@ppcheti
Lamu fishermen whose livelihoods were cut short by the dredging activities at the Lamu port have not been compensated.
The dredging activities lead to the closure of traditional fishing sites in the Indian Ocean, leaving fisherfolk without a source of livelihood.
Following a successful petition in May 2018, the Malindi High Court ruled in favour of the fishermen as the project had failed to meet basic constitutional and legal requirements.
The court awarded the 4,734 fisherfolk a compensation package of Sh1.76 billion as the port project was proved to have violated the local community cultural rights.
They were to receive the money before May 15 to pave way for the opening of the port on May 20.
Close to four years later, the port has since started operating yet the fishermen have not received a dime.
Head of corporate affairs at Kenya Ports Authority Bernard Osero said the authority was working towards resolving a few legal issues after which the fishermen will be paid.
Osero said the authority had since met with the fishermen and asked them to convince their lawyers to agree on how to sign the consent note before the money is disbursed.
“It's not the KPA’s fault that there is a delay,” he said.
Lapsset litigation counsel Lempaa Suiyanka has accused KPA of complicating the compensation process by frustrating every development made during various meetings between the two sides.
He said so far, all attempts have stalled because KPA continues to impose new barriers and elements, making it impossible to amicably end the matter.
“The delay has nothing to do with lawyers or consent note but purely stems from the continued stance by KPA to frustrate any small effort made towards speeding up the process,” Suiyanka said
He asked the authority to desist from apportioning blame and be straightforward on whether the compensation will ever happen.
In a prior agreement between the fishermen and the KPA, 65 per cent of the compensation package was to be in cash while 35 per cent was to be in form of fishing gear and other supporting infrastructure to help them fish on the deeper and more dangerous parts of the sea.
Due to the delayed compensation, the fishermen have since changed their stand and insist they will only accept cash.
Through their spokesperson Mohamed Somo, the fishermen regret being coerced into solving the issue amicably out of court and are thinking of filing another petition to push for their pay.
“The opening of the port would have been affected and because they didn’t want scandals, they convinced us to do it out of court but, they just wanted the port to start operations, which they have since done. We are going to court to seek fresh redress on the matter,” Somo said on Thursday.
The fishermen said they had lost faith in KPA and asked an independent body to be tasked with the compensation process.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
