Construction of railway line in Makueni to resume

Makueni, Kenya: High Court orders that had stopped construction of the Makueni line of the Sh327 billion Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) have been lifted.

The orders were lifted by Justice Charles Kariuki sitting in Machakos who also directed that the case file be forwarded to Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, who will constitute a three-judge bench to hear and determine the matter.

Mr Kariuki told the petitioner, Kibwezi MP Patrick Musimba, to file an application seeking interim orders before the bench to be constituted by the CJ.

Mr Musimba's lawyer, Kethi Kilonzo, had told the court that Kibwezi residents were not compensated for the land acquired for the SGR project.

Ms Kilonzo added the residents were not given notice before the land take-over as required by law.

She told the court there was need for the project to be subjected to public participation and environmental audit.

The court was told that Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC) required land to build the railway and the National Land Commission (NLC) was in the process of acquiring land in Kibwezi West constituency of Makueni County.

Musimba argued the names of the affected residents did not appear in the Kenya Gazette and, in some instances, the measurements of some parcels of land of the affected residents were wrong.

He claimed they did not receive notice of the date and time that officers measured and demarcated the land.

Musimba has sued NLC, KRC and the Attorney General, while China Roads and Bridges Corporation has been named as an interested party.