The High Court has nullified the entire procurement for the supply, installation and maintenance of the Excisable Goods Management System (EGMS), ruling that the process was riddled with illegality and violated constitutional standards of transparency and fairness.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, the court held that the State acted irrationally in awarding and sustaining the EGMS contract, noting that the procurement failed to meet the basic threshold expected of a public tender involving billions of shillings and affecting every excisable product in the country.
According to the court, the process lacked openness and was fundamentally flawed from inception, raising serious concerns about how the winning bidder was selected and how the contract was subsequently implemented. Justice Mwamuye said the evidence presented showed a procurement exercise that could not withstand constitutional scrutiny.
As a result, the court quashed the entire decision approving the system’s supply, installation and maintenance. However, recognising the potential disruption to government operations and affected industries, the court issued a 30-day stay of the judgment to allow relevant agencies time to manage the transition.
The ruling marks a significant setback for the authorities that have relied on EGMS to monitor excisable goods, with stakeholders now awaiting the next steps as the 30-day window takes effect.
