Riruta-Ngong railway construction declared unconstitutional
By Zipporah Ngwatu, July 17, 2026A Milimani High Court has declared the construction of the Riruta-Ngong commuter metre-gauge railway project by the government at the cost of Ksh11.5 billion unconstitutional.
Justice Gregory Mutai on Friday, July 17, 2026, found that the use of the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) to finance the project violates the Public Finance Amendment Arbitrary Act.
Furthermore, Judge Mutai noted that using the RDLF to finance the project prior to March 27, 2026, was unconstitutional and void, as it violated Articles 201(a) and 206(1) of the Constitution.
“The commencement of construction of the project and the expenditure of RDNF and other public funds on the project without parliamentary appropriation. The estimate of development expenditure in FY2023-2024 was unconstitutional,” Judge Mutai ruled.
The court has also said the project is illegal because it was carried out without following the required rules for public finance management and public investment regulation 2022, which include needing free-to-feasibility and feasibility studies before getting approval, compliance, and compensation for the project.
Justice Mutai cites that the public participation conducted in relation to the Riruta-Ngong project was retroactive, inadequate and constitutionally defective in violation of Articles 10, 2(a), 201(a), 232(1) (b) of the Constitution.
In addition, he states that the procurement of the two contractors’ supervisors for the project by direct procurement and without open competitive tendering was unconstitutional and void in violation of the constitution and some sections of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
Notably, the court has ordered the National Executive, National Treasury and PS Transport to obtain parliamentary appropriation for the project from the National Assembly in the supplementary estimates of development expenditure within 90 days.
The court has also ordered that a genuine, timely and meaningful public participation be conducted involving project-affected persons and all relevant stakeholders currently involved in corridor communities, including the disclosure of the feasibility study, route alignment, financing alignment and procurement records.
The judge has ordered for a fresh, transparent, open, competitive tender for the continuation of the project works to be conducted or demonstrated to the court’s satisfaction that the existing contracts, having now been subject to full disclosure and competitive benchmarking and parliamentary scrutiny, are justifiable within the constitutional framework.
He has also extended the conservatory orders issued on January 20, 2026, halting the construction of the Riruta-Ngong railway for a year or until the court is satisfied by the compliance of the orders issued.