Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria has expressed disappointment following the halt of a multi-billion project in Kiambu.

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Construction of the Karimenu II Dam in Gatundu North was stopped after a High Court issued a suspension order following a petition by activist Okiya Omtatah.

The vocal activist moved to court after National Land Commission (NLC) acting chairperson Abigael Mukolwe revoked all the compensation which had been issued to residents affected by the construction of the Sh24 billion dam.

Mukolwe invalidated the awards on grounds they were issued irregularly and also cited overlapping of boundaries among other issues.

Also affected was the construction of the Sh150 billion Nairobi-Naivasha Phase 2A of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

Omtatah on Friday moved to court seeking nullification of NLC's move to deny affected residents compensation, arguing they were not heard “before the drastic action was taken”.

High Court judge Wilfrida Okwany certified the case as urgent and issued a conservatory order suspending NLC action, pending the inter-parties hearing and determination of the application.

However, in a long Facebook post, Kuria accused the court of going to bed with Omtatah to deny citizens crucial public services.

"One of the biggest obstacles to development in this country is the unholy alliance between Okiya Omtatah and judges who issue unbalanced injuctions on key development projects. Hiding behind 'Fair Administrative Action' to stop projects like mega dams and SGR is tantamount to saying that every public project in this country will be run through a referendum," he posted.

Kuria termed the suspension of the construction of Karimenu II Dam and SGR projects as a travesty of justice and noted Kenya was lagging behind due to 'insensitive' judiciary.

"Thats why Ethiopia is getting miles ahead of us because courts there check excesses of the executive but they do not castrate the executive," he added.

Kuria questioned Omtatah's interest in the case and vowed to fight until the suspension order over the projects is lifted.

"I have instructed my lawyers to apply to enjoin me in these cases so that I can represent the 'Public Interest' of the silent majority - the consumers of the goods, services and jobs from these projects," he stated.

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