Court certifies urgent petition over Sh17 billion waste contract awarded to Ghanaian firm
The organisation is seeking an order compelling the county to provide the requested information at its cost and a declaration that the county’s conduct violated constitutional principles, including the rule of law, public participation, human rights, good governance and accountability.
The High Court in Mombasa has certified as urgent a petition challenging the awarding of a Sh17 billion waste management contract to a Ghanaian company, after a lobby group raised concerns over a lack of public participation and alleged secrecy in the tender process.
The petitioner, Centre for Litigation Trust (CLiT), argues that the county bypassed constitutional requirements for oversight and transparency, leaving residents in the dark on how public funds are being managed.
More To Read
- Civil society sues CS Murkomen, IG Kanja over Natembeya, Khalwale security recall
- New Bill proposes hefty fines, jail terms for careless disposal of electronics
- Bad weather, safety gaps blamed for Ghana helicopter crash that killed ministers
- Africa imports over 70 per cent of its medicines — Local production of ingredients could change that
- Ghana suspends all boxing activities following boxer’s death
- Governor Sakaja vows to deregister private firms over illegal dumping of waste
In a ruling dated December 4, 2025, Justice Jairus Ngaah declared the petition urgent, ordering that it be served immediately.
“The respondents and interested parties shall file and serve their response to the application within seven days of the date of service. Directions on the manner of disposal of the application shall be given on December 15, 2025. It is so ordered,” Justice Ngaah said.
CLiT is seeking a declaration that the County Government of Mombasa’s failure to provide information requested under Article 35 (1) of the Constitution violates its right to access information.
The group had written to the county on October 24 seeking details on the tender for the design, building, financing, maintenance and transfer of waste to an energy processing plant in Mwakirunge for the 2024/2025-2026 financial years.
“The said tender has never been tabled before the County Assembly for deliberations as required by law, notwithstanding the fact that the oversight role with respect to expenditure over devolved funds is vested in respective county assemblies under the Constitution,” reads the petition.
The petition also alleges that no adequate public participation was conducted during the award process and that the county has failed to respond to requests for information, including: the number of entities that applied for the tender, shortlisted tenderers, whether the tender is a public-private partnership, the evaluation criteria and score sheets, the contract details and its value and duration.
“To date, no response has been received from the respondent nor has any information ever been supplied,” CLiT argues in the petition, claiming that the award to the Jospong Group of Companies was neither fair nor transparent.
The organisation is seeking an order compelling the county to provide the requested information at its cost and a declaration that the county’s conduct violated constitutional principles, including the rule of law, public participation, human rights, good governance and accountability.
Top Stories Today
