An Eldoret-based Muslim leader Jamal Diriwo Omari has filed a petition before the High Court against three state agencies he accuses of contravening the Access to Information Act.
Omari, a member of the Muslim Association Mosque Committee, Eldoret, wants officials at the Eldoret Land Registry, National Lands Commission (NCL), and Office of the Attorney General found culpable of contravening the Constitution.
In the petition filed on June 22, 2022, the Muslim leader is accusing the three agencies of denying to provide him with information in regards to all land belonging to the Muslim Association Mosque Committee, Eldoret.
Court documents seen by Uasin Gishu News show that the petitioner argues that despite numerous letters to the three agencies, seeking information concerning the said pieces of land, he never received a communication from them.
“It was not the first time we sought this information. We have asked for it for a long time. Wrote several letters but they never replied. We wrote a letter to the Ombudsman about the matter but their efforts equally proved futile,” Diriwo Omari told Uasin Gishu News on June 23, 2022.
“It is after this experience that I decided to file the petition to the High Court as enshrined in the constitution. Government officers that vowed to respect and serve Kenyans free and in a just way should not be the ones disregarding the very same constitution. Such officers should not hold a public office,” he adds.
Among the orders sought in the constitutional petition before the Eldoret Environment and Land Court is a declaration that the petitioner’s fundamental rights and freedoms have been infringed and contravened by the first respondent, the Land Registrar, Eldoret Lands Registry.
Diriwo Omari is also seeking orders that the Eldoret Lands Registry be compelled to provide information regarding ownership relating to all lands belonging to Muslim Association Mosque Committee, Eldoret.
“As Muslims, we want the truth about our assets. All we want to know is the mother titles for the lands, allotment letters, and title deeds in the current form,” says the vocal Muslim leader, and an activist in Eldoret.
He has in the past accused the leadership of the Mosque committee of irregularly converting the association’s assets to private businesses, and hopes with revelations of details about the land, the officials will be put to the account.
The court is expected to issue a hearing date after relevant documents are served to the respondents.
