Locals of a land earmarked for the establishment of the Sh200 billion coal-fired power plant in Lamu County now want their property back.
A total of 975 acres of land had in 2016 been acquired at Kwasasi village in Hindi division for the project being undertaken by Amu Power Company, a consortium of Gulf Energy and Centum Investment.
Locals want the land back since the project was cancelled in June 2019, where the tribunal revoked the license citing lack of an environmental impact study.
Kwasasi Farmers Association chairman Hussein Fadhil issued title deed to Amu Power without compensating the locals.
Fadhili appealed to President Kenyatta to intervene and ensure the land is given back to them.
“We were fully in support of the project. That’s why we gave out our land after we were promised compensation. The project was cancelled yet we can’t access our land. We want our land transferred back to us,” he said.
The tribunal had noted that Amu Power omitted engineering plans and did not undertake public participation.
Nema was faulted for granting the project an assessment license that was not specific to the project.
The coal plant project was poised to generate 1,050 megawatts of power on completion.
Landowners expressed disappointment over the silence by the investor and the government on the project.
An earlier National Land Commission review revealed that each landowner would get Sh800,000 per acre as compensation for the land.
However, Fadhil faulted the government and the investor for not coming to the open with information regarding their compensation. He, therefore, accused the investor of taking the landowners in circles.