The High Court has ordered the government to disclose all records relating to the duty-free importation of 490,000 metric tonnes of rice within seven days after certifying as urgent a petition filed by rice farmers challenging the importation programme.
Justice Alfred Mabeya directed the state to file and serve a comprehensive list of all approved, licensed and prequalified rice importers, indicating the quantities allocated to each importer and the amounts already imported and cleared into the country.
The court further ordered the respondents to disclose customs entry numbers for every rice consignment, details of all duty exemptions granted, import permits, the criteria used to approve importers, the remaining balance of the quota authorised under Gazette Notice No. 10061 of July 6, 2026, as well as all Cabinet memoranda, policy papers, stakeholder consultation reports, public participation records and economic impact assessments that informed the government’s decision.
Justice Mabeya certified the application as urgent, directed that the respondents be served immediately and ordered them to file their responses before the matter is mentioned for directions on July 20, 2026.
In the case, Ahero Rice Farmers Association, is seeking to stop the government’s decision to allow the duty-free importation of approximately 490,000 metric tonnes of Grade One Milled White Rice.
The association argues that rice farming supports thousands of farmers, transporters, millers, traders and other players in Kenya’s agricultural value chain and that successive governments have invested heavily in promoting local rice production through irrigation schemes, farmer support programmes and other initiatives aimed at improving food security.
According to the petition, local farmers have made significant investments in irrigation, certified seed, fertiliser, mechanisation, harvesting and milling with the legitimate expectation that government policy would protect and promote domestic rice production.
The farmers contend that Gazette Notice No. 10061, issued on July 6, 2026, authorising duty-free rice imports until November 30, 2026, was published without meaningful consultation with farmers or their representative organisations.
They also argue that the notice follows similar importation programmes introduced in 2025 and January 2026, which they say have already increased the volume of imported rice in the local market.
The petition further alleges that the government failed to conduct public participation, publish any regulatory impact or socio-economic assessment, or explain how it arrived at the 490,000-metric-tonne import quota and the criteria used to allocate import licences.
The association maintains that the policy disproportionately benefits rice importers while exposing local farmers to lower farm-gate prices, reduced competitiveness and substantial financial losses.
The farmers further argue that the government’s actions violate constitutional principles on public participation, transparency, access to information and fair administrative action, as well as the Fair Administrative Action Act and the Access to Information Act.
They are asking Court to declare the Gazette Notice unconstitutional and to halt its implementation, warning that continued duty-free rice imports will undermine local production and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of rice farmers across the country.
