A fresh legal battle is unfolding in Mombasa after Nyali MP Mohamed Ali moved to the High Court to challenge the procurement of a KSh17 billion waste management project.
The petition, lodged under case number HCCHRPET/E053/2025, questions the legality of the county’s decision-making process and demands public access to documents relating to the project’s approval.
Ali, in a statement posted on X, said he turned to the courts after failing to obtain the procurement records through official requests.
He argues that the County Government should not proceed with a multi-billion-shilling contract without fulfilling constitutional requirements on transparency, public engagement, and environmental scrutiny.
According to him, the county’s refusal to release information breaches Article 35 of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to access public information.
The MP’s petition raises issues that have long shaped debates around county governance since devolution came into effect in 2013.
Large infrastructure projects, particularly in regions such as Mombasa where solid waste management remains a persistent challenge, often attract scrutiny due to their fiscal impact and the involvement of multiple oversight bodies.
Ali’s challenge adds to a series of past disputes in counties where legislators and residents have questioned multi-billion procurement deals executed without clear public participation records.
In his statement, Ali alleges that the tender for the waste management project was approved without the consent of the County Assembly, a key constitutional organ mandated to provide oversight.
He further claims there is no evidence the tender was advertised or subjected to environmental assessment procedures.
“This petition seeks to nullify irregular tenders, compel the release of documents, and invite investigations by the EACC and PPRA,” he said, calling for the court to establish safeguards for future procurement processes.
Past investigations into procurement disputes have often revealed gaps in record-keeping, making access to documents a central point of contention in cases involving public contracts.
If the court rules in favour of the Nyali MP, the County Government could be required to suspend any ongoing activities linked to the project and open its procurement files for examination.
The outcome may also influence how counties navigate high-value tenders, especially those attracting national attention due to their scale or environmental implications.
The High Court is expected to schedule the first hearing after reviewing the filed documents.