Court halts privatisation of Mombasa, Lamu ports

The High Court has temporarily stopped plans by the state to privatise the Mombasa and Lamu ports.

This follows a petition filed by the Taireni Association of Mijikenda on Monday seeking conservatory orders barring the government from privatising Container Terminal 1, berths 11-14 at the Mombasa Port and berths 1-3  at Lamu Port.

The association claimed the sale plans were part of a ploy to take over the management assets of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

While issuing the interim orders, Justice Chacha Mwita gave the government three days to respond with further orders set to be issued on December 6.

According to the association's chairperson Peter Ponda, the planned privatisation was "tainted with substantive and constitutional impropriety".

The state, through KPA, commenced the disposal of the berths at the two ports through the Public-Private Partnership, Act 2022.

"Private sector investment"

KPA Managing Director, William Ruto last week told an investors' conference that he was confident that “concession of port assets will attract private sector investment.”

Ruto told investors that the primary objective of the partnership with the private sector is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of ports and improve their capacity and competitiveness regionally and globally.

“The concession of port assets represents a strategic move by the KPA to attract private sector investment, encourage technological advancements, and improve overall service delivery,” he said.

He assured them that the process would be conducted with utmost transparency, fairness and adherence to the highest standards of governance.

“The pre-bid conference marks the beginning of a comprehensive and transparent bidding process, which will ultimately provide interested and qualified investors with an opportunity to submit their proposals,” Ruto said.

Kenya Ports Authority said it will evaluate the bids based on predetermined criteria, including technical expertise, financial capability, and sustainability plans.