After a neighbor reported that the toilet of the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary’s opulent vacation home in Kilifi County was creating an offensive odor and had become a public nuisance, Court has ordered him tp relocate the toilet.
Judge Millicent Odeny of the Environment and Land court agreed with Ms. Felicita Conte that the washroom on Dr. Alfred Mutua’s chalet was an annoyance because it was built close to her eating area.
The court ruled that despite Dr. Mutua’s defense that he had obtained all necessary building approvals, including those for the expansion of an ultra-modern visitors toilet, it was insufficient to address the annoyance that developed once the toilet along with the septic tank was finished.
“I have considered the pleadings, the evidence on record and the submissions by counsel and find that the plaintiff (Ms Conte) has proved her case against the defendant (Dr Mutua) on a balance of probabilities,” said the judge.
In addition, Justice Odeny noted that the pit latrine on chalet No. 13 that borders Ms Conte’s eating area was an annoyance and needed to be moved within 45 days of the court’s ruling. The decision was made on June 8, 2023.
As the owner of Chalet No. 14 at Karibuni Villa in Mambrui, Ms. Conte filed a lawsuit in 2018 asking the court to enjoin Dr. Mutua, the owner of Chalet No. 13, from building a restroom close to her dining area.
She claimed that the former governor of Machakos started building a pit latrine on his chalet, but it was being built just next to her dining area.
“When I raised the complaint to the management of the village, the development was stopped but the stoppage was only temporary as it resumed afterwards,” she told the court.
Dr. Mutua’s caretaker, Mr. Joseph Dzuya, said that his employer has owned and resided in the chalet for more than five years since purchasing it in 2013.
According to Mr. Dzuya’s testimony, the villa featured renovations, an addition, a balcony, and a bathroom. He claimed that while the renovations were completed for three months in 2018, the neighbor only voiced complaints in 2019.
He asserted that the renovations are within Dr. Mutua’s own property and that their placement does not, as claimed, violate or allow Ms. Conte to enjoy her land or violate any laws or rules.
