A group of squatters, who had sued former President Daniel Moi, will have to reimburse him Ksh8.2 million as costs of a suit that flopped in 2017.
The 249 squatters sued African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Moi and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for evicting them from their land in Laikipia county.
They claimed 17,105 acres of their ancestral land was illegally transferred by him to KWS and later to AWF at a cost of Ksh400 million.
Justice L Waithaka ruled that they did not prove their allegations and dismissed their case with costs to the three defendants including Moi.
Kiplenge and Kurgat Advocates who represented the retired president will receive a Ksh8,267,666 reimbursement from the squatters.
The community members will also have to pay Kaplan & Stratton, the law firm that represented AWF in the suit, a similar amount.
“A licensed auctioneer has been instructed to locate the ground and provide a list of the petitioner's movable and immovable assets, including but not limited to livestock owned by each petitioner as we prepare execution proceedings and warrant of attachment,” a letter to the squatters reads.
The squatters' lawyer Suyianka Lempaa, mentioned that the pastoralists are not in a position to pay the money to the lawyers.
He questioned why the judge decided to grant costs to the defendants when it was a public litigation matter.
Lempaa disclosed he has already filed an appeal against the ruling.
