Court nullifies bid to acquire Crest Breeders owned farm

THE Labour Court has nullified government’s proposed compulsory acquisition of a farm owned by Crest Breeders International for urban expansion.
The acquisition could have rendered about 600 Crest Breeders employees jobless.

CHARLES LAITON

Labour Court president Justice Herbert Mandeya last Friday ruled that the acquisition of Crest Breeders by the government through the Ministry of Lands and Rural Settlement was contrary to section 8 of the Land Acquisition Act.

The court said the section provided that the acquiring authority may acquire land by order at least 30 days after date of publication of the preliminary notice in the Government Gazette.

“The acquisition order issued by the respondent (The Minister of Lands and Rural Settlement) on the 13th of May 2013, be and is hereby declared invalid, null and void and is set aside,” Justice Mandeya said.

“The respondent shall pay the applicant’s costs of suit.”

The ruling by Justice Mandeya followed an application by Crest Breeders, through its lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri, who argued that the government issued the acquisition order contrary to the law.

“It appears that on 13th of May and as more fully appears on annexure D hereto, seven days before the expiry of the period in which a party may object to the proposed acquisition, the respondent issued the acquisition order purportedly acquiring the land,” Crest Breeders said.

The firm, which is the country’s largest supplier of day-old chicks, point-of-lay birds and table eggs had been acquired by the government in terms of section 5(1) of the Land Acquisition Act.

“Assuming that the acquisition order was validly issued, which is disputed, the respondent further acted contrary to the provisions of section 7(1) of the Land Acquisition Act which states that where an objection to a proposed acquisition has been lodged, the acquiring authority is obliged, not later than 30 days after the coming into force of an acquisition order, to apply to the Administrative Court for an order confirming the acquisition,” Advocate Uriri argued.