STATEMENT ON PRIVATISATION BILL 2025

13 October, 2025

Fellow Kenyans,

Parliament has passed the Privatisation Bill 2025. This is a sinister economic cold war against your own country. The Bill seeks to convert state corporations into private enterprises and now awaits President William Ruto’s assent.

We must reject its presentation as a minor housekeeping measure. It is a structural shift that will determine who controls strategic public assets, how they are valued, and who benefits from future cash flows. The Constitution requires transparency and public participation in decisions that affect the public. Those standards are non-negotiable.

We must insist on full, published lists of all entities targeted for conversion or sale, complete with independent valuations, debt profiles, and workforce impact assessments. There must be open public hearings in every affected region, with written records and published responses to submissions.

Conflict-of-interest rules should be clear, including full disclosure of beneficial owners for any bidder or adviser. The privatisation process must be competitive, with open tendering, audited information packs, and publication of all post-award contracts.

Parliament and the Auditor-General must maintain oversight through detailed performance audits, and clawback clauses must exist for any underperformance or breach.

Any transaction touching critical national infrastructure must be subject to citizen oversight through defined parliamentary thresholds or, where necessary, a referendum mechanism consistent with law.

We have seen disastrous cases internationally and in Kenya, which demonstrate why such guardrails are essential. They collapse the economy and end up affecting the poor citizen while a few individuals benefit from a heist. This was certainly the case in the 1990s when high value public assets were sold for a pittance to some of those in power today who view this as yet another opportunity to rob Kenyans.

Privatization is not progress if the government is afraid of following the law. Let us demand the publication of independent audits, valuation methodologies, and clear transaction timelines before any further action is taken. No Kenyan job, no public interest, and no national patrimony should be risked without proof of value for citizens.

I state this plainly: Kenya’s assets belong to the people. The process must meet the highest standards of legality, transparency, and accountability. The story of our assets belongs to the public, not to boardrooms.

We will not tire to mobilize, monitor, and, where necessary, litigate to enforce those standards and to protect Kenya’s assets from a ruling class that does not tire from violating the law.