The High Court has issued conservatory orders stopping the planned privatisation of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), a day after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi vigorously defended the proposal before Parliament.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, August 15, 2025, Justice Bahati Mwamuye restrained the National Treasury, the Privatisation Authority, and other respondents from “offering for sale, allocating, disposing, transferring, or otherwise dealing with any shares of the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited pursuant to the impugned privatisation plan” until the petition is heard and determined.
The case was filed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek), which is challenging the legality of the process.
The judge directed the petitioner to serve all parties by close of business Friday and for responses to be filed by August 22. The hearing of the application is scheduled for September 5 at the Milimani High Court.
The orders came barely 24 hours after Mbadi told a parliamentary committee that privatisation would ease the financial burden on the government and open investment opportunities for Kenyans.
“The proposed listing of KPC is a clear reflection of the growing strength and maturity of our economy, and this IPO is well positioned to support not just the financing of our 2025/2026 budget but will also usher in KPC into a new paradigm of heightened corporate governance and transparency,” said Mbadi.
“Our economy is at a critical turning point, and to sustain the economic achievements realised thus far, both from a macro and fiscal perspective, we must turn to innovative financing mechanisms to fund infrastructure and public service projects,” he added.
Mbadi also noted that “we have identified privatisation as a key tool to address the following three major economic balances: government debt, budget balances and economic stimulation.”
Treasury projects the IPO could raise Ksh100 billion, with KPC valued at about Ksh120 billion based on its last audited accounts.
Cofek maintains the plan is flawed and risks undermining public interest, a position that will be tested when the matter returns to court next month.
