‘Victory for the people!’ Omtatah declares after Supreme Court quashes Sh5.8 billion tender awarded to Joho family

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has welcomed the Supreme Court decision that quashed the award of a tender for Sh5.8 billion second bulk grain handling facility project to a company owned by Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho’s family.

In a post to X handle, Omtatah, who went to court to challenge the decision by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to give the tender to Portside Freight Terminals Ltd, said that in making the ruling the five-judge Supreme Court bench, which was chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Philemona Mwilu, has struck down secrecy and backroom deals at the country’s ports.

“It has declared that no boardroom can rewrite our master plans in darkness. It has affirmed that no government body can bypass fair open competitive tendering under Article 227 of our Constitution. It has reminded us that public resources must serve all Kenyans, not private cartels. I stood in those courtrooms for every Kenyan who wakes up hoping for a country that honours its people, not shady deals. This is a precedent that the Constitution lives when citizens defend it,” said Omtatah.

“No corner of public procurement is above transparency. No secret deal will stand when people say NO. Today’s victory is a torch for every struggle ahead. We will defend every shilling, right and dream. This fight will reach every location and corner, every port, every budget line and every corridor of power. We stand for dignity, openness and the rule of law. Together we shall win and together we shall restore this republic,” the senator, a self-made public interest litigant, added.

Portside Freight Terminal Ltd had secured the deal through a Specially Permitted Procurement Procedure (SPPP, which was introduced by the Finance Act 2017.

The firm had submitted an unsolicited proposal to construct and develop a second grain handling facility at the Port of Mombasa.

However, the apex court agreed with Omtatah that the award was inconsistent with the Constitution for lack of open competition, transparency, fairness and equity.

While acknowledging that the project was of national security and interest, the judges said such projects must awarded through processes must be fair, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.

“In other words, the protection of the supremacy of the Constitution is critical and there can be no greater national public or national security interest than upholding the Constitution, its values and principles and obeying the law,” Justices Mwilu, Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Isaac Lenaola and William Ouko affirmed.