Kensalt Limited and Patel Coffee Estates Limited MD Perry Mansukh
Kansagara (right) and Estate General Manager Vinoj jayakumar inside a
Naivasha courtroom on July 5, 2018. PHOTO | MACHARIA MWANGI | NATION
MEDIA GROUP
The owner of the ill-fated Solai dam, which collapsed on May 9,
killing 47 people and injuring hundreds of others, yesterday sought to
absolve himself from blame over the tragedy and, instead, portrayed
himself as a victim.
Mr Perry
Mansukh, General Manager of Patel Coffee Estates, declared that the
deaths of the 47 people had drained him emotionally and “saddened him
tremendously.”
“We are the victims
and not the perpetrators (of the dam collapse). The deaths hit us
extremely hard as the affected community is dear to me,” he said when he
appeared before the ad hoc committee of the Senate that is
investigating the accident.
LEGITIMATE VICTIMS
Mr
Mansukh, who is facing manslaughter charges over the deaths, told the
committee chaired by Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr that the collapse
was caused by massive deforestation “in other people’s farms” and by
people farming on the hills overlooking the dam.
However,
the assertion by Mr Mansukh angered committee members, who challenged
him to demonstrate his love for the people and explain what he had done
to help the community recover from the harrowing events.
Nominated Senator Sylvia Kassanga challenged
him to explain whether he had visited victims of the tragedy and what he
had done to alleviate their suffering. She also asked him to explain
whether he made attempts to confirm the names in the list submitted to
him as legitimate victims.
NOT LICENSED
Nairobi
Senator Johnson Sakaja accused Mr Mansukh of having no respect for the
laws of the land and challenged him to provide proof that commercial
activities he carries out on his farm were duly approved through the
necessary licensing regime.
“How is
the law dear to you?” Mr Sakaja asked, in what appeared to be a jibe
directed at Mr Mansukh’s assertion that the people of Solai and the
environment were dear to him.
“Your
claim that all your activities have been licensed is contested by
various government agencies,” he said, and asked Mr Mansukh to provide
proof that his dam was licensed. When Water CS Simon Chelugui appeared
before the committee, he said that the collapsed dam was an illegal
structure as it was not licensed.
RESTRICTED ACCESS
Mr
Sakaja further asked Mr Mansukh to confirm whether he had compensated
the victims of the tragedy and if he had asked them to sign indemnity
forms that protected him from criminal liability. Mr Mansukh denied
claims that he had already compensated the affected families but said
that being part of the Solai community, he had offered a token of
goodwill as a gesture to help the families restore their immediate
requirement.
Officials of National
Environmental Management Authority (Nema), National Construction
Authority (NCA) and Water Resources Management Authority (Warma) have
separately told the committee that the owners of the land had restricted
access which had hampered their ability to perform their mandates.
Warma also accused Mr Mansukh of blocking two rivers on the farm and diverting water to the seven dams on the farm.
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