The High Court has temporarily stopped two administrators appointed by NCBA Bank Kenya from taking control of Multiple Hauliers East Africa Limited pending the hearing of an application challenging their appointment.

In orders issued on August 7, 2026, Justice Gregory Mutai restrained Muniu Thoithi and George Weru of PricewaterhouseCoopers from holding themselves out as administrators of Multiple Hauliers or taking charge of the company’s operations.

The court also restrained NCBA Bank and KCB Bank from appointing a receiver or receivers over the company until the application is heard.

The orders followed an application filed by Multiple Hauliers challenging the appointment of Thoithi and Weru as joint administrators.

NCBA had announced their appointment through a Gazette Notice dated July 27, 2026.

The bank said the administrators would explore options for rescuing Multiple Hauliers as a going concern or securing a better outcome for creditors than would be achieved through liquidation.

Multiple Hauliers objected to the appointment and argued that NCBA did not hold a qualifying floating charge under Section 534 of the Insolvency Act that would allow the bank to appoint administrators without first obtaining a court order.

The company subsequently issued cease and desist demands to the administrators and moved to court seeking orders stopping them from exercising authority over its operations.

Justice Mutai certified the application as urgent and fixed the matter for hearing on September 25, 2026.

The court has not yet made a final determination on whether the appointment of the administrators was lawful.

The dispute forms part of broader insolvency proceedings involving Multiple Hauliers and several creditors.

NCBA has been seeking to recover approximately Sh7.2 billion from the logistics company.

An Official Receiver report filed in November 2024 indicated that Multiple Hauliers had debts exceeding Sh31.4 billion against assets valued at approximately Sh17 billion.

Other creditors involved in the proceedings include KCB Bank, Co-operative Bank, Prime Bank, I&M Bank, Bank of India, Synergy Industrial Credit and the National Social Security Fund.

Court records indicate that KCB and Co-operative Bank were owed approximately Sh8.82 billion combined, while I&M Bank was seeking about Sh627.9 million.

Synergy Industrial Credit has separately pursued a claim of approximately Sh532 million and previously sought the liquidation of Multiple Hauliers.

The insolvency proceedings have involved both administration and liquidation applications.

In June 2021, NCBA appointed administrators over Multiple Hauliers, but the appointment was later suspended and the matter was consolidated with liquidation proceedings involving Synergy Industrial Credit.

In September 2024, Justice Alfred Mabeya appointed the Official Receiver after earlier administrators resigned.

The Official Receiver was directed to oversee a proposed investment transaction and provide periodic reports to creditors.

The latest dispute arose after NCBA made a fresh appointment of administrators in July 2026.

Multiple Hauliers publicly challenged the appointment on July 28 before filing the application now pending before the High Court.

The August 7 orders mean Thoithi and Weru cannot exercise the powers of administrators over Multiple Hauliers while the application remains pending.

NCBA and KCB are also barred from appointing receivers over the company until the court considers the application.

The matter is scheduled to return to court on September 25.