BY SAM ALFAN.
High court has blocked the government from destroying or damaging sanitizing booths erected by Sonko Rescue Team in various estates in Nairobi county.
This is after the non-profit organization associated with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko moved to court seeking to bar the national government of interfering with its activities in the country.
In his ruling Justice Weldon Korir issued the orders barring Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe,Interior PS Karanja Kibicho, Inspector General Mutyambai and Nairobi regional commander Michael Njenga from destroying or damaging sanitizing booths erected by Sonko Rescue Team in Nairobi.
“A conservatory order is hereby issued, stopping the state their agents from destroying or damaging or in any manner whatsoever interfering with the Sonko Rescue team sanitizing booths erected in Korogocho, Mayo Estate, Greenspan Estate, Outside Kenyatta National Hospital, outside Kencom bus stop and Buruburu Shopping Centre,”ordered Justice Korir.
The orders comes after Sonko Rescue Team accused the police of destroying its sanitizer spray booths erected at Kencom bus stage, Buruburu and Kibera under what they termed as Kibicho directives.
Further non-governmental organization informed the judge that similar booths erected at Kenyatta National Hospital, Greenspan estate, Mathare and Korogocho, risk destruction unless the court intervened.
The group through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui accuses the police of also interfering with its plans of distributing foodstuffs and other items such as face masks and hand sanitisers, to the less fortunate in the society, yet the government has not put any interventions in place.
“Sonko Rescue Team is a non-governmental organization which has been assisting the less fortunate members of the society in Nairobi. It has been empowering youths and women in Nairobi to increase access to clean water, education and health care services, among other service,” added the group.
He said the organisation procured and installed each sanitizing booth at Sh400,000 and has distributed face masks to residents in the slums. With the destruction, the NGO said it lost Sh5 million, yet similar booths placed in Mombasa are still in use.
He also complained that it has been stopped from distributing food to slum dwellers yet other politicians were still doing the same, an act he said smacks of discrimination.
“Unless the curt intervenes and restrains the respondents, the petition will be a mere academic exercise and proceedings rendered nugatory yet the petitioner has the court’s intervention expeditiously,” added Kinyanjui.
