Sakaja’s top officials face contempt of court charges over Parklands constructions
The court has found Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo guilty of court contempt for allowing the development to continue on land in City Park Drive Parklands, despite a court order compelling the county to stop the development on the suit property pending determination of the case.
The ruling was issued by Environment and Land Court Justice Oscar Angote on January 25, following an application that had been filed by David Alfred Njeru and Titus Gitonga on June 2023.
The case had been filed in 2022 against the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and 13 others.
“The petitioners’ application dated 14 June 2023 therefore succeeds as follows: Patrick Analo Akivaga (County Secretary, Nairobi City County Government) (for 1st Respondent), Stephen Gathuita Mwangi (3rd Respondent), Richard Mumo (5th Respondent), Fredrick Ochanda (6th Respondent), Stella Nyamu (Secretary, Sustainable Development Solutions Limited) (for 2nd Interested Party), Ali Ibrahim Hamamed (3rd Interested Party), Yusuf Asker Mohamed (Director and shareholder, Ameey Homes Limited) (for 4th Interested Party), Arch. Salim Komora (5th Interested Party), Eng. Wilson Lepartobiko (6th Interested Party) and Burach Koch (Koch Construction Limited) (for 7th Interested Party) be and are hereby found and held guilty for refusing, failing or neglecting to obey the Court’s orders given on 25th May 2023,” Justice ruled.
Mr Analo has been mentioned in the case as a respondent to the former NMS Director General Lt. General Mohamed Badi.
Also, the County Executive Committee Member in charge of Built Environment and Urban Planning Mr Stephen Mwangi has been found guilty, as well as seven other respondents.
The judge ruled that save for Badi, other officers in the mentioned case are still holding senior positions in the county after the transfer of four functions to the Nairobi County Government following the expiry of the NMS contract in September 2022.
CEC Mwangi opposed the petition, stating that on June 21, 2023, they visited they made a visit at the construction site and confirmed that the constriction was stopped and that no construction was ongoing as alleged by the petitioner.
However, the petitioner, through an affidavit sworn by Elvis Muthoka dated June 13, 2023, revealed that construction activities were ongoing on the said property.
“He annexed photographs of himself affixing the notice and another photograph with the notice in the background, which also shows construction workers on site…the petitioner has included an affidavit of one Abednego Chacha, who undertook an evidence-gathering exercise by taking down notes and photographs, which were compiled into a report that the petitioners have presented,” court statement reads.
Also read: 30 people arrested in counterfeit seeds crackdown
Section 29 of the Environment and Land Court Act reads that any person who refuses, fails or neglects to obey an order or direction of the Court given under this Act, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.
The people mentioned have been asked to appear in person before the court for mitigation and sentencing.
Harambee Sacco and Cooperative Society Limited, Sustainable Development Solutions Limited, Ali Ibrahim, Ameey Homes Limited, Salim Komora, Wilson Lepartobiko and Koch Construction Limited are interested parties in the case.
Last month, the Court of Appeal found Mr Analo and Kariobangi South MCA Robert Mbatia guilty of disobeying court orders.
The two were found guilty of disobeying the initial orders restraining them from evicting the family from their Buruburu land and proceeding with the development.
“Robert Mbatia and the person or persons occupying the office of the County Secretary, County Government of Nairobi between 14th April 2023 and 16th June 2023 are guilty of disobeying the order of this court made on 14th April 2023 in Civil Application No. E422 of 2022 George Ngacha Njiri and 5 others vs County Government of Nairobi, Robert Mbatia,” the court papers read.