The High Court has issued temporary orders barring Interior PS Karanja Kibicho and state agents from demolishing sanitising booths in Nairobi.
Governor Mike Sonko’s rescue team had sued Kibicho for allegedly destroying booths at Kencom bus stage in the capital’s CBD.
Justice Weldon Korir further ordered the PS not to interfere with the work of the rescue team.
According to the suit papers, Kibicho directed Nairobi regional commissioner to remove the booths from Kencom stage, Buruburu and Kibera, which the rescue team put up as part of its charitable objectives.
The team said there are other sanitising booths at Kenyatta National Hospital, Greenspan Estate, Mathare and Korogocho, which are likely to be demolished.
Each booth cost at least Sh400,000.
Their intervention was necessitated by the failure by the national government to distribute face masks and sanitiser to needy Nairobi residents to avert Covid-19 spread, the court heard.
“The respondent has not directed any interventions such as the distribution of face masks and hand sanitiser. It was, therefore, a charitable act of the petitioner to intervene,” suit papers read.
Among other things, the team said it had purchased and given out drinking water, hand sanitiser, food items and masks. It also offers free fumigation and free ambulance services.
The court was told that the team distributed at least 700 face masks a day in those areas. For example, in Huruma alone, they handed out 5,000 face masks.
Prior to setting up the booths, the team said, it got consent from the Nairobi government.
They asked for temporary orders stopping further demolition of the remaining booths.
“As a result of imminent and threatened destruction of the petitioner's said sanitising booths and items of charity, this court is requested to issue interim conservatory order,” the court was told.
The judge further directed the team to serve its suit papers on all parties and file its skeleton submissions. Kibicho is also expected to reply.
The case will be heard on May 12.
Edited by R.Wamochie
