Three bench judge made the ruling at the Isiolo High court.
The Northern Rangelands Trust has suffered a major setback after the High Court found that their conservation activities in Isiolo's Chari and Cherab wards were illegal.
A three-judge bench sitting at the Environment and Land Court in Isiolo found that establishment of conservancies in the two wards was in breach of the constitutional principle of public participation and that their activities had violated residents’ rights including to owning property.
Some 165 residents filed a petition in October 2021, insisting that the establishment of the conservancies on their unregistered land by the Non-Governmental Organization had alienated huge chunks of land, leading to displacement of tens of thousands of residents.
The organization’s activities, the petitioners said, had interfered with free movement of their livestock, threatening their livelihoods and affecting their social way of life as their cultural sites had been enclosed within the conservation area.
The petitioners further argued in court that recruitment of the rangers had allegedly contributed to a surge in insecurity and that the Organization was supposedly using the officers to quell their opposition but NRT CEO Tom Lalampaa in his submission insisted that they were in the frontline in facilitating peace and reconciliation among communities.
While delivering the landmark ruling that could have major ramifications on NRTs activities in Northern and Coastal counties, Justices Oscar Angote, Charles Yano and Christopher Nzili found respondents prayer for the suit to be thrown out as baseless.
The ELC court said the petitioners were justified to institute the suit, raised justifiable issues which met the constitutional threshold and fell within the ambit of the court and that the county government and Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Lands breached their constitutional mandate by failing to facilitate the registration of unregistered community land in the two wards.
The judges found that NRT did not seek express consent approval or mandate from the Public prior to establishing the conservancies. No evidence was submitted to court to show meetings, barazas or press conferences before October 2021 when the residents moved to court.
The court ruled that establishment of the conservancies in the two wards was unconstitutional and that the establishments were operating illegally, consequently issuing permanent injunction prohibiting their activities.
The county government and Ministry of Lands were ordered to facilitate the registration of land in the two wards and Kenya Wildlife Service to revoke all licenses that may have been issued to NRT to establish and manage conservancies in the two wards.
The court also issued orders compelling the Isiolo County Commissioner and County Police Commander to oversee implementation of the judgment and ensure peace and order is maintained.
The respondents however got temporal relief after their counsel got a stay order for a fortnight on grounds that the ruling would impact existing projects and have far reaching consequences on NRT activities in Kenya.
The respondents have declared intention to appeal the judgment at the Appellate court.
The judgement has elicited mixed reactions with some of the residents lauding it and others expressing discontent. …...more
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