The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by the Speaker of the National Assembly and the National Assembly seeking to suspend the High Court's decision that nullified the Privatisation Act, 2023.

In a ruling delivered by Justices F.A. Ochieng, W. Korir, and Joel Ngugi, the appellate court held that the applicants failed to demonstrate how the invalidation of the Act would render their pending appeal useless or how public interest would be harmed by upholding the High Court's ruling.

The High Court had on September 24, 2024, declared the entire Privatisation Act unconstitutional for lack of meaningful public participation, and also quashed plans to privatise the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), a protected national monument.

"The applicants failed to show compelling public interest that would justify suspending the High Court's declaration of unconstitutionality," the appellate judges said.

The court added that no evidence had been presented to back claims that the government would suffer irreparable harm or face administrative paralysis without the law. Instead, it ruled that the effect of the nullification was to reinstate the previous privatisation framework, not to create a legal vacuum.

The Privatisation Act, 2023, had replaced earlier legislation and sought to streamline the process of selling state-owned entities. The National Assembly argued that halting the law's implementation would stall the reform agenda and burden taxpayers with loss-making parastatals.

However, the judges noted that allowing a law already declared unconstitutional to remain in force could lead to irreversible consequences, including the potential disposal of strategic public assets.

"There is no justification to allow a constitutionally infirm statute to continue operating," the judges ruled.

The appeal by the National Assembly will proceed to a full hearing, but in the meantime, the Privatisation Act, 2023, remains invalid.