Kenya Railways Corporation Managing Director Philip Mainga and another top official at the State firm face contempt proceedings over claims that they continued moving railway scrap metal for disposal despite a court order stopping the operations.
In an application filed at the High Court in Kisumu, the Centre for Litigation Trust (CLT) accuses the MD and the official of ignoring orders issued on October 29, which stopped them from removing, transporting, selling or disposing of railway scrap, sleepers, rails and other railway materials.
The orders stemmed from a case CLT filed alleging that Kenya Railways was removing and disposing of the infrastructure materials from its major stations without disclosing the necessary authorisations, valuation reports, tender documents and sale agreements.
The dispute concerns materials allegedly removed from Kenya Railways termini in Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret and Naivasha and taken to a private yard in Athi River, Machakos County. The lobby group says privately owned trucks were used and police officers accompanied some consignments.
The group wants Mr Mainga, together with deputy head of security Daniel Okeyo, committed to civil jail for six months over alleged disobedience of the assets preservation order.
Kenya Railways Corporation Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Philip J. Mainga before the Senate Roads, Transportation and Housing Committee at Bunge Tower in Nairobi on October 14, 2026.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Others targeted by the contempt application are Maulik and Dinesh Trivedi, directors of Muranga Freight Logistics Limited, a company named in the petition over the alleged transportation of railway materials to a private yard in Athi River.
The lobby accuses the four of defying the orders through agents. The application says they “have completely and blatantly disregarded and/or disobeyed the said orders” and continued moving railway property.
The court issued the orders on an urgent application by Julius Ogogoh and the Centre for Litigation Trust. He restrained Kenya Railways, its managing director and the two private companies from removing, transporting, selling, transferring, processing, melting, dismantling, concealing or disposing of the materials.
The judge ordered preservation of records showing how the materials were moved. These include CCTV footage, GPS and vehicle-tracking records, logbooks, gate registers, weighbridge records, delivery notes, invoices, purchase orders, disposal authorisations, auction documents, contracts, messages, payment records and vehicle-hire agreements.
“An interim conservatory order is hereby issued, to remain in force until further orders of the court,” the order stated. It required preservation of documentary, electronic and physical evidence relating to the materials.
The petitioners say the records will establish whether the materials were authorized for storage, repair, salvage or lawful disposal. They question the absence of disclosed valuation reports, sale agreements, tender documents, inventories and delivery records.
Mr Ogogoh, the lobby's executive director, says moving public assets to a private yard in privately owned vehicles raises questions about authorization and proper accounting. The petition also questions alleged police escorts.
The respondents are Kenya Railways, Mainga, its board, the Attorney-General, Muranga Freight Logistics and Abcos Industrial. The Inspector-General, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Scrap Metal Council are listed as interested parties in the case. They are yet to respond to the contempt application.
Photographs attached to the application show metal components, trucks and premises bearing the name Muranga Forwarders.
The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act provides the framework for disposing of public assets declared obsolete, unserviceable or surplus.
Government regulations provide for public tender and, in specified circumstances, public auction. The petitioners also rely on the Scrap Metal Act, which regulates dealings in scrap and addresses material taken from railway infrastructure.
The documents allege that a truck carrying railway materials broke down near Voi on September 29 and was intercepted by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers.
