Kenyan government officials sued over fatal flooding

Case against government figures and entities over negligence during floodings | Petition No. E245 of 2024
Case filed: May 16, 2024 Current status: Case Ongoing
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Petitioners

  • Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)

Respondents/ Appellants

  • Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government
  • Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry
  • Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development
  • Water Resources Authority
  • National Environment Management Authority
  • Council of Governors
  • National Disaster Management Authority
  • Kenya Railways
  • Attorney-General

Interested Parties

  • None

Status Updates

Judge Lawrence Mugambi stated that KHRC should serve the respondents. He set May 27, 2024, as the next date for further directions.

KHRC filed a case to hold multiple government figures and entities accountable for negligence during the floods that ravaged homes, displaced hundreds of thousands, and tragically claimed hundreds of lives nationwide.

Summary of facts

Intense heavy rainfall, which began in March 2024, struck Kenya, and the government failed to implement a timely national response plan.

This negligence persisted despite a warning from the Kenya Meteorological Department on July 30, 2023, regarding the intensification of the country’s rainy season due to the El Niño weather pattern.

As a result, homes were ravaged, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, and hundreds more killed.

Consequently, KHRC on May 16, 2024, filed a lawsuit against multiple government figures and entities for negligence and conducting evictions in the Mukuru Kwa Reuben and Kwa Njenga slums during floods, which caused more harm to an already vulnerable situation.

In the case, KHRC is demanding compensation for flood victims.

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