This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
The High Court in Nairobi has intervened in a contentious issue surrounding the Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD). On Wednesday, the court suspended the compulsory use of the Naivasha ICD for goods destined to landlocked EAC countries until a petition filed by rights activist Okiya Omtata is determined.
Omtata argued that the claim that transporting goods from the Mombasa port on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) for clearance at the Naivasha ICD and destined for Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan would help contain COVID-19 is not backed by any scientific study.
According to Omtata, the notice by the Cabinet Secretary (CS) has 'no basis in law' and breaches express provisions of the constitution and national legislation.
Justice Pauline Nyamweya ruled that the leave granted to institute judicial review proceedings would operate as a stay and/or suspension of the notice on transit cargo published by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure on May 22, 2020, pending the hearing and determination of the ex parte applicants' substantive notice of motion or further orders by the court.
