Kenya’s largest manufacturer of confectionary products Kenafric risks being shut down after it lost a case stopping its closure by the Nairobi County over pollution.
The closure could lead to over 1,000 employees losing their jobs.
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The High Court dismissed Kenafric’s case opposing the county's closure notice for allegedly failing to comply with National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) rules.
The court noted that Kenafric had failed to comply with an order that it files all the evidence, within seven days from December 4, 2015, that it had complied with Nema rules and other requirements by the county on health safety.
Kenafric, however, denied the allegation by NCC that it was polluting the environment saying it had complied with all the Nema rules.
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“We have set up an Xirowet effluent treating plant which has had its discharges examined by the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company and it has been confirmed to meet all the health and environmental standards,” Mr Ketan Shah states in an affidavit filed in court.
Mr Shah further states that they apply to Nema annually to conduct an impact assessment of their operations to ensure they comply with various legislations.
“Besides the Nema assessment we have contracted highly sophisticated scientific measures to undertake evaluation of its effluent to ensure that the discharges are environmentally friendly,” said Mr. Shah.
The court ruling comes as a big blow to the over 1,000 workers employed by Kenafric as their jobs are now at risk should the company shut down.
