A sharp rise in cancer cases across North Eastern Kenya has raised alarm among local leaders, who are linking the disturbing trend to suspected toxic nuclear waste dumping in rural areas. Garissa Governor Nathif Jama told Parliament that 650 cancer cases have already been reported in 2025, bringing the total number of reported cases to 2,437 since 2023.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Environment on Tuesday, Nathif accused unnamed actors of exposing remote communities to hazardous substances, warning that the region is silently suffering from the effects of buried toxins.

He called for urgent investigations to establish the source of the waste and hold those responsible accountable.

“We hope that this time the committee will conduct proper investigations to bring out the truth. It will be a shame if this matter is not carried out with the speed that is required,” Governor Nathif said.

He detailed that the region recorded 440 cancer cases in 2023, 1,347 in 2024, and 650 by mid-2025.

Throat cancer is currently the most common, and most cases are being detected in sparsely populated rural areas, which has heightened fears of long-term environmental contamination.

Wajir South MP Mohammed Adow supported the Governor’s statement and said there was credible information pointing to nuclear waste having been buried in the region using metal shipping containers.

He said the revelations were based on accounts from locals who worked on the sites during the dumping operations.

“When you talk to eyewitnesses, people who worked for these companies that were doing the dumping, they will tell you that they were made to dig from Monday to Friday. The material was housed in metal containers like the ones you use to ship. They were buried deep in the ground,” Adow said.

The MP added that investigations alone were not enough and demanded that the region be cleaned and the hazardous waste removed.

“What we have in the North Eastern regions, in places such as Marsabit, is a crime. People need to be given confidence that those in authority are responsible enough to refuse the irresponsibility done in those past years,” he said.

The latest concerns follow long-standing claims that toxic material was deliberately dumped in the region during past administrations.

In 2024, former Cabinet Minister Cyrus Jirongo reignited the debate when he alleged that the dumping had been sanctioned under the late President Daniel Arap Moi’s government.

During an interview with lawyer PLO Lumumba, Jirongo said a politically connected lawyer showed him official documents that exposed the operation.

According to Jirongo, the Ministry of Energy had misled the public by claiming it was conducting oil exploration, while in fact, the area was being used to bury toxic waste.

"Mzee, I have information that people in the Ministry of Energy are cheating Kenyans by saying that they are looking for oil, but it is toxic waste that is being dumped in North Eastern and around that area," he said.

Jirongo recalled that after confronting Moi about the matter, the president became furious and issued threats, demanding to know where Jirongo had sourced the documents.

"I've never been in trouble like that, because I was asked, Where did you get the documents from?" he said.

"He was ranting loudly; his security had thought I was fighting him," Jirongo recounted, describing how Moi’s security stormed the meeting between them, fearing a physical confrontation.

Afterward, Jirongo said Moi warned him never to discuss the issue again.

The claims have for years strained relations between local leaders and successive governments, with growing demands for environmental justice, accountability, and medical support for affected communities.