NAIROBI, Kenya- The Environment and Land Court has struck out a second legal challenge seeking to stop operations at the JW Marriott Mara Safari Camp, ruling that the petitioners failed to follow the dispute resolution process required under environmental law before moving to court.
Justice Lucy Gicheru held that the East Africa Tour Guide Drivers Association should have first lodged its complaint before the National Environment Tribunal (NET), as provided under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, before approaching the Environment and Land Court.
The judge found that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter because the statutory mechanism had not been exhausted.
The association had sought orders stopping the luxury camp from advertising, receiving bookings and operating within the Maasai Mara, while also asking the court to cancel its approvals and compel measures to address alleged environmental degradation and obstruction of a wildlife corridor.
In opposing the application, lawyers for Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC and Marriott International Inc. argued that the petition duplicated an earlier case filed by conservationist Dr. Joel Meitamei Olol Dapash, which had also been dismissed on similar jurisdictional grounds.
The respondents maintained that the camp had obtained all the required approvals from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Narok County Government and other relevant agencies before construction began.
They further argued that scientific assessments found no gazetted or recognised wildlife migration corridor passing through the project site and that post-construction environmental audits confirmed compliance with environmental safeguards.
Justice Gicheru also noted that the project had already been completed and was operational after substantial investment.
She said the relevant statutory agencies had exercised their mandates before issuing approvals, adding that public interest did not favour suspending an operational development before the legality of those approvals had been conclusively determined.
The ruling marks the second unsuccessful legal challenge against the luxury safari camp after the court previously dismissed Dr. Dapash’s petition for failing to first pursue remedies before the National Environment Tribunal.