The High Court in Garissa yesterday ordered Mandera quarries to be reopened.
They had been closed by the national government in March last year following killings of non-local miners by al Shabaab militants.
Tawakal Quarry Producers Cooperative Limited in mid last year sued the county commissioner and Mandera police commander for closing the quarries.
They are a major source of livelihood to people in Northeastern and miners who move there from other parts of the country.
The High Court certified the matter as urgent and ordered security agents to reverse the closure orders. The court ordered the government to pay court costs.
Mandera county commissioner Kutswa Olaka said he has not received the orders.
He said he will comply once he receives them. But Olaka warned that if the killings recur, the court and the quarry owners should bear the burden.
"I have several times said the quarries will not be closed forever and when the appropriate time comes, we will let the operators know," Olaka said.
He cautioned quarry owners not to let their greed outweigh the safety of miners.
He said he has held several meetings with quarry owners and asked them to come up with safety measures but they have never done so.
Olaka said the government will deploy police to the quarries before they are reopened. Deployment requires resources the national Treasury has not supplied, he said.
In March, Deputy President William Ruto promised to see that the ban on quarry work was lifted.
He said it was not in the government's interest to sabotage the economy but to ensure business thrives.
Mandera Governor Ali Roba said the closure is not only hurting quarry owners but the entire economy of the Somalia border county.
(Edited by V. Graham)
