A Sh38 million World Bank-funded road tarmacking project in Kitui town has run into headwinds after a court stopped the destruction of property on a road reserve.
Contractor Timax Company was stopped from demolishing two buildings. The order was issued on March 5.
The Star established that Patrick Mwendwa, the owner of the buildings off the Naivas-National Oil road, obtained a court order restraining the Kitui government that is implementing the project from demolishing his property on residential plots Nos P34 and P35 in Kitui municipality.
Justice O. Ongote of the High Court in Machakos issued the order. It restrains the county, “its agents, servants and employees from alienating, repossessing, threatening to demolish Mwendwa’s buildings”.
The county has also been barred from interfering with the ownership, possession, occupation and or use of all the property.
The orders were posted on the doors of the two buildings.
A county bulldozer razed stalls on other plots. Some small-scale traders raced against time to salvage their goods.
Mwendwa also owned three of the demolished plots. He said the Kitui government had not given notice.
“Despite the fact that we were given the land where the kiosks stand on temporarily, it would have been fair and humane for the county government to allow us to pull the structures down on our own. Using a bulldozer destroys everything,” he said.
County Lands and Urban Development chief officer Christopher Syengo said he could not comment. He said the matter falls under municipality manager Meshack Nyenze.
Nyenze said the Community Complaints Committee had allowed the project to go on and everything was being done with their approval.
