TONY MZEE & OTHERS Vs.DIRECTOR GENERAL,NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY(NEMA)1ST RESPONDENT,SHAMCO INVESTMENT LTD.,2ND RESPONDENT,PHARMA CONSULTANTS,3RD RESPONDENT Pays/Territoire Kenya Type de cour Nationale - cour supérieure Date Sep 4, 2007 Source UNEP, InforMEA Nom du tribunal National Environment Tribunal at Nairobi Siège de la cour Nairobi Juge Kaniaru, D.Njihia, J.Waudo, S.Mumma, A. Langue Anglais Sujet Environnement gén. Mot clé Planification environnementale EIA Normes environnementales Résumé The Appellants wanted that the 2nd Respondent, be ordered to stop the development of 8 massionettes located along Jacaranda Avenue, Nairobi. The grounds given were; that on the 29th of March 2007,NEMA served on the developer a “cessation order” on the basis that “ground inspection established that you never obtained an environmental impact assessment license from NEMA as required.”; Subsequently ,on 10th April 2007,NEMA wrote revoking the cessation order stating that it(NEMA) had established that an EIA(Environmental Impact Assessment) license No.0000454 had been issued to the developer on 16th March 2007;the Appellants contended that the development of the 8 Units and associated works are unlawful and/or illegal and, having stopped the works,NEMA erred in revoking the order of stoppage. The respondents sought to counter these legal arguments variously. They stated that the appellants lacked authority under section 129 of the EMCA(Environmental Managent and coordination Act) to bring the appeal ,as they were not persons aggrieved ; that the letter wrote on the 10th of April revoking the cessation order was not a decision within the meaning of section 129 of the EMCA and therefore could not form the basis of an appeal; that the basis to carry out the EIA study for the sewer line fell on the city council of Nairobi (not a party in the appeal). In the tribunals view it was not persuaded by the submissions urged in support of the 3 points raised. In previous appeals the tribunal has ruled that section 129 (2) of EMCA grants authority to a wider scope of potential appellants than does section 129(1) including the present ones. The tribunal considered the submissions that NEMA s letter dated 10th April 2007 revoking the cessation order is not a decision capable of being appealed. The tribunal has considered the effect of maintaining the stop order against the construction of the sewer line against the construction of the sewer line and has come to the conclusion that this would on a balance cause greater prejudice to the environment, and to the wider public, than if the stop order was lifted in order to allow construction of the sewer line to be completed.