The government has promised to provide land
for the Athi River Special Economic Zone in order to expand the scope of its
operations. President William Ruto said during the announcement that the
additional land would lead to job creation for many young people.
He said the state would buy "idle"
land from Portland Cement.
"The land that has been found from
Portland cement, as the government we will buy a piece of it, and we give it to
the EPZ facility."
The land referred to by President Ruto has
been disputed in court.
The 4,298 acres are located in Machakos
County along Mombasa Road, south of Athi River Township.
Residents are alleged to have arrived on
the area after East Africa Portland Cement (EAPC) PLC completed mining
activities there a decade ago.
Also
read: Tears
of Pain as Homes on EAPC Land Demolished
However, earlier last week, a Machakos High
Court ruled EAP PLC was the legal owner of land LR NO. 10424 in Mavoko,
Machakos County.
This comes after a 2014 lawsuit (No. 74 of
2014) brought by a few people and Aimi Ma Lukenya Society officials against the
cement grinder over the ownership issue of the aforementioned land in Machakos
ELC Court.
With Julius Mutie Mutua, Alex Kyalo Mutemi,
and Pascal Kiseli Basilo Mungui named as plaintiffs suing as representatives of
Aimi Ma Lukenya Society and East African Portland Cement Ltd., chief registrar
of land, and attorney general as first, second, and third defendants,
respectively, the lawsuit had been consolidated with Petition No. 10 of 2018.
At the Machakos ELC Court on Monday, Judge
Lady Justice A. Nyukuri made the decision to reject the plaintiff's lawsuit and
strike it out, awarding the defendant's costs.
The decision comes after a decade of legal
fights between the firm and the townspeople over ownership of the piece of land.
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