Interiror CS Kithure Kindiki During the pass out of Assitant County Commisioners. Image Courtesy Ministry of Interior.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has filed a lawsuit against senior government figures and entities for negligence during the recent floods that ravaged homes, displaced hundreds of thousands, and tragically claimed hundreds of lives nationwide.
In a statement on Friday, KHRC said it has sued Interior CS Kindiki Kithure, Environment CS Soipan Tuya, and Lands CS Alice Wahome.
The Water Resources Authority, the National Environment Management Authority, the Council of Governors, the National Disaster Management Authority, Kenya Railways, and Attorney-General, Justine Muturi, are also implicated in the case.
According to KHRC, negligence persisted despite a warning from the Kenya Meteorological Department on July 30, 2023, regarding the intensification of the country’s rainy season due to the El Niño weather pattern.
In the petition filed on May 16, KHRC said the government violated citizens’ constitutional rights by failing to protect them from the devastating floods.
KHRC urged the court to compel the government to provide humanitarian assistance, including alternative accommodation, food, and social amenities, to people affected by floods before the case is heard and determined.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application, this court to issue an interim order for the Respondent to provide humanitarian assistance in the nature of alternative accommodation, food and social amenities to the families in the Mai Mahiu area affected by the raging floods as a result of accumulation of water in the huge gully along the Kenya Uganda railway line inside the Kijabe/Kinare Forest that occasioned deaths and destruction of property”, the commission stated.
The commission also compelled the Water Resource Authority to submit a detailed report on all dams and water extractions. This report should include permit information, last inspection dates, and safety statuses.
Additionally, KHRC sought an order against county governments, demanding the submission and scrutiny of their disaster preparedness plans and implementation reports.
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