The government has been asked to protect four environmental human rights defenders in Mombasa. The UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Mr John Knox, said the activists have been assaulted and subjected to death threats. The four went into hiding after filing a law suit against a lead smelter in the county earlier this month...For years, the four have spearheaded calls for investigation into claims of lead poisoning from the battery smelter...In a statement to the government, Knox said the homes of the activists had been razed..."All have been threatened with death. The twelve-year-old son of one of them was kidnapped earlier this week and held for three days before being released and dumped on the road side. All four are now living in hiding," the statement dated February 24, 2017 said. "Phyllis Omido and the other members of the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action are facing a life-or-death situation," said Knox.