Supreme Court halts construction of second grain bulk handling facility

Some of the silos for handling cereals at the Grain Bulk Handlers Limited, July 20, 2018. [File, Standard]

The Supreme Court has halted the construction of a second grain bulk handling facility at the Port of Mombasa after declaring the tender awarded by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to Portside Freight Terminals Limited illegal and unconstitutional.

A five-bench of Supreme Court judges led by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and Justices Mohammed Ibrahim, Isaac Lenaola, William Ouko, and Smokin Wanjala, ruled that the Court of Appeal erred in upholding the use of the Specially Permitted Procurement Procedure under Section 144A of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPAD Act), 2015.

"The decision of KPA to grant Portside Freight Terminals Limited the license to establish a second grain bulk facility through the Specially Permitted Procurement Procedure was inconsistent with Articles 10(2)(c), 201(a), and 227(1) of the Constitution," the Justcice Mwilu-led bench declared.

The judgment by the Apex court follows an appeal filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, together with the Dock Workers Union.

They sought to stop Portside Freight Terminals Limited and its affiliates, Portside CfS Limited and Heartland Terminals Limited, from constructing the grain handling facility at the G-Section Island Berth, a parcel of land owned by the KPA.