Why Omtatah wants court to block Sh2.8tr railway works

Passengers board train transport to their destinations at the Nairobi central Railway Station, Nairobi on November 2, 2021. [File, Standard]

Senator Okiya Omtatah has filed a petition seeking to block the National Treasury from releasing Sh2.824 trillion for several railway projects.

The Busia legislator and activists Bernard Muchiri Muchere and Naomi Nyakerario Misati are also seeking to restrain the government and its agents from proceeding with the 12.5-kilometre Riruta-Ngong Commuter Metre Gauge Railway Project, valued at Sh11.5 billion, among other railway initiatives across the country.

According to filing at the Milimani High Court, the petitioners argue that these projects violate constitutional provisions because they were approved and financed without proper Parliamentary appropriation, public participation or transparency.

They warn that if the projects proceed unchecked, billions of shillings of public money could be mismanaged, worsening Kenya's debt crisis.

Omtatah and his co-petitioners are now requesting urgent conservatory orders to stop Kenya Railways Corporation, the National Treasury, the State Department of Transport, the Attorney-General, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), APEC Consortium and Africa Star Railway Operation Company Ltd from moving forward with construction, procurement or disbursement of funds.

"A conservatory order be issued restraining the respondents... from proceeding with, continuing, implementing, financing, or in any way dealing with the Sh 11,505,806,368 Riruta-Ngong Commuter Meter Gauge Railway Project, including land acquisition, resettlement, procurement, or utilisation of funds," the petition reads.

It also seeks to halt the allocation of funds from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) or the Consolidated Fund.

"A conservatory order restraining the Treasury and other state agencies from disbursing, allocating, transferring, or utilizing any funds from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) or the Consolidated Fund for the purposes of the Sh11.5 billion Riruta-Ngong Commuter Meter Gauge Railway Project or any of the other projects listed in the petition, valued at Sh2.824 trillion to be undertaken by Kenya Railways," the petitioners state.

They further seek to declare the RDLF and its enabling legal framework unconstitutional, quash approvals of the railway projects, cancel unlawful contracts, and order a comprehensive forensic audit of the RDLF and Kenya Railways' finances.

In addition, Omtatah and his co-petitioners seek the abolishment of the RDLF and return of any remaining funds to the Consolidated Fund and compel full disclosure of project-related documents.The petitioner contend that Kenya Railways Corporation, which is already financially strained, has been tasked with managing multi-billion-shilling projects funded from the RDLF without adequate oversight.

"The continued implementation of the Riruta-Ngong Commuter Meter Gauge Railway Project will irreversibly alter the factual and legal substratum of the petition through the execution of contracts, disbursement of public funds, land acquisition, and construction works, thereby rendering any eventual judgment of this Court merely academic," Omatath says.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye certified the petition as urgent and ordered the petitioners to serve the government with the court pleading.

The government agencies were directed to file responses by December 30, 2025.