Kenyan journalist Argwings Odera was arrested and tortured last month for his attempt to report on protests against the Sondu-Miriu Dam being built on a river that drains into Lake Victoria. Locals and environmentalists, including the Africa Water Network, say land for the hydro project has been taken without fair compensation and the dam will devastate the local ecosystem. The project has received significant support from Japan, but funding for the second phase of construction was been put on hold last month after the Japanese parliament learned of human rights abuses at the project site. Odera has been accused of inciting protests and resisting arrest. He endured a broken finger and a bullet in his arm, and is now out on bail. He says the police are demanding that he compensate them for the rounds of ammunition fired at his car when he was in it.
