A petition has been filed before the High Court in Nakuru challenging the concession and tolling of the A8 Rironi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway, as well as other existing roads built and maintained through taxpayer funds.
The Motorists Association of Kenya, together with two other individuals, wants the court to issue orders compelling the government to use taxes, sovereign loans, the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), and other levies collected by the government to fund the expansion of the Rironi–Mau Summit Highway.
The petitioners said that privatising the road and imposing a Sh8 per kilometre toll on motorists amounts to double taxation.
They argue that the Rironi–Mau Summit road and other trunk roads are built on public land and funded through public money via various taxation regimes.
They further contend that in 2024, the government, through the Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority, unlawfully increased the RMLF from Sh18 per litre to Sh25 per litre, pushing the cumulative tax on fuel to 90 percent of its landed cost.
This, they say, has forced motorists to bear the heavy financial burden of funding the exchequer, including the construction and maintenance of roads.
“Despite this, the respondents have announced intentions to concession the A8 highway to private entities under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, thereby imposing tolls on motorists for use of already existing public highways,” states part of the petition.
Through lawyer Jordan Kanga, the petitioners claim that applying the BOT model to the Rironi–Mau Summit Highway—an existing public asset—amounts to privatisation of public infrastructure, alienating citizens from property they already own and enjoy.
“Privatisation of national highways to foreign investors compromises national sovereignty and denies Kenyans the opportunity to build, learn, employ, and accumulate domestic capital,” Mr Kanga states.
The petitioners have sued the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Roads, the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha), the Public Private Partnership Directorate, China Road and Bridge Corporation, the National Social Security Fund, and the Attorney General.
They are seeking a declaration that prolonged underbudgeting, delayed maintenance, and intentional neglect of the Northern Corridor and other national highways over the past sixteen years amount to dereliction of duty and gross administrative failure.
They also seek an order directing appropriate investigative and administrative action against the responsible Kenha and PPP officials for failing to budget adequately.
The petition was filed on the same day President William Ruto launched the road expansion project in Nakuru.
The project is being undertaken by two contractors, including China Road and Bridge Corporation, through a PPP arrangement at a cost of Sh170 billion.
President Ruto said the project will be completed by May 2027.
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