The county government has suspended the construction of Rafiki Camp, a luxury camp on the banks of the Mara River in Kenya, until the parties involved have reached an agreement.
The Country Executive for Tourism, Lena Munge, and her Lands counterpart, Andrew Kaisamo, have asked the owners of Rafiki Camp to cease all construction until the matter at hand has been resolved, according to Business Daily.
Munge, in a phone interview with Business Daily, said there were several parties involved in the construction, and that she wanted all parties to meet before any work continued.
It was reported that the county government had also distanced itself from the approval by the National Environment Management Authority, stating that they were not informed about the project.
No one from the county government had toured the facility to conduct a relevant assessment to see whether or not it was on a riparian area, said Munge in her interview with Business Daily.
Furthermore, the eight hectares on which the hotel stands is part of the 40-hectare Oloisukut Conservancy in Transmara which is owned by nine families.
Four of the families, according to Business Daily, said they had not been involved, and had gone to the county government to ask them to intervene and stop the construction until all families were on board and until environmental and conservation concerns had been addressed.
Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance issued a seven-day ultimatum to the National Construction Authority (NCA) to stop the Rafiki Camp project, as they say it threatens conservation.
The lobby’s Chairman, Elijah Sikona and Co-Ordinator, Mugo Maina said the project would impact and hurt the wildlife in the area.
