Blow to Ruto as court blocks government spearheaded mandatory Electronic Government Procurement
A temporary order has been issued halting the directive to have all public entities use the Electronic Government Procurement System (e-GP) in tendering processes.
Issuing the orders today, Justice Bahati Mwamuye suspended the implementation of a circular by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning together with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), which had made the use of e-GP mandatory.
“A conservatory order be and is hereby issued staying the decision of the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury & Economic Planning, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority’s Circular which required the mandatory use of the Electronic Government Procurement System [e-GPS] by all Public Procurement Entities,” Mwamuye ordered.
Mwamuye further directed that procurement processes remain open to both electronic and manual submissions.
“A conservatory order be and is hereby issued requiring that all Public Procurement Entities shall comply with Section 77(1) of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act in that submission of tender documents shall be in writing and in either electronic or manual form; and such submissions shall comply with the other requirements of Section 77 generally and subsection (1) in particular,” he added.
Additionally, the judge directed that both modes of submission be treated equally, provided they meet the criteria set out in the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.
Mwamuye ruled that the suspension is temporary and will remain in force until the 15th of next month unless extended by the court.
“The Conservatory Orders under (1), (2), and (3) above shall lapse at the end of the day on 15/10/2025 unless otherwise extended,” he directed.
He ordered the petitioners to immediately serve the respondents and the interested party with the court papers and the ruling.
“The Petitioners shall serve the Respondents and the Interested Party with the Application, Petition, and this Court Order immediately, and file an Affidavit(s) of Service in that regard by close of business 09/09/2025. The 5th Petitioner shall also take the necessary steps to bring this Court Order to the attention of the wider public. Responses to both the Application and the Petition shall be filed and served by close of business 26th of this month. Rejoinder, if need be, to be filed and served by close of business 03/10/2025. Skeleton Written Submissions limited to six (6) pages, font 12, 1.5 spacing, shall be filed and served by close of business 9th of next month,” the ruling concluded.
The matter will proceed to a hearing virtually later this week.
The temporary order comes two weeks after the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi directed all state departments to fully adopt the new e-procurement system, warning that no procurement will proceed unless compliance is achieved.
Mbadi said all departments have until next week to transition to the digital platform.
The CS explained that the new platform is designed to enhance transparency and accountability in government spending by covering the entire procurement cycle.
“This new e-procurement system is end-to-end; it starts from budgeting to the payment stage. In the current system, once the national budget is uploaded on IFMIS, the rest of the procurement is manual. The new system will help curb issues that arise during the awarding of tenders,” he remarked.
He highlighted the security features built into the digital framework, saying they will make it impossible to alter documents once uploaded.
