Uproar as Court Grants Acquittal to Owner of Killer Dam and 8 Others
Families of the 48 people who were killed when Patel Dam in Solai burst its banks in 2018 went home dejected on Monday after a court acquitted the coffee estate’s officials and other people in a matter that lawyers said was a clear case of a travesty of justice.
Mr. Perry Mansukh Kansagara, the managing director of Patel Coffee Estates, Mr. Vinoj Jaya Kumar, the general manager, and seven others had been charged with 48 counts of manslaughter and other criminal offences.
However, in a ruling that shocked prosecutors, lawyers for the victims, human rights groups and politicians, Naivasha Chief Magistrate Kennedy Bidali set all the nine free, saying prosecutors had failed to show a willingness to prosecute the matter.
Immediately after the ruling, the nine walked out of the dock and consulted with their lawyers before leaving the court precincts.
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