konzacity.co.ke
The construction of Kenya’s Konza technopolis in Makueni county has been challenged in court by the Konza Ranching and Farming Co-operatives Society Limited (KRFCSL), questioning Ministry of Lands cabinet secretary Charity Ngilu’s decision to grant Konza the appropriate land approvals.
HumanIPO reported in March the Kenyan government lifted the ban on development in the 10-kilometre radius around Konza Techno City, also known as the buffer zone, meaning development can now take place on the land.
NTV reports KRFCSL lawyer Boniface Kabaka requested the court to grant orders restraining both Ngilu and the director of physical planning from preparing certificates and approving the buffer zone area becoming a special planning area.
Chairman David Muthola said land approval was not procedurally done, took place in bad faith and without considering the commercial value of land opposite, namely Konza Techno City, which is heavily commercial in nature.
Addressing the press, Muthola said the move by the Department of Physical Planning to acquire more than 6,000 acres for the purposes of a cemetery and a game park was inconsequential and should not be allowed.
“We should have been consulted before the Department of Physical Planning sneaked in and surveyed the land for the project without our notice,” he said.
Muthola said while they were not opposed to the project, no government can forcefully acquire any property of the Kenyan citizen without his or her approval.
Konza, which has obtained National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) approval, has attracted criticism over delays and debates over what county it falls into.
