- Court dismisses Delmonte’s bid to block a Ksh 975 million legal costs claim.
- Judge rules legal costs can be determined after a case is concluded.
- Dispute stems from residents’ claims of eviction from ancestral land.
The High Court has dismissed an application by Delmonte Kenya Limited (DKL) seeking to halt a Ksh 975 million legal costs claim brought by the Kandara Residents Association, in a ruling welcomed by the association.
Environment and Land Court Judge Maxwell Gicheru threw out the application, finding there were no sufficient grounds to stop the association from establishing the legal costs owed.
“There was nothing unusual about determining the amount in legal costs owed after a case has been concluded and decided by court,” the judge ruled.
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DKL had lodged the application against the National Assembly Speaker, the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the National Land Commission (NLC) and the Attorney General, over a long-standing land dispute. The Kandara Residents Association, listed as an interested party in the suit, opposed the application. It argued it was only seeking to establish the amount payable at the end of the trial, in line with the court’s terms.
The dispute arose after Delmonte moved to court, arguing that Parliament had exceeded its constitutional mandate in handling a dispute over the land.
The firm holds large tracts of land under lease in Murang’a and Kiambu counties. Kandara Residents Association members claim they were violently ejected from their ancestral lands by the company.
By our correspondent
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