BY SAM ALFAN.
Elegant Homes built by Superior homes will not be demolished yet, court orders.
Justice George Odunga sitting in Machakos stopped the intended demolition of those houses worth million of shillings.
This is pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Judge Odunga issued the orders following an urgent application filed by Superior Homes, which claimed that Water Resources Authority ordered the demolition of eight modern houses by tomorrow, June 21.
Lawyer Philip Nyachoti for the construction company said the enforcement order issued on May 31 2018 could not be complied with since the timeline was inadequate to ascertain the concreteness of the boundary dispute.
“The judge said the intended demolition or removal of residents is halted until the court makes its decision on the dispute between the company and Warma.
The decision by the authority is illegal and unlawful as its contravenes the applicant’s legitimate expectation and is motivated by extraneous purposes other than those recognized by the law, Mr Nyachoti claimed.
The water authority claims that the houses in question are on riparian land bordering the stony River Athi, saying that the decision goes against Warma finding contained in a letter dated 3 September 2013.
“The letter did confirm that the houses are outside boundaries of minimum and maximum distance allowance in respect of the riparian land” the lawyer said.
He informed the court that, it took the applicant time to file the application for judicial review as it had to engage independent surveyors to ascertain the disputed boundaries who submitted their report on June 11.
The court heard that the respondent hold two contradicting findings over the suit property, in which he applicant has built houses and sold to third parties.