Kenya Airports Authority Ordered To Pay Displaced Isiolo Residents KSh 414 Million

• The Environment and Land Court in Isiolo issued a ruling directing the KAA to pay KSh413.9 million as compensation to displaced residents
• The residents were displaced compulsorily to allow for the expansion of the Isiolo airstrip into the Isiolo International Airport
• The court also directed the allocation of land to 189 affected residents within the next 90 days

Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, leverages more than three years of expertise in financial, business, and technology research, providing profound insights into both Kenyan and global economic trends.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has been directed to compensate residents of Isiolo with KSh 413.9 million for infringements on their property rights during the relocation necessitated by the expansion of Isiolo International Airport.

Justice Peter Njoroge, presiding over the case, ordered not only the financial compensation but also directed the Lands Cabinet secretary, Attorney General, National Land Commission (NLC), and the KAA to ensure the re-allocation of the 189 affected residents to their respective parcels of land within the next 90 days.

Hardships faced by displaced residents

According to a report on the Business Daily, the court, recognised the hardships faced by the petitioners over nearly two decades, emphasised that KAA had violated their constitutional rights to own and enjoy property.

“I find that the petitioners (residents) have been rendered homeless for close to 20 years, they deserve compensation. I will award them a modest sum of Sh300, hardly enough to purchase two packets of maize flour, for each day the infraction of their right to enjoy their property has subsisted,” said Justice Peter Njoroge.

“The petitioners were relocated from their land and for close to 20 years have remained landless as they were unable to access the land intended for their compensation. This is an unmitigated denial of their right to own and enjoy their property,” ruled Justice Njoroge as reported by Business Daily.

Arguments by NLC, CS Lands KAA

Furthermore, the court rejected arguments from the NLC, Lands Cabinet Secretary, and KAA that the petitioners had not demonstrated a violation of their fundamental rights.

Justice Njoroge ruled that the failure of the NLC to address the issue for two decades dispelled the notion that the petitioners had not exhausted local remedies.

Expansion of the Isiolo airstrip

The case revealed that the Isiolo residents, comprising over 1,000 individuals, had their lands compulsorily acquired by the government for the expansion of the then-Isiolo airstrip into an international airport.

The residents were meant to be compensated through a resettlement program in Mwangaza, Isiolo town, based on a balloting exercise conducted by the defunct county council of Isiolo.

KAA to install new roof at JKIA

In other related news, the CS for Roads and Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen instructed Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to replace leaking roofs at JKIA and Wilson immediately and acquire new 3D screening equipment that will not require the opening of bags.

The CS was speaking after receiving an interim report on the state of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Moi International Airport (MIA) and the Wilson Airport from a technical committee that was commissioned on November 15.

The CS also noted the lack of a terminal building at Wilson Airport, and the drop-off and pick-up points for luggage are in the open, exposing passengers to weather vagaries.