Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has allayed investor fears over pending litigation as it opens its Sh106 billion initial public offering (IPO), insisting that no court orders exist that could block or delay the transaction.
The state-owned fuel transporter says it has addressed all material legal issues, even as some stakeholders warn that unresolved cases could weigh on the offer.
Concerns have been raised by market watchers and consumer groups over lawsuits linked to the company’s past operations, with critics cautioning potential investors to tread carefully.
The Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), for instance, has so far warned that the IPO process is entangled in active legal battles, arguing that any take-off could face delays and that valuation risks remain elevated.
“Potential investors are urged to exercise extreme caution before buying into what is being marketed as the IPO. The process is entangled in active legal battles. Any take-off will be delayed for long, if the unlikely judicial nod ever comes,” COFEK said in an ‘X’ post.
KPC management, however, maintains that the disputes being cited are largely historical and do not pose a current threat.
According to the company, one of the key cases being referred to relates to environmental remediation works undertaken nearly a decade ago, after which regulators cleared the firm.
“In about 2021 thereabouts, we got the clearance certificate from NEMA,” KPC’s managing director Joe Sang said.
He spoke on Tuesday in Nairobi during a media briefing on the matter.
The remediation works are primarily centred on addressing massive environmental contamination from oil spills, most notably the 2015 incident in the Thange River Basin, Makueni County.
Another case involved the Lebanese firm, Zakhem International Construction (Kenya) Ltd, engaged during the construction of Line 5, a project carried out in 2014–2015 and commissioned in 2018.
That matter has since been resolved, KPC noted, reinforcing its position that legacy disputes are common and not unique to the company.
Sang additionally noted that the issue that is still of concern and before the courts concerns the Thange River area in Makueni, where he says the firm has obtained a stay.
He insists that this case does not restrict its capital-raising plans and has been fully disclosed to regulators and prospective investors.
Notably, the most recent petition was lodged on January 2, 2026, by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, together with Bernard Muchiri Muchere and Naomi Nyakerario Misati.
The applicants contend that the proposed privatisation process breaches constitutional and statutory requirements governing the management and disposal of public assets.
In response, KPC says it has not been served with any order barring it from proceeding with the public offering.
“We do not have any orders that could stop us from proceeding. If there were any, we would have been served, and we would act appropriately, but at the moment we don’t have any, hence the reason why this transaction is proceeding.”