A hotelier has taken the Homa Bay County Government to court over the construction of a fish factory and market, which has allegedly encroached on his parcel of land, blocking the hotel’s view and access to Lake Victoria.
Homa Bay Tourist Hotel says, in a case filed at the Environment and Land Court, that the construction of the fish facility in Kanyada is a manifestation of poor planning, as it has the potential to increase the lakefront zone’s vulnerability and destroy the habitat.
The hotelier said excavation and construction of a fish factory by the county government, right at the shoreline might end up interrupting the natural sedimentary cycle of the shoreline.
“I can authoritatively state that the 1st defendant (county government) construction of a fish market on the plaintiff’s lakefront parcel has the net effect of tampering with the pristine nature of the lake shore and altering the beach not just in terms of the form but also as a result of potential discharges with the high likelihood that the resultant sanitary situation in the fish market may be a threat to the public health and the surrounding environment,” Maxwel Otieno Odongo, managing director of the hotel said in an affidavit filed in court.
Besides, Mr Otieno said the construction of the fish facility has the potential to destroy the hotel business yet he has plans of developing it into a first-class multimillion-shilling holiday resort.
The hotelier said he has sought funding of Sh3 billion to construct a 350-room hotel, intended to give the residents a view of the beautiful scenery of the Lake Victoria waters and beach from their rooms.
Justice GMA Ong’ondo certified the case as urgent and directed lawyer Kenneth Amondi to serve the court papers upon the Homa Bay County government, Attorney General Justin Muturi and Principal Secretary Lands and Physical Planning.
The judge directed the case to be mentioned in April 10 for directions.
Mr Amondi submitted that it was strange for the county government, which is under a duty to craft policies that will develop Lake Victoria waterfront as a way of boosting tourism and investment in the Western Kenya Circuit, to instead opt to block the same by creating an incongruent atmosphere for the operations of the hotel.
He said Homa Bay Tourist Hotel is a major player in Western Kenya tourism and in collaboration with the national government to ensure that the Lake Victoria waterfront in Homa Bay is developed, packaged and marketed in a bid to boost tourism within the circuit.
He said the hotel is the owner of the parcel known as Kanyada/Kotieno/Katuma b-371 measuring 7.81 hectares (inclusive of the riparian land) but the county government has compromised the hotel’s proprietary and littoral rights by fencing and converting close to half of its property into a construction site and establishing a fish factory in a part of it.
He further said the government has purported to create a title of the riparian land without its consent and in the process blocked its access, use or view of Lake Victoria.
“The object of the hotel is to offer an idyllic tropical paradise with beachfront rooms that would grant guests stunning views of turquoise waters and pristine white sand beaches replete with a range of activities, including sunset cruises that would allow guests to fully immerse themselves in the beauty of their surroundings,” Mr Otieno said in an affidavit.
