A lobby group has moved to court to challenge the Kenya Ports Authority’s (KPA) plan to lease equipment and outsource Port operations services for five years, arguing that the move amounts to the corporatization of the Port without proper public participation.
The Tender, which was posted on the KPA website on May 8, 2026, and closed on May 25, 2026, seeks the co-provision of leased equipment and operating services for port operations.
Taireni Association of Mijikenda Chairman, Peter Kadzeha, says the initiative effectively transfers control, use and economic benefits of strategic public assets to private entities.
“In law, such a process constitutes a form of privatisation or Public-Private Partnership arrangement, regardless of the terminology adopted. Consequently, it must comply with the full range of constitutional and statutory safeguards governing the disposition or commercialization of public assets,” stated Kadzeha in Mombasa.
He added, “The failure to adhere to these safeguards, renders the process unconstitutional, ultra vires and void from the onset.”
Kadzeha further argued that the long-term leasing of operational assets effectively transfers KPA’s core functions to private actors, reducing the authority to a residual or supervisory role.
“This constitutes an unlawful abdication of statutory duty and an attempt to alter legislative intent through administrative means, which is impermissible in law,” said Kadzeha.
He further noted that the tender process bears the characteristics of a concession or public-private partnership arrangement, including long-term access rights, revenue generation and operational control by non-state actors.
Separately, Mombasa Senator, Mohamed Faki, has opposed the same KPA’s framework contract for the provision of skilled and semi-skilled labour.
The three-year tender, seen by KNA, is expected to lead to the recruitment of more than 4,625 skilled and semi-skilled workers operating in three shifts.
The workers will be required to renew their contracts annually. According to the tender documents, they are expected to support port operations, including container handling, cargo operations, marine services, equipment operations and maintenance functions within port facilities.
The tender aims to ensure efficient cargo handling and vessel turnaround, maintain high equipment productivity and uptime, guarantee safe, secure and compliant port operations, provide a qualified, competent and disciplined workforce, and support the achievement of throughput and revenue targets.
Speaking during an engagement with the Wachangamwe community, which borders the Port of Mombasa on the western side, Faki said the community had donated land for the construction of the Port and Airport, a move that historically resulted in employment opportunities for residents.
However, he noted that the trend is changing, citing the recent recruitment of management trainees.
“The majority of them were not locals, even though people say this is a national asset, but it is our land that we donated for the port construction. In the past, before independence, our elders were paid royalties because of the land that was taken and a port was constructed,” stated Faki.
He promised to conduct investigations at the National Archives, to obtain evidence that could be presented to the government to support the resumption of royalty payments, arguing that the community is increasingly being excluded from Port jobs.
The Senator said the recently advertised KPA tender for the provision of skilled and semi-skilled labour, as well as the leasing of equipment, would effectively end direct recruitment by the authority.
“The danger of that is we will not have career people working at the Port. Another thing is that the current employees may lose their jobs in the future because when they take over, there will be no need for KPA to recruit. KPA will be like a landlord,” said Faki.
“That is not the aim of us agitating for the port to be here. During the former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime, they took port operations to Naivasha. We protested that move until President William Ruto took over and returned port operations to Mombasa,” he added.
By Sadik Hassan
