Big win for Ruto as court clears path for sale of key State firms

Kenya Pipeline Company storage facilities in Nairobi. [File, Standard]

President William Ruto's administration on Thursday scored a major legal victory after the High Court declared the Privatisation Act 2025 constitutional, clearing the government's bid to proceed with the sale of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and other key State corporations.

In separate judgements delivered virtually, Justice Bahati Mwamuye dismissed multiple petitions that had sought to block the government's privatisation agenda.

The ruling now hands the Ruto administration the green light to dispose of major State-owned enterprises, including New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Seed Company, the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and the strategic KPC.

"The petitioners have failed to discharge the burden of proving a constitutional violation. Therefore, the Privatisation Act 2025 is hereby declared to be constitutional and valid in its entirety," Justice Mwamuye stated, dismissing multiple petitions that had sought to block the government's ambitious privatisation agenda.

The rulings are seen as a significant political and legal victory for a government that had faced sustained pressure from civil society over what critics describe as a rush to sell off the country's crown jewels to private interests.

Ruto's government has already started the privatisation of some parastatals, starting with the partial sale of KPC through an initial public offer that ended yesterday.

The court emphasised that the Act had been enacted following meaningful public participation by Parliament and that the process provides robust safeguards for public assets. "This court is acutely conscious of the profound public interest that attaches to the privatisation of State-owned enterprises. Such assets constitute the sovereign wealth of the Republic of Kenya, held in trust for the people of Kenya, both current and future generations. Their disposal must be, and must be seen to be, conducted with the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability," the judge added. The petitions were filed by civil society groups, including Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi! and Transparency International Kenya, which argued that privatisation could lead to undervaluation of public assets, creation of parallel budgetary systems, and the transfer of strategic national assets to unaccountable private actors. "The law paves the way for the dangerous and unconstitutional transfer of sovereign power from the people of Kenya to private, unelected, and profit-driven entities," the petitioners said in their petitions.

The lobby groups added that privatising critical infrastructure, including water, energy, ports, transport, and telecommunications, would hand essential national assets to actors whose primary responsibility is profit, not public welfare.

Justice Mwamuye also disqualified himself from hearing a fresh petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah challenging the proposed privatisation of KPC and other strategic State-owned enterprises.

He directed that the matter be mentioned before Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Monday, February 23 at 9am for further directions.