Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has been ordered to serve a six-month jail term over contempt of a court.
The governor, alongside her County Water and Sanitation Services Chief Executive Officer, was ordered to serve a six-month civil jail term or pay a Ksh2m fine.
According to Justice Antony Omwayo of the Environment and Land division, the two had failed to comply with previous orders issued on September 26 last year, directing them to cease the illegal waste disposal into Lake Nakuru.
Court orders governor Susan Kihika and Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services CEO to serve a six-month civil jail term or pay a Sh2m fine. Photo: Courtesy.
In a previous ruling, the court permanently restrained the governor and the CEO from disposing of waste in the Lake Nakuru Basin.
The ruling came after a suit filed by Baboon Project Kenya, a non-governmental organization, asking the court to grant the contempt orders.
The petitioners also argued that the county government’s actions continued to harm wildlife and the environment.
They moreover claimed that the illegal disposal of industrial waste into the lake was severely damaging the Lake Nakuru National Park and endangering species like baboons, which drink from its waters.
The county government, the water and sanitation company, and NEMA were accused of neglecting their constitutional duties by permitting the unlawful discharge of toxic industrial waste into Lake Nakuru.
