Assistant chief withdraws from coal mining petition

By Philip Kisia

Machakos, Kenya:  An Assistant Chief who was among seven petitioners who filed a case at Machakos High Court to stop the Government from awarding coal mining concession to a Chinese company has withdrawn from the suit.

In a letter to the Principal Secretary Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and copied to the Cabinet Secretary, Mr Nicholas Munyoki Mwasa says he is satisfied with the information given by the Government on Mui Basin Coal Development Project.

The court ordered the Ministry of Energy not to enter into any deal with Fenxi Mining Industry Company Limited.  Mwasa, who is an Assistant Chief for Kanzui sub-location in Mui Division, Kitui County, said he sought to be enjoined in the suit because of lack of information and transparency on the part of the Government on how to undertake mining of coal in Mui.

 However, he said after attending a leaders meeting on May 13, at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi, he was satisfied that the project would benefit the community.

The letter seen by The Standard reads in part: “The forum was an eye-opener to me and I understood all the benefits that will accrue from coal development from the village level, county and national level. I hereby unconditionally tender my unforced withdrawal from the case.”