The national government has finally commenced the compensation of thousands of fishermen displaced by the Lamu port.
This comes as a relief for the more than 4,000 fishermen who have been waiting for the money for close to seven years.
In May 2018, the Malindi High Court awarded 4,734 Lamu fishermen a Sh1.76 billion compensation package owing to the adverse effects of dredging for construction of the Lamu port's first three berths at Kililana.
The fishermen had argued that they would no longer be able to carry on with their work due to dredging.
They said their livelihoods would be lost and deserved compensation to enable them to pursue alternative sources of income.
The Lamu port is worth Sh310 billion.
The fishermen's spokesperson Mohamed Somo confirmed that money had been released and disbursed to the beneficiaries.
He affirmed that by Tuesday afternoon, over 1,000 bona fide fishermen had received Sh250,000 in their accounts.
“The money is being released by the Kenya Ports Authority as from Monday June 3. Over 1,000 people have since confirmed to have been paid. The process is still on until the last person is paid,” Somo said.
Though late, the compensation has been welcomed and appreciated by all affected fishermen.
“It’s been long coming. It's been years of being taken in circles, one legal battle after another but we are glad it's finally time. We are grateful to President William Ruto for making it happen,” Somo said.
KPA corporate communication acting manager Jones Buchere also confirmed commencement of the compensation.
He revealed that at least 3,998 out of the 4,734 fisher folks were considered to have met the mandatory requirements by the authority’s finance department.
“I wish to confirm that we have released the cash, which is being channeled directly to the individual bank accounts of the affected people. This follows a rigorous and meticulous verification processes,” Buchere said.
He asked the remaining 736 individuals to be patient as the authority prepares to go back to the ground for their verification.
In April, Lamu Governor Issa Timamy together with the KPA legal team and other officials presided over the signing of the Lapsset compensation agreement, a move that signified the last step that paved the way for the affected fishers to receive the Sh1.76 billion compensation package.
The current disbursement of money to the respective fishermen’s bank accounts is the first phase of the compensation process.
The exercise is in two phases where the first involves cash compensation while the second is payment in kind.
As per the agreement between the KPA and the fishers, the fishermen will receive 65 per cent direct cash compensation with the 35 per cent remainder set aside for the sustainability of Lamu county fishing activities, including the purchase of modern fishing gear and upgrading of local fish landing sites.
According to statistics from the Lapsset Affected Fishermen Beach Management Unit, over 300 bona fide fishers died before receiving the cash.
