Kenya's court stops Tiomin from mining
Date: 24-Sep-01
Country: KENYA
Tiomin had applied to the government for permission to start a $165 million project, which it said would create 200 direct jobs with an estimated spin-off of at least 1,000 more.
However, the project has been delayed after farmers in the area, 12 km (eight miles) from Kenya's Indian Ocean coastline, lodged proceedings in March this year, saying it posed serious risks to their livelihoods and to the environment.
Farmers have also complained that the company's offer to pay a lumpsum compensation of $140 an acre of land plus $25 a year per acre in rent was too little.
High Court Judge Andrew Hayanga in the coastal city of Mombasa said the project should be stopped because it was likely to have adverse effects on the environment.
"By granting the injunction prayed for by the farmers, this court will be saving the public from a possible environmental degradation," Hayanga said.
Tiomin insists the project is viable and says an environmental study presented to the government proved it would not cause any major harm to the environment or local people.
It has already brought some testing equipment to the site awaiting a licence from the government to start work in earnest.
The company's lawyer Patrick Ochwa said he would appeal against the ruling.
