President Uhuru Kenyatta's spirited legacy campaign on Wednesday suffered a huge blow following withdrawal of African Development Bank from Lamu Coal project.
The ADB, a major financial partner with African governments, had pledged to assist Jubilee administration in construction of the project.
The Abidjan based bank was intending to assist Kenya to produce 1050 megawatts of energy, a dream that has now come to a sad end.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina told Reuters at a conference in South Africa on Wednesday the bank took environmental concerns seriously and was focusing on renewable energy, adding that coal projects risked becoming “stranded assets” on the AfDB’s balance sheet.
Wale Shonibare, AfDB’s acting vice president for energy, said the bank “did not move forward with the Lamu Coal transaction and had no plans to do so in the future”.
In June this year, an Environmental and Lands court temporarily halted plans for construction of the coal plant, citing cases of non compliance by NEMA.
Campaign group deCOALonize had taken NEMA to court, saying it had not taken note of the adverse effects the project would have on farmlands and the local fishing industry.
"We welcome this decision because it shows that communities cannot be taken for granted," Omar Elmawi, DeCOALize campaign coordinator, had told the BBC.
The latest development is a blow to Uhuru, given that he's also struggling to finish the Standard Gauge Railway, which is likely to stall in Naivasha after China cancelled plan to lend the country more money.
Uhuru's goverment has often been accused of over borrowing, with the country's debt hitting Sh6 trillion. He inherited only Sh1.3 trillion from Mwai Kibaki in 2013.