Lake Turkana Wind Power land case on after talks collapse
A land dispute between the Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd and Marsabit residents is set for full hearing after out-of-court negotiations collapsed.
Laisamis residents have accused the firm of acquiring 150,000 acres of their ancestral land for the project without following due process.
The matter will come up for hearing today for the parties to file submissions.
On November 9, the High Court sitting in Meru declined to stop the Sh75 billion Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Marsabit and instead directed the county assembly to arbitrate the matter within 90 days and present a report to the court.
Justice Peter Njoroge of the Environment and Land Court rejected an application by Marsabit residents to stop the project that is expected to add 310 megawatts to the national grid.
“The panel should see whether the parties will agree to settle the matter, failure to which the matter will proceed in court to a full hearing of the suit,” he said in his ruling.
But Marsabit county assembly Speaker Matthew Loltome said the parties could not agree on the dispute.
While the residents say they were not involved in the land acquisition, the power company says everything was done above board.