Courts to track KPC, Safaricom sale cash proceeds
The Kenyan High Court has refused to freeze the National Infrastructure Fund but ordered the Treasury to provide detailed financial reporting on its transactions. The fund, which is intended to finance public projects, faces legal challenges regarding its constitutionality and oversight.
Why it matters
The ruling balances the government's ability to execute public infrastructure projects with the need for judicial oversight and financial transparency regarding public assets.
The High Court has declined to freeze the government's Sh5 trillion National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), saying a blanket suspension would interfere with executive functions and ongoing public interest projects.
Justice Patricia Nyaundi, however, ordered the Treasury to disclose certified accounts and regularly report all deposits, withdrawals and allocations pending the determination of a constitutional petition challenging NIF’s legality.
The court found the petition raises arguable constitutional questions over the fund's legal framework but held that a blanket suspension would not strike the proper balance between constitutional oversight and ongoing public functions.
It directed the Treasury to file accounts certified by the Auditor-General within 30 days or August 24, showing money received since the start of the fund, the dates when deposits were made into Central Bank of Kenya or commercial bank accounts operated as well as every transaction, expenditure and allocation.
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