A Kericho court will decide the future of a private tea factory at Konoin in Bomet after assessing environment reports from the firm and the Chepchabas community that wants the factory closed.
The residents have petitioned the Environment and Land court to close the plant over alleged environmental hazards from the Kipsigis Highlands Factory.
They claim raw effluent from the factory was spilling into the two rivers in the area, posing a great danger to their lives and those of their animals.
On Thursday the environment experts will give their reports in court before lawyers representing the two sides argue their case.
Judge Anthony Kaniaru set Thursday as the date when the two sides will present their reports.
Two weeks agoJudge Kaniaru led the team of lawyers and state prosecutors to the site. They were taken around the factory’s waste treatment system before visiting Kaboisio River, which the petitioners claim was being polluted by factory waste.
The residents, in their petition, said the factory was discharging raw effluent into the Kaboisio and Koruma rivers, posing danger to people and animals. They said there was no proper waste treatment plant.
They further claimed the factory had no effluent discharge license from Nema, no public notice proposing the site for the factory, no involvement of the national and county government administrations in putting up the factory. The said there was no public participation before building the factory, as required.
The residents, through lawyer Rogers Mugumya, want the court to order the factory to halt its operations, “since it is clear the procedures with particular reference to wastewater discharge were not followed.”
(Edited by V. Graham)
