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Governors sued over lakeside land
Fishermen in Lake Victoria. The High Court in Kisumu on Monday certified as urgent an application seeking to bar three people from building houses on land close to Lake Victoria. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
- Resident wants order barring officials from developing their Lake Victoria plots, citing environment fears
The High Court in Kisumu on Monday certified as urgent an application seeking to bar two governors and a senior civil servant from building houses on land close to Lake Victoria.
Justice Anthony Kaniaru of the Environment and Lands Court granted Mr Michael Nyaguti’s application for a certificate of urgency in a case where he has sued five people.
Mr Nyaguti, a member of the Magnam Environmental Network, a community-based organisation, has sued as a pauper.
The first three respondents are Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, his Nairobi counterpart Evans Kidero and the environment secretary in the ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Dr Alice Kaudia. He has sued them in their individual capacities.
According to Mr Nyaguti, Mr Ranguma owns two parcels of land in Korando region, while Dr Kidero owns seven in the same area. Dr Kaudia owns two parcels in the Kogony region.
Mr Nyaguti wants the court to give a permanent injunction barring the three from building on the plots, saying, this would be detrimental to the area, a lake wetland.
He says they have fenced the plots beyond their boundaries, encroaching into the Lake Victoria wetlands.
The other two respondents are Nema director, Prof Geoffrey Wahungu and Mr Richard Lesiyampe, the principal secretary in the ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
The judge directed that the parties be served ahead of an inter-parties’ hearing on July 23.
Mr Nyaguti is not new to such suits.
He has sued the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP II) alleging that it violated laid down procedures when selecting organisations to disburse funds to.
He, however, lost the case when Kisumu judge Aggrey Muchelule dismissed the suit, saying, it was a lesser evil to let the projects go on than issue an injunction against them.
