- Four petitioners have moved to court seeking orders preserving the Aberdare National Park pending hearing and determination of the suit.
- In the documents filed at the Nairobi Environment and Land Court, they also sought orders stopping the continuation of the planned construction or any other activity concerning the Mau-Mau LOT 4: Ihithe-Ndunyu Njeru road.
Image: FILE
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) continues to face hurdles in the plan to build a 52km tarmac road through the Aberdare National Park and Forest.
Four petitioners have moved to court seeking orders preserving the Aberdare National Park pending hearing and determination of the suit.
In the documents filed at the Nairobi Environment and Land Court, they also sought orders stopping the continuation of the planned construction or any other activity concerning the Mau-Mau LOT 4: Ihithe-Ndunyu Njeru road.
Through their lawyers, the East Africa Wildlife Society, Kenya Forest Working Group, Africa Centre for Peace and Human Rights, and Lempaa Suyianka argued that if the road is built as planned, it will have irreversible environmental, economic, and cultural impacts on the Aberdare.
They also submitted that the construction would put at risk rare, endemic and critically endangered animals and plants found in the area including the Mountain Bongo.
The court was informed that Aberdare Mountain is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites as one of the most impressive landscapes of Eastern Africa with great scenic beauty.
Further, they argued it would harm the right to a clean and healthy environment and lead to the endangering of the lives of millions of people, livestock and wildlife dependent on the Aberdare for water.
"For example, Nairobi City County which gets 80 percent of its water from the Aberdare through Ndakaini and Sasumua dams could suffer acute water scarcity," the petition dated March 22, reads in part.
The petitioners argued that the road construction starkly neglects due consideration of five alternative routes, which they say, each offers a significantly diminished environmental footprints and cost implications.
The alternative routes are also said to offer adherence to imperatives such as adaptive management, wildlife corridors, climate resilience, preservation of cultural heritage, and necessitating fewer mitigation measures.
They noted that the road construction will contravene pivotal legal obligations at the international, regional, and municipal levels.
These, they said, encompass the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Protocol concerning Protected Areas and Wild Fauna and Flora in the Eastern African Region, the Constitution of Kenya 2010, and the Wildlife Management and Conservation Act.
The court was also told that the road is inconsistent with the approved land use for the area it traverses; a Wilderness Activities Zone suitable for ecotourism and research only.
Certifying the matter as urgent, the petitioners requested that the court be pleased to decide whether the risk of extinction of at least four species in the Aberdare and other issues in the case are substantial questions of law.
They prayed that the same be certified for hearing by a bench of five or seven judges appointed by the Chief Justice.
KENHA is sued alongside Kenya Water Towers Agency, Norken International Limited and the National Environment Management Authority.
Rejoined as interested parties are the Law Society of Kenya, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service.
The petition was placed before Lady Justice Amollo, on March 26, who noted that the matter falls within the geographical jurisdiction of Nyeri ELC, not Nairobi.
"Thus, the petition is hereby transferred for hearing and determination in Nyeri ELC. It is hereby ordered that the matter be served for direction and be placed before Justice Olola on April 3, 2024," Justice Amollo ordered.