The previous decision of the Court of Appeal issued in July 2016 was retrogressive and threatened to plunge the country back into the dark ages whereby the realisation of socio-economic rights was entirely subject to the arbitrary whims of the state.
The case concerned a suit filed before the High Court by inhabitants of
Mitumba, a village settlement situated adjacent to Wilson Airport in Nairobi. This matter arose from the demolition of their houses despite an existing court injunction. While the High Court, inspired by progressive legal authorities on socio-economic rights, ruled in favour of the inhabitants, the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s ruling.