Court to rule on fresh bid to halt Sh30b EABL shares sale

A Nairobi court is set to deliver a ruling on an urgent application seeking to block the proposed sale of shares in East African Breweries Limited valued at approximately 30 billion shillings, in a legal challenge that threatens to further delay a transaction that has already faced sustained judicial scrutiny.

The application has been filed by Bia Tosha Distributors, a company that holds distribution rights tied to EABL products and argues it has a direct commercial interest in the outcome of any ownership restructuring. This latest bid follows a ruling by Justice Bahati Mwamuye in April 2026 that declined to halt the transaction on broadly similar grounds, a decision Bia Tosha is now effectively seeking to relitigate through a differently framed petition.

EABL, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and is majority-owned by the global drinks conglomerate Diageo, is one of the most prominent blue-chip stocks on the exchange. Any significant shift in its shareholding structure carries implications not just for retail and institutional investors but for the thousands of distributors, bar owners and casual workers whose livelihoods are linked to the company's operations across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Legal analysts note that the successive applications reflect a well-established pattern in Kenyan commercial litigation where parties with financial stakes in large transactions use injunctive relief as a strategic tool, sometimes successfully stalling deals for months or years. Courts have in recent years signalled increasing impatience with repetitive interlocutory applications that do not substantially advance new legal arguments.

The transaction's proponents argue continued delays create regulatory uncertainty and undermine investor confidence in the Nairobi bourse at a moment when the Capital Markets Authority is actively trying to attract foreign portfolio investment.