Residents of Langata's Phenom Park estate won temporary reprieve after a judge stopped construction of phase 4 over claims of violation of their right to clean water.
High Court judge James Makau issued the temporary order on August 19 following the application by three residents.
He directed that the suit papers be served on all parties in four days. The case will be mentioned on September 8.
Eric Ogumo, Juliet Kituyi and Jackson Wanjugu have filed an application against construction of Phase 4 of the estate, saying it will deny their children a playground and leave residents with no alternative source of clean water.
They sued Chigwell Holdings Limited, saying lack of a playing area will expose their children to danger given they will be at home until January 2021 following the closure of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The failure by the respondent to honour the promise of providing designated play areas for children is actually a violation of the constitutional rights of children as guaranteed under Section 4 and 17 of the Children’s Act,” the trio said.
The petitioners say their only source of water currently is a borehole, but it is not safe for consumption because of high levels of sodium, bicarbonates and fluoride.
“This violates the petitioners’ constitutional rights to clean and safe water in adequate quantities. Also, this invalidates the approvals as obtained before the commencement of the project,” they said
The three said the developer, in its marketing material, had indicated that the development of the estate would consist of four phases with designated play areas for children. However, this is not the case and now the three believe they have been given a raw deal.
