Students of Ngara Girls High School have won round one in their legal battle against a private developer over the use of a portion of their land for the Sh7 billion River Estate Project.
The court ruled in the school's favour, suspending further construction on the disputed land.
Judge Mugo Mwangi in his ruling highlighted the potential health risks posed to the students and staff of the school.
He issued a conservatory order, halting any further operations on the site until the petition is heard and determined. In his words, "Public interest will be best served by the issuance of the orders sought."
Accordingly, the judge suspended the operations of Edermann Property Limited on L.R. No. 209/136/239/R pending the hearing and determination of the petition.
The school in their documents before court, explained that on June 10, 2020, they entered into a lease agreement with the Edermann in respect to a part of the disputed land for purposes of temporary stocking of material during the construction stage of the River Estate Project.
The lease was to terminate after 3 years.
"It terminated on 10th June 2023 and was not renewed," state their documents in part.
Despite the termination and non-renewal of the lease, the school claimed that Erdmann continued to illegally occupy and trespass on their property while undertaking construction activities.
Some of the activities included concrete processing, which the school states has and continues to wreak havoc in the form of noise and emission of dust. "This has disrupted the learning activities and affected the rights of the minors and staff at the school," said the school.
They told the judge that the continued activities of Edermann pose a great health hazard for the minors and school staff and constitute a continuing violation of their rights.
The school further alleged that Edermann has deliberately forcibly taken over and detained the playground space of Ngara Girls High School, denying students their rights to play
The Ministry of Education voiced its support for the school's case, urging the court to intervene.
The dockets PS Belio Kipsang swore an affidavit to this effect, saying the activities by the developer had affected teaching and learning at the school owing to the noise pollution and concerns for the health of the learners.
Edermann, however, sought dismissal of the matter, saying it received all lawfully required approvals from Nema.
They explained to the court that they reached out to the school that neighbours their site and entered into a lease agreement for a duration of three years. They had estimated that the project would have been completed within that period.
But according to the court records, the subject portion of the lease was not in use at all by the school at the time of the lease.
And to address environmental concerns, the developer said they erected dustproof nets and installed a recycling plant. They also regularly watered the surroundings.
"The allegations on pollution are there unjustified," they said.
Despite Edermann's defense, Justice Mwangi emphasized that the public interest would be best served by the courts intervention, given the potential health risks to the students and staff of Ngara Girls High School.