The court was told that unless it intervened, 250,000 tonnes of rice risked being irregularly reallocated before the deadline on October 31, 2025.
The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) and Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) have been blocked from elbowing out 16 firms from a Sh15 billion rice imports tender in favour of companies that did not participate in the August, 2025 procurement process.
High Court judge has issued the order, which also suspends a gazette notice by food authority that cancelled an earlier KNTC notice awarding the 16 firms lots in the importation of 250,000 tonnes of grade one white rice.
The food authority had revoked the notice a day after the trading corporation awarded the 16 firms. The AFA then named four companies that did not bid in the August procurement process.
Justice Jairus Ngaah has directed that the case be heard on October 23, seven days before the deadline for importing of the rice duty free lapses.
An earlier court order allowed for the imports scheme to run until October 31.
“In the meantime, in order to preserve the substratum of the petition, and, to the extent that the respondents impugned actions may frustrate or compromise the effect of the order of this Honourable Court sitting at Kerugoya in High Court Petition number E009 of 2025, conservatory orders pending the hearing of the application or until such further orders are made by this Honourable Court are hereby granted,” said the judge.
The government revised its valuation of grade one white Pakistani rice to $460 (Sh59,409) per tonne.
Ibrahim Muhumed Mohamed and Abdiaziz Moge Noor moved to the High Court in Mombasa accusing AFA of revoking the tender awarded to 16 companies and later purporting to issue the quota to unknown entities that were not part of the process.
They have sued the food authority, the trading corporation, the Agriculture and Livestock Development CS, the Treasury CS, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Attorney-General.
The 16 firms have been listed as interested parties, alongside the Rice Importers Association of Mombasa.
The firms are Mali Safi Commodities, Tridah Wholesalers, Massatech Kenya, Voono Grains Kenya, One Commodities Company, Deli-Convie, Export Trading Company, House of Procurement, Krish Commodities, Zuchero Trading Celeste Trading, Gulf Bakers, Kamili Packers, Global Marketing Enterprise and Compact Inland Logistics Go Rice Company.
The court was told that unless it intervened, the entire 250,000 tonnes risked being irregularly reallocated before the deadline on October 31, 2025.
The government revised its valuation of grade one white Pakistani rice to $460 (Sh59,409) per tonne, which would have seen the four contractors awarded by AFA import 250,000 tonnes of white rice at approximately Sh14.8 billion.
The Nation has established that the four firms awarded are Zyan Agencies, Ecoview Commodities, Njema Commodities and Solid Commodities.
Import duty will be waived for the imports, an annual ritual through which Kenya usually seeks to plug a rice deficit of nearly 800,000 tonnes.
The traders said the cancellation of a lawful tender and the threat to clandestine reallocation of the national quota to unknown private entities, creates conditions ripe for abuse of dominance, price-fixing, and anti-competitive behaviour.
“The actions have the likely effect of concentrating market power, reducing competition in wholesale and retail markets, and exposing consumers and local millers to exploitation through possible price inflation,” said the traders in the application.
The traders said entrusting the importation of a staple food commodity to opaque and undisclosed actors, while cancelling the transparent process involving 16 vetted entities, could lead to the importation of substandard or unsafe products, thereby threatening public health and food safety.
They said the Gazette Notice authorising duty-free imports was issued to stabilise supply and prices in light of a national deficit of over 400,000 tonnes annually.
And by revoking the allocations and cancelling the lawful tender process, AFA was frustrating the very purpose of the notice and the public policy objectives it was meant to serve.
They added that allowing AFA to allocate import permits directly to private entities without advertisement, competitive bidding or adherence to procurement rules undermines the constitutional and statutory framework.
The traders added that direct allocation without advertisement risks arbitrary selection, favouritism or elite capture.
“This undermines public confidence, disadvantages potential qualified importers, and can distort the market — directly contrary to the national values and principles of governance in Article 10 of the Constitution, which bind all State organs, including AFA,” the application reads.
They pointed out that KNTC’s statutory mandate includes stabilising supply and prices of key goods, promoting fair market access for local producers, and ensuring availability of essential products to the public.
The court heard that the revocation also undermined not only the gazette notice and the lawful tender process but also the express ruling of the court issued on August 19, allowing the importation specific quantities of rice within the 250,000 tonnes.
The traders further faulted the authority, stating that no reasons for the revocation were given. They added that the authority did not publish the decision-making records or any evaluation criteria or made available to the public, despite the public interest nature of the allocation.
“The Agriculture and Food Authority, whether by itself, its agents, servants, or assigns, is hereby restrained from issuing, reallocating, or otherwise purporting to allocate the 250,000 tonnes rice importation quota to any private individuals or entities outside of the lawful tender process conducted by KNTC pursuant to Gazette Notice No. 10353 of 28th July 2025 and the Court ruling of 19th August 2025,” Justice Ngaah said.
