Safaricom has been barred from trespassing into a gated community in Murang’a county to install fibre network until the company has obtained consent from plot owners.
Justice Lucy Gacheru granted a permanent injunction against the telco from installing the internet at Thika Greens Ltd after the resident accused the firm of entering their land without their consent.
The estate has 960 plots and Safaricom claimed to have obtained consent from Water Falls Welfare Group, a management company formed to take care of the estate's welfare.
“This court has already herein above found that the 1st and 2nd Defendants (Safaricom and Decko Africa Ltd) accessed and began fiber installation works on the Plaintiff’s land without consent and that their actions amounted to trespass,” the judge said.
She, however, declined to order the telco and the contractor (Decko Africa ltd) to remove poles and other items, which had been erected on the plot ready for the installation of the fibre.
The judge noted that Safaricom produced a list of 164 names of residents who had, in their own individual capacities, consented to the installation of the fibre network.
“It would therefore be untenable to issue a mandatory injunction compelling the Defendants to remove all the fibre installations or any other materials erected on the suit land,” the judge said.
The court heard that Safaricom had in October 2019, expressed interest to supply fibre networks to some of the residents living in the estate.
Being a private development, the telco needed permission and authority to access and install the same.
The parties held several meetings but the residents raised reservations and objections and categorically denied Safaricom permission to proceed with the installation of overhead poles and further required it to write a formal letter requesting to be allowed to provide internet services to the development.
Despite objections, the company went ahead and started the works but it was stopped.
Safaricom said that after conducting a feasibility study it began to install the fibre network to provide internet connectivity services.
The company said the installation works it conducted were not illegal, and all the relevant permits and consents of the homeowners and the developer were obtained prior to installation.
The company had already spent Sh10 million in the works.
