Nairobi

A plan to sell shares in the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has been put on ice after the High Court in Nairobi stepped in with a temporary order. The decision is the latest twist in a contentious privatisation push by President William Ruto’s administration.

On Friday morning, Justice Bahati Mwamuye issued a conservatory order barring the government from offering, transferring or disposing of any KPC shares until a petition challenging the sale is heard.

“Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the applicant’s notice of motion dated 14 August 2025, a conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from offering for sale any shares of the Kenya Pipeline Company,” Justice Mwamuye said in court.

The order means the National Treasury cannot proceed with any part of the planned sale. The petitioners have been instructed to serve their application to the government and any other interested parties before the case resumes.

The court gave the respondents until 22 August to file their replies, with the petitioners allowed to respond by 29 August if they wish.

The ruling comes just two weeks after the Cabinet gave the go-ahead for the privatisation. In its 26 July statement, the government argued that the move would shift KPC into the hands of the private sector, which it says is better placed to drive “growth, efficiency and innovation”.

But the plan has met resistance. KPC employees have voiced concerns over potential job losses, warning that private ownership could put livelihoods at risk.

Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi sought to allay those fears. “We do not foresee any job losses or any restructuring to the current job structures at KPC,” he told reporters, insisting that worker protections are already enshrined in law.

For now, the court’s intervention has slowed the government’s timetable, leaving the future of one of Kenya’s most strategic state corporations in limbo. The coming weeks will determine whether the sale proceeds—or whether public pressure and legal hurdles bring the process to a halt.