Colonialism Continues From Oil To Cancer In Kenya / Nelly Madegwa

This episode of *This Is Hell!* confronts the enduring legacy of colonialism through the lens of environmental and human devastation caused by U.S. oil extraction in Kenya. Journalist Nellie Madegwa, co-author of *The Intercept*’s investigative report "Where There Is Salt," details how the American oil company Amoco (now BP) drilled for oil in the remote Karji region of northern Kenya during the 1980s, leaving behind toxic waste—mistaken by locals for salt—that contaminated water sources and led to soaring rates of esophageal and stomach cancer. Despite the community’s suffering, the company abandoned the site without cleanup, and the Kenyan government has failed to enforce accountability. The episode explores how the lack of transparency, inadequate testing, and systemic neglect have enabled this crisis to persist for decades. Madegwa emphasizes that the people of Karji, who are pastoralists and deeply connected to their land, are now facing an existential threat to their way of life, with no access to clean water and limited medical care. The conversation also touches on the broader pattern of multinational corporations exploiting vulnerable communities, the failure of governments to protect constitutional rights, and the global indifference to such injustices—highlighting how colonialism continues not through direct rule, but through extractive capitalism and environmental violence. The episode further examines the psychological and cultural impact of this crisis, including how locals initially interpreted the cancer as divine punishment due to a lack of understanding about the real causes. It critiques the slow pace of justice, with a 2020 lawsuit still pending, and the political blame-shifting between governments. The hosts also reflect on the broader implications: how consumer culture in the West enables this exploitation, how media attention is fleeting, and how the global public remains complicit through ignorance. The episode concludes with a powerful call to recognize the full lifecycle of resources—from extraction to disposal—and to see the connections between fossil fuel dependency, environmental racism, and the ongoing colonial project. The takeaway is clear: true sustainability and justice require confronting the hidden costs of consumption and holding corporations and governments accountable for their destructive legacies.