PHOTO | FILE One of the Appellate judges Martha Koome, who annulled the award of Sh97 million to Mbeere residents. The other two judges were justices Otieno Odek and Alnashir Visram.
Tarda told the appellate judges that it had compensated those who had been affected by the construction of the hydro dam, saying the claim of Sh100 million was unrealistic
The corporation further submitted that the judge misapprehended the law by holding that Tarda had a duty of producing documents in support of the residents’ case and hence shifting the burden of proof to them
The Court of Appeal has annulled Sh97 million awarded by a lower court to more than 480 residents from Mbeere in Embu County after their parcels of land were compulsorily acquired by the government to construct Masinga Dam.
High Court Judge Joyce Khaminwa had in October 2009 ordered Tana and Athi River Development Authority (Tarda) to pay the lumpsum to the area residents for the unlawful eviction from the trust land by the government in 1976.
