Green Park Estate residents in Athi River can finally breath with relief as the Court of Appeal declared that their residences are not situated on riparian land.
The ruling was rendered by a three-judge panel composed up of Justices Kahthurima M’Inoti, Hellen Omondi, and Imaana Laibuta. It affirmed that Superior Homes (Kenya) PLC, the estate’s developer, had followed all legal requirements prior to building the estate.
The Environment and Land Court’s (ELC) earlier ruling, which sided with the developers and the residents, was upheld by the appellate court.
The Water Resources Authority (WRA) had previously attempted to demolish the estate’s housing units on the basis that they were purportedly constructed on riparian property, but this decision effectively overturns that enforcement order.
The ruling is seen as a huge win for Superior Homes, which was in danger of losing its properties and suffering enormous financial losses, as well as the residents.
Superior Homes claimed that the enforcement order had damaged its company and reputation, but the court rejected its request for KSh 466 million in compensation.
The developer, through lawyer Phillip Nyachoti, asserted that they ought to be paid for the financial losses and public relations disaster caused by the enforcement order.
“In the absence of pleaded special damages in the petition, the appellant was not entitled to an award of special damages,” the judges said in rejecting this claim. Thus, we would uphold the ELC’s ruling on this additional basis.
The Water Resources Authority contended that flooding, not the enforcement order, was the reason for Superior Homes’ loss and damage when it contested the compensation claim.
