Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Two Kisumu residents have moved to court seeking to have Kisumu based Agro Chemicals and Food Company Limited closed for discharging raw industrial effluent into River Nyando.
The two, Mr Patrick Odundo and Mr Maxwell Otieno have filed a suit before Environment and Lands Court Judge Anthony Ombwayo seeking a mandatory order of injunction to permanently stop Agro Chemicals from any further refuse disposal into the river and or Muhoroni Township pending hearing and determination of the case. They are also seeking court oder compelling the company to find an alternative disposal site for all toxic chemicals other than River Nyando and Muhoroni Township.
The petitioners claimed farming, fishing, livestock keeping and other related economic activities that depend on the have been disrupted.
The Muhoroni Township based company is named as the first respondent and National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and the Attorney General as second and third respondents respectively.
The petitioners claimed that Nema recently withdrew the company’s licence on account of breaches and non-compliance with the law regarding refuse disposal
In December 2019, National Environment Management Authority (Nema) withdrew the effluent discharge licence of the Company over non-compliance.
Nema Acting Director-General Mamo Boru Mamo instructed his officers to draft withdrawal of the licence following the company’s persistent violation of the environmental laws.
The petitioners want an environmental restoration order issued against the Agro Chemical and that company be compelled to supply the petitioner with a comprehensive environmental impact assessment report and audit on the extent of the effluent discharge into River Nyando and the adjunct report and or statistics of the waste and its disposal, adding that the State has the obligation to ensure sustainable, utilisation, management and conservation of environment and natural resources.
The suit comes barely five months after a Kisumu court ordered for the closure of Giant miller Kibos Sugar Factory over environmental pollution.
