Fishermen who will be affected by the Sh38 billion Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone project can continue negotiations with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to arrive at a compromise despite calls for the dissolution of a committee overseeing the process.
The fishermen, through their umbrella body, the Beach Management Unit (BMU), agreed to meet with KPA to resolve the contentious subject of compensation out of court.
They presented a memorandum of agreement to the KPA in an attempt to amicably handle the issues of compensation and claims of discrimination that had emerged.
On Wednesday, Mombasa Environment and Land Court Judge Stephen Kibunja, who is hearing the matter, was informed that negotiations were at an advanced stage.
However, the judge refused to get involved in the details of the current negotiations, instead directing the parties to communicate to the court once it was completed.
“We will not say anything about negotiations, we leave it for the parties to continue. Once they arrive at a settlement, they will be at liberty to communicate it to the court,” said Justice Kibunja.
This comes amid concerns from fishers that powerful persons with ulterior motives are stymying the talks.
They are calling for the dissolution of the special committee tasked with verifying the list of Project Affected Persons, noting the likelihood of a defective process.
The special committee was mandated to lead the negotiations and make recommendations to the KPA on behalf of the fishermen.
Last year, President William Ruto asked for a complete audit of the beneficiaries of Dongo Kundu's land compensation, directing the National Land Commission and KPA to deal with the matter to ensure that only legitimately impacted individuals get funds.
Dr Ruto noticed at the time that the list of project-affected persons contained numerous discrepancies, with non-locals making up the majority of the list.
