High Court blocks government sale of Kenya Pipeline shares

High Court blocks government sale of Kenya Pipeline shares

Justice Bahati Mwamuye said the petitioner, the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), must serve the respondents and interested parties with the application, petition and court order by the close of business on August 15, 2025.

The High Court has issued conservatory orders restraining the government from proceeding with the sale of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) shares under the current privatisation plan.

In his ruling, Justice Bahati Mwamuye said the petitioner, the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), must serve the respondents and interested parties with the application, petition and court order by the close of business on August 15, 2025.

Justice Mwamuye ordered that, pending the hearing and determination of COFEK’s motion, the respondents and interested parties are prohibited from offering for sale, allocating, disposing, transferring, or otherwise dealing with any KPC shares related to the privatisation plan.

The conservatory orders block the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, John Mbadi, the Privatisation Authority, and others from advancing the sale.

"A conservatory order be and is hereby issued restraining the Respondents and the interested parties, jointly and severally, and whether by themselves or through their agents from offering for sale, allocating, disposing, transferring, or otherwise dealing with any shares of the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited pursuant to the impugned privatization plan that is the subject of the Petition herein," rule Justice Mwamuye.

The Court directed the respondents to file their responses by August 22, 2025, and indicated that the petitioner’s application will be heard on September 5, 2025.

The Cabinet, chaired by President William Ruto, approved reinstating KPC into the privatisation programme in July 2025, paving the way for a partial sale of government shares and listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

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