This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
On October 4, 2019, a three-judge bench at the court halted the implementation of a memorandum of understanding between the State and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to run the second container berth at the port.
Justices Erick Ogola, Alfred Mabeya, and Mugure Thande declared that an amendment to Section 16 of the Merchant Shipping Act granting port management rights to MSC was unconstitutional.
The judges ruled that the amendment was illegal because the State had failed to follow the law, stating, "To this court, such a change in policy through legislation would have required robust debate in the National Assembly accompanied with effective and satisfactory public participation through a substantive, separate independent Bill,"
The Kenya Ports Authority's lawyer, Sanjeve Khagram, filed a notice in court on Friday to challenge the decision.
The agency had argued that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case due to what it termed separation of powers.
The case was brought by the Dock Workers Union, Taireni Association of Mijikenda, and Muslims for Human Rights, who sued the State for entering into the MoU with the shipping firm, arguing that privatisation of the container terminal would put jobs at risk.
