Liz McDaid, and Makoma Lekalakala of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (ELA JHB) are winners of the world’s leading “Goldman Environmental Prize”.
Liz and Makoma have been recognised for their leadership in the struggle against an unlawful nuclear energy deal in South Africa. They were the sole signatories of a successful legal challenge against the plan for South Africa to buy up to 10 nuclear power stations from Russia at an estimated cost of 1tn rand ($76bn). They faced down Vladimir Putin and the country’s recently deposed leader, Jacob Zuma, to overturn the multibillion-dollar nuclear deal.
After a five-year legal battle, a high court outlawed the deal last April and accepted the plaintiffs’ claims that it had been arranged without proper consultation with parliament.
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