An aerial view of Dolphin Hotel which is under construction at the Indian Ocean beachfront, Mombasa, August 17, 2018. /JOHN CHESOLI
NEMA allowed Weston Hotel to extend Dolphin Hotel's construction into the Indian Ocean, a search on the agency's web portal has revealed.
The extension was approved under reference NEMA/EIA/PSR/6347, a search found on Friday.
Weston Hotel, which made the said application, is owned by Deputy President William Ruto, who has been on the spot for building it on land belonging to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
KCAA executive director Gilbert Kibe said the plot on Langata Road in Nairobi is among hundreds of parcels that it wants to reclaim.
Dolphin shot to the limelight on Wednesday when two Nation Media journalists were roughed up for recording operations around its construction.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho's administration has since started a probe on beach encroachment by the project in Shanzu.
The owners of Dolphin Hotel have been accused of flouting building regulations and Muslims for Human Rights group (MUHURI) has warned that it will seek court orders to stop the construction.
The rights lobby announced the move on Friday following the arrest of NMG journalists Karim Rajan and Laban Walloga.
"If this elevated sand is not removed, we shall sue," Muhuri chairman Khelef Khalifa told journalists.
Lands executive Edward Nyale and officials from NEMA toured the site today to ascertain the extent of encroachment.
Nyale said the area will be mapped to confirm invasion. He noted that they stopped construction last year after the contractor violated waste disposal laws.
"The sea line has shifted," he said, adding violation of the law on the 30m watermark could not be established immediately.
Khalifa said the beach has been elevated by 10 feet and that it is unusual for an ordinary investor to order guards to arrest journalists.
NEMA's Mombasa director Steven Wambua said they will release a report regarding encroachment and ownership of the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment