The Kenya International Convention Center (KICC) will remain a public asset following a ruling by the High Court, which deemed the entire Privatization Act unconstitutional.
Justice Chacha Mwita stated that the Act could not stand due to a lack of meaningful public participation prior to its enactment.
The court’s decision aligned with arguments presented by the Orange Democratic Movement (Orange Democratic Movement ), which contended that the public had been excluded from providing input during the formulation of the Act, which facilitated the sale of government-owned enterprises to private entities.
Along with KICC, other assets, including Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Literature Bureau, and Kenya Seed Company, were also granted protection from privatization.
During the proceedings, ODM’s advocate, Jackson Awele, argued that any attempts to privatize these assets must involve public consent through a referendum, given their significance as part of Kenya’s sovereign wealth and their cultural and strategic importance.
In his ruling, Judge Mwita emphasized that KICC constitutes a national heritage site, and the move to privatize it contradicts Article 11(2) of the Constitution as well as the Monument and Heritage Act.
“KICC is a national monument that needs to be protected, and the decision to privatize it is unconstitutional, null, and void,” he asserted.
The backdrop to this legal challenge stems from President William Ruto’s enactment of the Privatization Bill in October 2023, which came into effect on the 27th of that month.
The new legislation sought to repeal the previous Privatization Act of 2005 and introduced extensive powers for the government to manage and dispose of key assets representing Kenya’s sovereign wealth.
ODM contended that in passing the new Act, both the National Assembly and the President neglected their responsibility to uphold the sovereignty of the Kenyan people, thus prompting this significant court ruling.
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