Solai Dam Owner Agrees To Pay Victims Millions After His Dam Killed 48
This is according to a statement by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
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The kins of the tragedy that occurred at Solai dam that left 48 people dead in 2018 have finally agreed on a compensation deal with the dam owner, Perry Mansukhlal.
This is according to a statement by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) which revealed that Mansukhlal agreed to pay Ksh1.2 million to the families of the adults affected by the tragedy.
"Kins of 47 Solai dam tragedy victims agree and sign a compensation deal- Ksh1.2 million for adults' families and Ksh800,000 for minors.
"KHRC represents 29 victims in this agreement, connected to a manslaughter case against nine people, a dam owner and his workers," stated the Human Rights Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
The burial of Solai Dam victims who perished after Patel Dam burst its banks in 2018. /THE STANDARD
The billionaire's action follows an appeal by the victims of the tragedy for an out-of-court settlement following five years of court battles and blame games.
The state applied to the court to give the victims more time to engage the accused in the case that has been going on at the Naivasha law courts.
The move comes a couple of months after Naivasha Chief Magistrate Nathan Lutta found out that Mansukhlal and eight others had a case to answer.
Mansukhlal, who is a director at Solai Farm and eight others, were charged with 48 counts of manslaughter on May 8, 2018, and failing to prepare an environmental impact assessment report.
The other eight included Vinoj Jaya Kumar, Johnson Njuguna, Luka Kipyegen, Winnie Muthoni, Jacinta Were, Tomkin Odo Odhiambo, Williec Omondi and Lynette Cheruiyot.
In September, the tycoon had exonerated himself from any wrongdoing, stating in his defence before Magistrate Lutta that though he was a co-director of the company that owned the farm, his father, Mansoul Patel, deceased, was the manager of the farm at the time when the unfortunate incident occurred, and that he was in Nairobi at the time of the incident.
He said his late father, who died in June 2021, had managed the farm where the dam was for many years until it burst its banks, killing 48 people.
Patel said he was unfairly and singlehandedly charged with counts of negligence and manslaughter since the dam had met all the registration, legal requirements, and operating permits at the time of the incident.
On May 9, 2018, the dam burst at a private farm in Solai, Nakuru County, killing 48, injuring and displacing hundreds, and destroying property worth millions of shillings.
The dam collapsed, sending millions of litres of water gushing through the fields of a 3,000-acre commercial coffee farm and into the homes downstream, killing 48 people.
It remains unclear what caused the bursting of the dam. Still, the residents of the affected villages, which included Endao, Energy, Nyakinyua, Milmet, and Arutani in the Solai division, claimed the bursting caused surplus water from three rivers that were blocked by the Patels and directed to the unfortunate dam.
