• Turkana petitions NLC, Attorney General to disclose arrangement with Tullow Kenya BV about Tullow activities in county
• Says community never consulted about state's deal for drilling on communal land
Image: Corazon Wafula
A Kitale court on Tuesday adjourned a case challenging NLC action to take indigenous Turkana community land for oil drilling without consulting the community or county government.
Justice Mwangi Njoroge adjourned the session until April 8 to give the counsel for the respondents, the NLC and Attorney General, time to file a response.
In a petition filed in the Kitale Environment and Lands Court by Turkana, the county government wants the Attorney General to disclose the details of the drilling arrangement with Tullow Kenya BV.
It wants all contracts and documents between Tullow and the government released to Turkana county.
Advocates Nelson Havi and Erastus Ethekon represent Turkana.
Turkana wants a declaration that all land in Turkana county, which is not adjudicated, is community land. As such, the county says, it cannot be compulsorily acquired by respondents, including the AG, under the Land Act No 6 of 2012. The AG is the second respondent, the NLC the first.
The Turkana petition states that, before the establishment of Turkana county, several petroleum prospectors identified deposits on the community land and were given prospecting rights.
Among them was Tullow Kenya BV, which was initially granted access rights by the old county council of Turkana on November 28, 2011.
Tullow Kenya BV identified several oil pads in 39 sites, which it required the petitioner’s permission to access. Permission was granted.
“Tullow Kenya BV accessed 60more sites without permission from the petitioner,” reads the Turkana county statement.
The oil exploration revealed deposits sufficient to sustain drilling for commercial extraction. As a result, the Turkana county petitioner was approached by Tullow Kenya BV on July, 17,2018, to give out land for drilling, infrastructure and transportation of crude oil.
The proposal listed a total of 19 oil blocks, known Block 10//BB13T South Lokichar upstream development.
The petition states that on October 26, 2018, a meeting was held between representatives of the Turkana petitioner and the national government. At that session, the state's intention to acquire land from Turkana county for the Lapsset program was discussed.
The petitioner asked why there was heightened pressure by the state upon the indigenous ethnic Turkana community to surrender community land "in total disregard to their rights under the Constitution of Kenya and the Community land Act."
The petitioner also sought full disclosure of information by the Lapsset Corridor Development Authority on the Lapsset corridor project. It asked why the first respondent, the NLC, gazetted the Lapsset corridor project without consulting the Turkana county government and the indigenous ethnic Turkana community.
The petition further states that no agreement was reached between the National Government and the petitioner over the intention to acquire land from Turkana County.
The petition revealed there was an existing contract executed between the 2nd respondent, the AG, and Tullow Kenya BV about activities undertaken by Tullow Kenya BV in Turkana county. “The contact has never been disclosed to the petitioner,” it states.
The petitioner told the court that the respondents' action undertaken without consultations with the petitioner will disrupt the planning of Turkana county.
It said the county has already formulated its Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plans in accordance with the Constitution.