Kenya: Uproar as owner of dam that breached killing 48 people is acquitted of manslaughter; leader terms it a 'travesty of justice'
"Uproar as court sets free owner of killer dam and eight others"
Families of the 48 people who were killed when Patel Dam in Solai burst its banks in 2018 went home dejected on Monday after a court acquitted the coffee estate’s officials and other people in a matter that lawyers said was a clear case of a travesty of justice. Mr Perry Mansukh Kansagara, the managing director of Patel Coffee Estates, Mr Vinoj Jaya Kumar, the general manager, and seven others had been charged with 48 counts of manslaughter and other criminal offences. However, in a ruling that shocked prosecutors, lawyers for the victims, human rights groups and politicians, Naivasha Chief Magistrate Kennedy Bidali set all the nine free, saying prosecutors had failed to show a willingness to prosecute the matter....
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji said he would appeal the ruling, adding that he would also seek to establish the relationship between the magistrate and the accused people. Lawyers for the victims also said they will next week seek a review of the ruling, which they described as a travesty of justice. Some 48 people were killed in the May 9, 2018 tragedy and hundreds of others were displaced by raging waters from the dam.