Is It A New Dawn To The Lamu Fishers, Or The Cat And Rat Game?

Since the court ruling of kshs. 1.76bn to be awarded to Lamu fishers in May 2018, the Lamu fishing community has been waiting for the compensation to no avail, with back and forth cases inside and outside court, the cost of living continues to shoot high, as Lamu fishers face hardship since they can no longer go fishing to the furthest water, leading to the majority of them surviving below the poverty line. Their fishing activities deteriorated since the sea dredging began at the Port, leaving them with no option but to survive with whatever little they have.

On the 13^th of May 2022, different stakeholders came together to discuss the way forward of the fishermen’s compensation in Lamu whose fishing rights were violated since the dredging of the sea began the day meeting included Save Lamu members, Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia, Lamu fishermen, lawyers representing Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), Lamu County Government, our legal partners Natural Justice and Katiba Institute representing Save Lamu/B.M.U.

“We want all the Lamu fishermen to fully understand the LAPSSET judgment and the consent, so us to easily understand their rights,” said Save Lamu chairperson Somo. M. Somo. He further urged Lamu fishermen to have faith in Save Lamu and our legal partners Natural Justice and Katiba Institute who are taking up the case.

Save Lamu has been working closely with Katiba Institute in making sure that fishermen get their rights, and in May 2018, a sigh of relief came after the court granted Lamu fishermen with kshs. 1.76bn to cater for the losses incurred. Days, weeks, months, and years passed by, but still fishermen did not know their fate of whether they will receive compensation money or not, again it came May 2021, the 4th president of the Republic of Kenya Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta commissioned the operationalization of the first three berths of the new Lamu port, and now the 13^th of May 2022 Save Lamu brought together different stakeholders to brainstorm and discuss on the fate of the Lamu Fishers.

Since 2018 when the LAPSSET judgment was given, some fishermen have grown old, some are now deceased living their families behind, and can hardly manage to afford 3 meals a day due to financial constrain.

“We want to assure Lamu fishermen that there will be a swift compensation and that they will be paid according to the judgment,” said County Commissioner Irungu Macharia. The judgment states that fishermen will be given 65% of the kshs. 1.76bn compensation.

Save Lamu on the other side has been doing everything possible for the Lamu community to get their rights, the organization has been doing a lot of advocacies within Lamu county to give them an eye-opener and update them on the status of the compensation process within villages in Lamu County, and on May 27^th Save Lamu took it to Lamu east in the villages of Faza and Kizingitini to update them of the decision that came as a result of the previous meeting held at Mwanarafa on the 13^th of May, that Fishermen will be paid according to the judgment, and that the payment is only for the first 3 berths and not the entire LAPSSET project.

Background check

Lamu County holds a big percentage of people who depends on fishing activities as one of the main economic ladders, the county used to transport tons of fish to the neighboring counties and countries as well, at first when the project was introduced to the residents, people welcomed the project with open arms because of the benefits they were told and were not aware of the damage that will cause to their fishing activities as a result of the Dredging of the sea which took part at the Lamu port site. Mangroves on the other hand became at risk because thousands of acres were destroyed to pave way for the construction of the developing project. And now, it is 4 years down the line since the court ruling for Lamu fishermen to be compensated with kshs. 1.76bn, Again, nothing has happened.

FISHERMEN WILL BE COMPENSATED ACCORDING TO THE JUDGEMENT

On May 2018 the Lamu community found something to be happy about, after being awarded with kshs. 1.76bn to cater for the losses incurred since the inception of the project, the journey started way back in 2012 when the then President of Kenya Mwai Kibaki now deceased, Launched the opening of the Lamu Port accompanied by the president of South Sudan Salva Kiir, and Ethiopian Prime Minister now deceased, commissioned the grand opening of the Lamu port, and that was the beginning of it all, people were compensated and relocated to pave way for the construction of the Lamu port. The Lamu port is estimated to be the biggest in East Africa, designed to have 32berths, 3 of the berths are complete and on May 2021, the president of Kenya Uhuru Mwigai Kenyatta commissioned the operationalization of the new Lamu port.

Story| Khadija Juma/Save Lamu