The Judiciary has moved to centralise multiple court cases challenging British multinational Diageo's planned Sh340 billion sale of its controlling stake in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) to Japan's Asahi Group.
The move follows Chief Justice Martha Koome's confirmation that rival requests to her from EABL, Bia Tosha Distributors, JILK Construction and petitioner Christine Irungu over the handling of the litigation were under consideration.
The dispute centres on Diageo’s intended sale of its entire 65 percent stake in EABL, as well as its holding in spirits maker UDV Kenya, to Japanese beverage firm Asahi Group Holdings, a transaction set to be completed at the end of the year with the government expected to reap Sh42 billion in tax.
An internal directive by the Principal Judge of the High Court now requires all pending and future cases arising from the transaction to be handled through the Commercial and Tax Division court for coordinated management.
The June 30 directive says multiple cases filed in different High Court divisions and stations had created duplication of proceedings and increased the risk of conflicting or overlapping court orders.
It directs that all pending files and any future proceedings relating to the proposed acquisition be transmitted to the Presiding Judge of the Commercial and Tax Division for further directions.
"The directive is aimed at ensuring coordinated management and the expeditious resolution of all matters relating to the said transaction," the Principal Judge said about the administrative measure.
The directive added that the administrative measure was intended to promote efficiency, consistency and coherence in handling the growing litigation surrounding one of Kenya's largest corporate transactions.
This marks the Judiciary's first institutional response to a dispute that has expanded beyond the proposed acquisition into a contest over how the courts should manage multiple proceedings touching on the same transaction.
It follows a June 27 letter from the Office of the Chief Justice confirming that rival requests submitted by the parties were under consideration and that a formal response would follow.
The competing requests arose after EABL asked Chief Justice Koome to issue administrative directions coordinating all litigation relating to the transaction before one High Court judge or court station.
The brewer argued that successive cases filed in different courts in Nairobi and Machakos had resulted in fragmented litigation and conflicting interim orders, creating uncertainty for investors, shareholders, employees, suppliers and regulators.
Beer production line at the EABL plant in Ruaraka, Nairobi.
Photo credit: Jeff Angote | Nation Media Group
"Our client is concerned that persons desirous of hindering completion of the transaction are now engaged in forum shopping across separate court stations," EABL's lawyers, Iseme, Kamau & Maema Advocates, wrote in their letter to the Chief Justice.
They argued that parallel proceedings "amount to a clear abuse of the court process and offend the principle of judicial comity between courts of concurrent jurisdiction."
Three separate litigants -JILK Construction, Christine Irungu and Bia Tosha Distributors -opposed that request.
Lawyers representing JILK Construction, Kinoti & Kibe Co. Advocates, argued that centralising the cases would prejudice commercial, constitutional and arbitration proceedings arising from its long-running dispute with Kenya Breweries over the refurbishment of the Kisumu brewery. The company's co-claimants are Bertha Wanjiru, Mary Njeri Wanyutu, and Engineer Sammy Maina Kamau.
Christine Irungu's lawyers, Kitinya & Company Advocates, urged the Chief Justice not to take administrative action affecting his Machakos petition.
The advocates argued that any party dissatisfied with conservatory orders should seek relief before the judge hearing the case rather than through administrative correspondence.
Beer distributor Bia Tosha Distributors Managing Director, Anne-Marie Burugu, also wrote to the Chief Justice opposing EABL's proposal.
Ms Burugu argued that her company's decade-long litigation against Kenya Breweries over beer distribution routes raises distinct contractual and constitutional questions that should proceed independently of the Asahi transaction.
The multiple legal disputes stem from Diageo's December 2025 agreement to sell its 65 percent stake in EABL and its majority holding in UDV Kenya to Asahi Group as part of a global strategy to streamline its portfolio and reduce debt.
The High Court in Nairobi previously declined applications by Bia Tosha Distributors and JILK Construction seeking to stop the sale, finding their underlying disputes could proceed independently of the proposed share transfer.
However, the High Court in Machakos later, on June 18, 2026, issued conservatory orders temporarily stopping implementation of the transaction following a petition by Christine Irungu challenging the deal on minority shareholder and regulatory grounds.
The new administrative directive seeks to ensure that all future litigation relating to the transaction proceeds under coordinated judicial management while the substantive disputes continue before the courts.
