In a high-stakes legal battle over the integrity of Kenya’s import quality controls, the High Court has slammed the door on a bid by a Chinese testing firm to overturn its disqualification from a multi-billion shilling government contract.
- •The ruling, delivered on April 14, 2026, marks the end of a protracted dispute between the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and World Standardization, Certification and Testing Group (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.
- •At the heart of the case was a lucrative three-year contract for the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) services, which ensures that goods entering Kenya meet national standards.
- •The saga began when the Shenzhen-based firm was initially pre-qualified to handle inspections in "Zone 1 China" before KEBS investigators flagged a serious concern of a breach of a previous contract.
The firm took its grievances to the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) and eventually the High Court, alleging a "rigged" process.
Their lawyers argued that the evaluation committee was hopelessly biased, acting as "both judge and jury" by using KEBS’s own internal grievances to disqualify a bidder. They further claimed the matter was already pending in a separate commercial court and should have been off-limits to procurement officials.
However, Justice J. Chigiti (SC) was not persuaded. In a judgment that reinforces the autonomy of state agencies to vet their contractors, the Judge ruled that administrative bodies are not held to the same rigid disqualification standards as courtrooms.
Justice Chigiti found that KEBS had acted within its rights to protect the public interest by verifying the track record of its partners. He noted that the firm had been given a fair hearing on January 9, 2026, to explain the alleged breach but failed to convince the evaluation team.
