Court strikes out case seeking to block operations of luxury hotel at Mara

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The Environment and Land Court in Narok has struck out a case filed by a conservationist seeking to stop the operations of a luxury hotel in the Maasai Mara.

In her ruling on Thursday, Justice Lucy Gacheru said that Dr Joel Meitamei Olol Dapash had jumped the gun as he was required to file his complaint before the National Environment Tribunal, before moving to the court.

For this, she said, he had prematurely invoked the court’s powers.

“This court has not seen any of the above exceptions in this petition. The court finds that the jurisdiction of this court has been prematurely invoked and being persuaded by various authorities cited by the 4th and 5th respondents, the court finds that the preliminary objection herein is merited. The court has no jurisdiction to hear and determines this petition for contravening the doctrine of exhaustion,” ruled Justice Gacheru.

Initially, Olol Dapash had filed a notice of withdrawal in the Environment and Land Court in Narok, seeking to discontinue the entire suit he lodged on August 8, 2025.

In the petition, Olol Dapash had sued Marriott International Inc, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Lazizi Mara Limited, the Narok County Government of Narok and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

Olol Dapash’s lawyer Stephen Adier, confirmed that the notice of withdrawal was filed on December 16.

“We received instructions from the petitioner that there have been discussions between him and the various parties involved on how to address the concerns raised in the petition. According to those instructions, he is satisfied that the issues are being addressed,” Adier told the court.

The lawyer said following the withdrawal, he had no further instructions regarding other applications filed in the matter and asked the court to mark the case as withdrawn with no orders as to costs.

Nevertheless, he said that Mara has a crucial inter-play of cultural heritage, cultural industry, and environmental protection, including wildlife preservation, and is of great significance to the Maasai people, not only as ancestral land, but also as a critical cultural identity and expression and historical preservation.

Lawyer Martin Munyu, appearing for Marriott International Inc and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, said his clients wanted to be discharged from the proceedings.

“If the entire case is being withdrawn, then we would be most obliged with the withdrawal of the entire petition,” Munyu said.

In response, he argued his clients should not have been part of the case as saw about it on social media. At the same time, he said, there was no cause of action against them.

Maina Ngaruiya, representing the Narok County Government, supported the withdrawal and urged the court to prioritise the petitioner’s application, noting that the matter belonged to the petitioner.

However, advocate Kiragu Kimani, appearing for Lazizi Mara Limited, noted that the case presented an unusual situation.

“There is an unusual scenario where the petitioner wants to withdraw, but other parties want the matter settled once and for all. Where a petition is presented on the basis of public interest, Rule 27(1) of the Mutunga Rules gives the court the ultimate authority to determine whether a withdrawal should be allowed,” Kimani said.

He argued that the case was an abuse of court process and misconceived. According to him, there was evidence to show that all required processes and approvals were done from 2023 when his clients sought from Narok County a place to construct a camp.

The senior lawyer asserted that the firm then got all relevant approvals, such as approval from Water Resources Authority, through a letter dated December 10, 2024, carried out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which it submitted on April 18, 2024, and the required fees as required by the law.

He told the court that his client got an EIS license on May 14, 2024, adding that before commencement of the construction, it submitted the application for approval of the architectural drawings for the camps, bridges and ancillary facilities, which were considered and approved on October 8, 2024, and  December 5, 2024.