At the Solai-Nyakinyua trading centre in Subukia sub county, residents are engaged in various activities. Boda bodas crisscross the area with passengers to different destinations, traders attend to customers, while numerous vehicles cruise the newly tarmacked Bahati-Solai-Subukia road.
However, beneath this façade of normality lies a wound whose pain is shared by almost every member of the small community.
The memories of a horrific disaster that befell the community three years ago, leading to the deaths of 48 people, displacement of hundreds of families and destruction of property worth millions of shillings, linger.
On May 9, 2018, the Patel dam broke and unleashed its raging waters downstream, sweeping across the villages of Energy, Solai and Nyakinya and consuming anything in its path.
Lorok Lomoi at Solai center in Nakuru County on May 7, 2021. He is among residents living with the pain of the 2018 dam tragedy that claimed 48 lives.
Now known as the Solai Dam tragedy, it created friction between the community and the dam owner, Mr Patel Mansukh, after they differed on what to do in the aftermath of the accident.
A number of civil and criminal cases were entered in the courts and some of them have already been determined.
Violent demonstrations also rocked the area, as the victims protested what they claimed to be unfair actions from the police and administrators in handling their affairs.
Little achieved
Three years down the line, very little has been achieved in terms of compensation and restoration of the victims’ lives.
The victims now appear either defeated by the justice process or they have simply had a change of heart, and are seemingly on the path to reconciliation.
Mr Joseph Gathogo lost all his four children in the tragedy. He said he was ready to move on with life provided he is compensated accordingly.
Speaking to the Nation, Mr Gathogo, who was a boda operator, narrated how life has been tough for him and his family for the last three years as they pursued justice.
The push for justice has not been smooth, and the developments in court have not been encouraging. Some cases have been dismissed while others are taking too long to begin.
After the tragedy, Mr Gathogo wanted the dam owner to be held liable for the deaths of his children and loss of property.
“I had built a semi-permanent house where I lived with my four children aged 8, 6 and 3 years, and a one-month-old. The tragedy took away everything I loved, and had worked for, and left me with nothing,” said Mr Gathogo.
Mr Joseph Gathogo, a victim of the 2018 Solai dam tragegy in Nakuru County.
The man narrowly escaped death after he climbed a tree, only to see his house and children being swept by the waters. His wife was rescued pulled out of the water by other villagers.
A new house that was built for him by the church and the Kenya Red Cross still stands unoccupied on his bare quarter of an acre in Nyakinyua village.
“My wife could not stand living in this house as it gives her nightmares and painful memories, so we went to live at my father’s,” said Mr Gathogo
Determined to start over, Mr Gathogo rented a motorbike to sustain himself, his wife and a new baby.
The court case has taken a toll on him and his hopes of getting justice through the courts are diminishing by the day.
“Let the government work with Mr Patel on ways to compensate us so that we can move on with our lives,” said Mr Gathogo.
Long court battle
Mr John Maina Mwangi, a retired teacher, lost his wife in the tragedy. He has been at the forefront in the fight for compensation in court. However, he claimed there had been a lot of interference in the court process to a point that he sees no hope of a good outcome.
Mr Mwangi said the victims were ready to negotiate with Mr Patel on an out-of-court settlement, provided the process is undertaken in an open and transparent manner.
“I am almost giving up in this case. As you can see, my age is fast advancing and the case seems to be punishing us more. We have tried reaching out to Mr Patel to find out how the matter can be settled out of court but our efforts have been unsuccessful,” said Mr Mwangi.
“There is a good number of our members who have died after they could not afford medication and proper care. Apart from housing, all other constitutional rights relating to the victims have been denied,” said Mr Mwangi.
Ms Veronica Wanjiku, 71, whose house was swept away by the water, is trying to re-establish herself by trying out farming on the ground that was left bare.
She has planted some crops on a small part of the farm because the rest is rocky.
The water left huge gullies in the farm. They are widening and almost consuming the house she was built by the Kenya Red Cross.
“What I want is to be given my service benefits after working for Patel for close to 30 years. I want my farm rehabilitated so that I can continue cultivating it,” she stated
Similar stories are shared by the majority of the victims.
Out-of-court settlement
Kabazi ward representative Peter Mbae noted that the victims are ready to settle the matter peacefully out of court, but the company should formally making the application in court.
“The victims have made their stand known that they are ready for an out-of-court settlement with him, if he formally requests for one in the compensation case. Such an arrangement should involve the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Naivasha criminal case,” said Dr Mbae
Dr Mbae noted that the more than 400 hundred victims are yet to get justice three years on, with efforts to settle the matter amicably with the Patel family being unsuccessful.
Solai Farm General Manager Vinoj Kumar speaks to the press at the local administration offices on June 28, 2018.
The Tindress Patel Coffee estates, the company operating the dams through farm manager Vinoj Kumar on their part also expressed the company’s willingness to have the matter concluded.
Mr Kumar said the company’s wish is to have the lives of the community improved as well as have a good working relationship as before.
The manager said the company had lined up a number of programmes aimed at helping the victims and the community at large to rebuild their lives.
“As a company, we know we cannot exist without the community, and for years, we have established a symbiotic relationship with them. They are our people and we have to take care of them,” said Mr Kumar.
He explained that the numerous cases filed in court have negatively affected the operations of the company as well as ruined the good relationship between the community and the company.
Lorok Lomoi at Solai center in Nakuru County on May 7, 2021. He is among residents living with the pain of the 2018 dam tragedy that claimed 48 lives.
Role of rights groups
According to Mr Kumar, outsiders operating as human rights groups and other organisations have complicated matters for the company.
“We would be so glad to have the matter out of court, but our hands are tied in court. There are many organisations which have sued us, claiming to act for different victims. We are not sure about some these organisations,” said Mr Kumar.
He however, explained that the company has done whatever it can to help the community especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the company took in more than 1000 locals so as to offer them employment to be able to sustain their lives.
“We added these employees despite the company not doing very well due to the pandemic. We also continued with our feeding program in a school where over 1000 pupils got their meals daily,” he said.
Thabitha Njambi, a victim of the 2018 Solai dam tragedy in Nakuru County, is pictured on her piece of land on May 7, 2021.
The manager dismissed claims that the company was planning to refill its two dams that were decommissioned by the court.
“Even though we are facing a serious challenge of water shortage, we have not stepped there, since the area is still a crime scene. We shall only do as directed by the court,” said Mr Kumar.
Mr Kumar, his boss Perry Mansukh and seven others have been charged with 48 counts of manslaughter.
The case, which was dropped last year, is set to begin afresh after the DPP successfully challenged the judgment by Chief magistrate Kennedy Bidali at the High Court.
A case filed by Dr Mbae, which was seeking restoration of the environment that was degraded by the tragedy was dismissed by the Lands court last year for lack of jurisdiction.
Early this year, the 400 victims, through the human rights commission, filed another case seeking compensation for loss of life and property. BY DAILY NATION