Coming up for hearing:       on 24th March 2023

Application filed:                  on 10th June 2022.

Articles:                                 39 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East Africa Community

Rules:                                      52 (1) & 84(1) of the East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure, 2019.

Subject matter:                     Interim and/or Injunction order.

 

The Application is based on grounds that subject matter of the Reference No. 28 of 2022 is the respondent’s dredging of river Nile with undue regard to the East African law and international environmental and human right law. The Applicant states that on 3rd June 2022 the Respondent received the Egyptian water dredging machines meant to aid the flow of water along the Naam River in Unity State and Bahr el Ghazal basin.

The Applicant states that the project is to be carried out by the Egyptian Government in partnership with the Respondent. The project is environmentally untenable and it will traverse protected area in East Africa with undue regard to livelihoods, gender, food, children and public health of the East Africans. The areas through which the dredging project shall pass is comprised of several settlements, farmlands and water resources of thousands of indigenous persons and there has been no regards to their rights.

The Applicant further states that the Respondent has already received the machines and equipment for dredging the River Nile and if a temporary injunction is not issued restraining the said project, the Applicant’s suit will be rendered nugatory. The Applicant states that he has a prima facie case and the people where the projects is designed will suffer irreparable damages if the application is not granted since the main Reference raises issues affecting livelihood and environment including permanent loss of habitats, stress and morality, loss of primary productive in watercourses, loss of ecological functions among others.

The Applicant contends that status quo should be maintained and that the Dredging of the Nile Project be temporarily halted pending the outcome of the main Reference and it is just and equitable that the application for temporary injunction and access to Host Government agreements (interim order) be granted pending the outcome of the main reference inter-parte.

The Applicant, Elario Adam Cholong seeks orders that this court issue an interim order and/or a temporary injunction restraining the respondent, their employee or agents from dredging the River Nile until the determination of the main reference, that an order do issue directing the Respondent to provide the Applicant with Dredging Project Agreement between the Respondents and the Egyptian Government, and that the Court makes any orders or directives it deems necessary.

 

 

This is a document produced by the Registry to assist in understanding forthcoming matters before the Court. It does not bind the Court. For authoritative Decisions, Judgments and general information about the Court please visit https://www.eacj.org

Contact: Registrar, East African Court of Justice, P.O. Box 1096 Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 27 2506093 Fax: +255 27 27 2509493 Email: eacj@eachq.org

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