Over 8,500 former Kenya Railways employees move to court over retirement fund property sale
They are requesting the court to issue a Conservatory Order and/or Interim Injunction restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves or through their agents, from proceeding with the sale or disposing of property LR No. 209/19382 via public auction.
More than 8,500 former employees of the Kenya Railways Corporation have filed an urgent petition in court seeking to halt the corporation from disposing of their retirement fund assets, including houses and land.
The petition, filed by Pastor Frederick Bett Mutangili and Jared Makhotsa on behalf of the pensioners, claims that the Trustees of the Kenya Railways Corporation Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme have breached their fiduciary duties and the trust placed in them. The trustees are said to have advertised for sale property known as LR No. 209/19382 through a public tender notice published in a local daily, inviting bids from prospective buyers.
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The petitioners note that the deadline for submission of bids is set for May 5, 2025, at 2 pm, after which the highest bidder will be declared the purchaser — a move they argue would result in the imminent and irreversible alienation of trust property.
They are requesting the court to issue a Conservatory Order and/or Interim Injunction restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves or through their agents, from proceeding with the sale or disposing of property LR No. 209/19382 via public auction.
“Pending the inter partes hearing of this application, the court be pleased to issue orders restraining the 6th Respondent — the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Railways Corporation — Isaac Sila, and the Board of Trustees members James Kariuki Kanyeki, Josphat Mokaya and Philip Jamhuri Mainga, from opening the tender bids as per the advert dated April 14, 2025,” the petitioners state in court documents.
They further argue that the Ngara Railways Estate property remains the only meaningful source of pension for the retirees and must not be sold without due consultation.
The former employees claim they are seeking urgent redress for the denial, violation, and threat to their constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms, resulting from what they term unlawful, illegal, and unconstitutional decisions, omissions and actions by the Respondents. These actions, they argue, have already led to the loss of retirement funds and risk further depletion of critical pension assets.
The petitioners, all members of the Kenya Railways Pensioners Welfare Association, cite the continued threat to the rule of law and mismanagement of the retirement fund as key motivations for the legal action.
They refer to Gazette Notice dated September 7, 2006, in which the then Chairperson of the Kenya Railways Corporation Board, V.A. On’gong’o — with the approval of the Minister for Transport — vested ownership of various properties, including LR No. 209/19382 (Ngara Estate), in the trustees of the retirement scheme to hold in trust for the benefit of the corporation’s retirees.
They insist that the property in question is trust property and must only be dealt with in consultation with and the approval of its beneficiaries — the retirees — many of whom have established their homes on the land.
They further argue that the intended sale is central to the subject of the petition, and if allowed to proceed before the matter is heard and determined, it would render the court process meaningless by dissipating the very property in dispute, leaving the petitioners without recourse.
“There is a real and present danger that the corporation will proceed with the sale in breach of trust and the law, unless urgently restrained by this Honourable Court through appropriate conservatory orders,” the petitioners assert.
They are apprehensive that, without urgent intervention, they will suffer irreparable harm — including loss of their retirement homes, denial of justice, and the irreversible loss of trust property held for their benefit.
The retirees are also seeking orders restraining the corporation from evicting Mutangili and Makhotsa from houses No. 18C and 47A in the Ngara Railways Estate pending the full hearing and determination of the petition.
Additionally, they are asking the court to direct the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Ngara Police Station, to enforce and supervise the execution of any orders granted.
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