A case in which an Eldoret Muslim leader has sued three state agencies over failure to adhere to the Access to Information Act will proceed to a full hearing.
This is after a High Court in Eldoret declined to postpone the hearing of the petition.
The State had on Tuesday requested the court to postpone the hearing of the petition filed by North Rift Muslim Youth Daawa Group Secretary General Jamal Diriwo Omari.
Omari in the petition filed on May 17, 2022, accuses the Attorney General, National Land Commission and Eldoret Land Registrar of failing to provide him with information regarding pieces of land within Eldoret town belonging to the town Muslim Association Committee.
He argues that the three agencies have failed to provide him with the information despite several letters that he wrote.
He wants the court to order the agencies to provide the details as per the Access to Information Act.
The state had requested the matter deferred, but High Court Judge Eric Ogolla declined.
“The respondents in this matter had requested for adjournment of the case in previous hearings and it would not be fair to continue delaying the same any further,” Justice Ogolla said.
Respondents in the case have now been directed to file their submissions within seven days and serve them to the petitioner.
“In the same vein, the petitioner should also file his submission and serve it to the respondents within the same period pending determination of the matter,” the High Court Judge directed.
Muslim assets
The North Rift Muslim Youth Daawa Group Secretary-General had sought information from the Eldoret Land Registry in regards to pieces of land that the Muslim Association Committee, Eldoret owns.
In the request that is yet to be fulfilled, Omari wants all details of the association’s assets from as far as 1986, including letters of allotment, letters of transfer and title deeds.
He further wants details of all land donated by the government to the Muslims for the construction of mosques in each of the estates in Eldoret town.
It is believed the association has pieces of land worth billions of money spread across Eldoret town, some of which have been irregularly transferred to private individuals.
Omari hopes with information regarding the assets, and details of how some of the Muslim association property has been allocated to private individuals will be unravelled.
A hearing for the case has now been set for November 8, 2022.
