This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
Published on November 18, 2019, a dispute over the site of a proposed sewerage treatment plant for Meru town has been referred to the Environment Disputes Tribunal.
The Environment and Land Court in Meru pushed the five-year-old case to the tribunal, citing the Environment Management and Coordination Act (EMCA), 1999, which states that technical matters should be the first port of call for arbitration.
The project, worth Sh1 billion, was initially proposed by the Tana Water Services Board and the Meru County Government in 2014.
Residents, led by Charles Kariuki, chairman of the Rwanyange Residents Self-Help Group, and Nick Mutiga, an official, had gone to court to stop the construction of the plant, citing environmental concerns and lack of public participation.
They argued that the project would pollute a nearby swamp and River Kanyaritha, contaminating the water used by communities in North Imenti for domestic purposes and irrigation.
Justice Lucy Mbugua issued orders stopping the project in July last year, giving the respondents three weeks to produce a licence from the National Environment and Management Authority (Nema) or lose the case.
However, the respondents produced the licence, and the judge marked the petition as concluded, quashing all earlier orders.
She ordered the Meru County Government, Tana Water Services Board, and two contractors – Hankuk Engineering, and Ecosite Development Consultants – to pay costs of the suit for not having a Nema licence when the matter was filed.
