths in Kenya

Hazardous waste from 1980s oil exploration in the north of the country was left exposed, poisoning groundwater, petitioners have said

British oil and gas giant BP has been sued in Kenya over claims that toxic waste from oil exploration four decades ago poisoned water sources and caused deaths in the East African country.

The case, filed by 299 petitioners, was allowed to proceed by a Kenyan High Court and centers on exploration work carried out in the 1980s by Amoco Corporation, later acquired by BP, near Kargi and Kalacha in the Chalbi Desert in the country’s north.

The petitioners say waste containing hazardous substances, including radium isotopes, arsenic, lead and nitrates, was dumped in unlined pits or left exposed, according to court documents cited by AP. They allege the contamination poisoned groundwater, sickened residents and livestock, and contributed to more than 500 deaths.

The lawsuit, filed at the Land and Environment Court in Isiolo, also names Kenyan state agencies, accusing them of failing to act despite evidence of contamination.

BP has not publicly responded to the court’s decision. It also declined to comment, AP reported. The ruling does not determine whether the allegations are true, but allows the claims to be heard in full. The case is due back in court in May.

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The lawsuit revives long-running claims tied to Amoco’s search for oil in northern Kenya, where it reportedly drilled several dry wells near Kargi and Kalacha in the Chalbi Desert before BP acquired it in 1998.

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BP has faced major litigation elsewhere, including in South Africa, where its local subsidiary was found guilty in a landmark private prosecution over environmental-law violations linked to building and upgrading filling stations without the required authorizations.

The multinational oil and gas company is not the first Western energy firm to face legal action in Africa. British energy giant Shell, operator of the SPDC joint venture, has been embroiled in multiple lawsuits and compensation claims over oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. French oil major TotalEnergies, which has operated in Nigeria for more than six decades, has also faced criticism from communities and activists over alleged spills, pollution and environmental neglect.

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