Fast food chain Steers loses case on JKIA contract

International fast food company, Steers, has lost its case challenging the award to develop a restaurant at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The company through its parent company Hoggers, will now rest its bid to build and manage the restaurant after the court found that Public Procurement Oversight Authority was right in re-evaluating bidding process result that in turn favoured Suzan General.

Steers is also to pay court fees to its competitor as the judge found it did not bring up a case that would have warranted the court to quash the earlier decision.

“In my view, the respondent (PPOA) was entitled to find that the supplementary grounds did not contain fresh issues or otherwise. In the result, I find no merit in the suit which I hereby dismiss. The courts will only interfere with the decision of a public authority if it is outside the band of reasonableness,” Justice Odunga ruled.

The fast food firm in its papers told the court that it had enough evidence that would support its claims against the procurement watchdog. However, the judge held that the papers had been overtaken by events. The tender had attracted four companies. Besides Suzan General and Hoggers, it had Yog Holdings and Kuku Foods Kenya bidding for the lucrative deal.

However, the two companies lost, with Kuku coming in third after the re-evaluation process and Yog Holding being kicked out after it failed to prove that it had prior experience in the fast food eateries sector.

It is a double blow for Steers as it had already put one foot into the deal. Kenya Airports Authority had already signed the contract with the company but the same was reverted after review.

Steers won the tender in June last year, but Suzan General secured court orders compelling PPOA to allow its appeal before the tribunal.

Following the appeal, the results were overturned in Suzan General’s favour.

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