Patel Dam tragedy: Senate finds owner responsible for the death of 47 people

A Senate Committee has found Perry Mansukh Kansagara, the owner of the Patel Dam that killed 47 people in Nakuru County, responsible for the tragedy that occurred in May this year.

The committee, which was probing the Patel Dam tragedy, tabled its report in the Senate of Thursday, recommending that Mr. Mansukh be forced to compensate the affected families.

In the report, which was tabled by the Committee chairman Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, the select Senate team noted that Mr. Mansukh caused the loss of 47 lives for irregularly diverting river sources in Solai into his dams.

According to the committee, the redirection of the river sources into the Patel Dam is what caused the killer dam to break its banks washing away residents of Energy Village in Solai, Nakuru.

In July, Mr. Mansukh, Vinoj Kumar (Patel farm General Manager) and Nakuru County Director of Water Johnson Kamau Njuguna were arraigned in a Naivasha Court and charged with manslaughter, neglect of official duty and failing to prepare an environment impact assessment report.

Appearing before Naivasha Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja, the three pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on a Ksh.2.5 million cash bail.

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions, investigations revealed that the construction of the dam was done by unqualified staff using the farm equipment leading to construction and design flaws.