KIMANA, Kenya – The Amboseli Land Owners Conservancies Association (ALOCA) has welcomed the Nairobi Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the latest in a series of cases brought by KiliAvo Fresh Ltd as it seeks to farm avocados in a key livestock and wildlife area bordering Amboseli National Park.
The Nairobi-based owners of the 180-acre farm, Harji Mavji Kerai and Suresh Kurji Kerai, have repeatedly gone to court over a 2020 order by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to revoke their license to operate. All these legal attempts have failed.
The three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal in Nairobi on Friday, April 4, 2025, dismissed KiliAvo’s objection that an earlier court ruling against them was incorrect. That ruling was itself part of an appeal KiliaAvo made over an even earlier court decision that went against them.
The majority of local landowners are united against the farm because it contravenes ALOCA’s land use plans, drawn up to protect the semi-arid environment by ensuring only sustainable enterprises operate in the most ecologically vulnerable areas.
“This is yet another judgment that should show KiliAvo it is time to realise they made a mistake, that they bought land that cannot be used for what they want to use it for, and now it’s better they cut their losses,” said Samuel Ole Kaanki, chairman of ALOCA.
Why ALOCA members are in support of investments
According to Kaanki, none of the landowners are anti-business, even as he maintained that they welcome the investment.
“But there are plans that determine what business can operate in what areas, according to what the environment can sustain. Those community-supported plans must be followed, and if you don’t follow them, you will face the costs and legal headaches KiliAvo is facing,” he added.
The landowners observed that KiliAvo’s plans violated those plans in several ways.
Boreholes to irrigate 180 acres of fresh vegetables, including avocados for export, threatened water supplies relied on by local communities, their livestock, and wildlife. Their farm and its fences blocked livestock grazing, interrupted wildlife movements, and risked deterring tourism investors.
Allowing KiliAvo to operate according to the landowners ‘ wishes would set a precedent that could see outside developers convert much larger areas to commercial farms, potentially damaging the ecologically sustainable livelihoods of tens of thousands of local people. Another commercial farm in the area, Ngong Veg, reportedly obtained permission to farm a much smaller area than they currently operate. They made a public commitment to return the land to an approved land use but have taken no such steps yet.
What the Kajiado County thinks about the matter
Many developers across the Amboseli ecosystem are seeking to establish crop farms on land zoned for livestock and wildlife and testing the strength of land use plans drawn up by local communities and then approved and gazetted by county and national authorities.
The ALOCA members claim that KiliAvo’s continued legal woes highlight the costly and lengthy challenges unscrupulous developers face.
The Kajiado judiciary and senior officials, including the CECM for Physical Lands and Planning, have all reiterated their intention to enforce land use plans and prosecute transgressors. Kajiado County Government is currently leading a series of operations against such illegal developments.
KiliAvo’s most recent case was to ask the Court of Appeal to overturn a May 2024 ruling by the Environmental and Land Court in Kajiado that it had no legal standing to conduct a judicial review of an earlier April 2021 decision by the National Environmental Tribunal (NET) against KiliAvo.
That NET decision had dismissed KiliAvo’s complaint that NEMA should not suspend its license to operate. Now that the Nairobi Court of Appeal has dismissed KiliAvo’s latest case, the original Tribunal decision stands, allowing NEMA to enforce its revocation of KiliAvo’s license dated April 27, 2021.
Why are any operations at the farm site illegal
The landowners say that KiliAvo may once again appeal against the cancellation of their license, putting them back to where they were as long ago as 2020, or appeal the latest decision to the Supreme Court.
NEMA originally issued KiliAvo its license in August 2020 but backtracked after ALOCA and other key stakeholders raised questions about how the developer assessed the environmental impact its farm would cause to the local ecosystem.
NEMA said it planned to revoke the license after concerns that included that the proposed farm was in a wildlife corridor; that it violated ALOCA’s land use plans and the Amboseli Ecosystem Management Plan that zone this area for livestock and wildlife; and that the developers failed to conduct adequate public participation.
The 180-acre farm is located between Amboseli National Park and a series of other protected areas, including the Kimana Sanctuary, Tsavo West National Park, and Chyulu Hills National Park. It is surrounded by locally-owned conservancies where we landowners – hundreds of local Maasai – earn their living from livestock and tourism.
