Firm makes plea in Sh75bn wind power project
Turbines at the Lake Turkana Wind Power farm in Marsabit County. Residents of the region want the project stopped. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Lake Turkana Wind Power argued that the appellants had breached rules and procedures of the court.
The Lake Turkana Wind Power wants the Appellate Court to strike out an appeal filed by residents of Marsabit County against a ruling that declined to stop construction of a Sh75 billion project.
Through lawyer James Wairoto, the firm asked the Court of Appeal in Nyeri to dismiss the residents’ notice of appeal dated November 9, 2016, together with their memorandum, as well as the record of appeal dated June 15, 2017.
In the application, the firm argued that the appellants had breached rules and procedures of the court, such as sticking to timelines.
LACK OF CLARITY
The lawyer termed the appeal “fatally defective”, adding that it should be struck out with costs.
He added that the appellants are abusing the court process in their quest to stop the project that is expected to add 310 megawatts to the national grid.
Mr Wairoto said the notice of appeal failed to state whether the residents are contesting part of the Lands and Environment Court ruling, or all of it.
“This omission rendered the appeal defective owing to the mandatory provision of Rule 75 (3) of the Court of Appeal Rules requiring the nature of the appeal to be disclosed,” the lawyer noted.
COPY OF JUDGMENT
He further said the residents failed and declined to serve the company with a copy of the Lands Court ruling, which is a mandatory provision in the Court of Appeal Rules 2010.
“The appellants applied for a copy of the typed proceedings on November 8, 2016, before the injunction ruling was delivered on November 9, 2016, whereas the rules of this court require an application to be made within 30 days of the decision, that is from November 9, 2016,” he said.
He added that the appeal was filed outside the stipulated time of 60 days.
“These missteps amount to a critical failure in complying with a number of essential steps in the proceedings and render the certificate of delay and the appeal defective,” the lawyer added.
The firm’s director, Rizwan Fazal, said the residents’ actions amounted to gambling with the judicial process.
The application will be heard on February 21 at the Court of Appeal in Nyeri by judges Patrick Kiage, Fatuma Sichale and Sankale ole Kantai.
