The High Court has certified as urgent a petition challenging the Kenya Revenue Authority's (KRA) newly launched digital cargo pre-arrival declaration system.

Justice Gregory Mutai said the application raises weighty legal issues and directed that it be heard during the court recess.

"The Motion dated August 3, 2026 is hereby certified urgent and admitted for consideration during the current recess," the judge said.

Mr Issa Elanyi Chamao, Patrick Karani and Paul Kirui, are challenging the rollout of the Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) Platform launched on August 3.

The platform is designed to facilitate the submission and processing of cargo information before shipments arrive at Kenyan ports. It applies to containerised cargo destined for Kenya and requires participants in the shipping and logistics chain to obtain and use an ACD reference code.

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The petitioners argue that despite the substantial public expenditure and national importance of the project, KRA has not disclosed procurement records, tender documents, contract awards or statutory approvals relating to the acquisition, development and implementation of the system.

They say there is no evidence that the platform was procured through an open and competitive process or any other lawful procurement procedure.

According to the petition, there are no publicly available records showing compliance with Article 227 of the Constitution and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, including the procurement method used, the tender process, the successful bidder, the implementing entity or the contractual arrangements governing the platform.

"The ACD Platform therefore constitutes a matter of considerable public importance, with direct implications for customs administration, the movement of goods into Kenya and the conduct of international trade," the petition states.

The petitioners are seeking orders suspending further implementation of the platform, arguing that it is already operational and could expose taxpayers to unnecessary costs if it is later found to have been procured unlawfully.

They say suspending the rollout would allow the court to determine whether the platform was lawfully acquired and implemented.

Justice Mutai directed KRA and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority to file their responses within 14 days. The case will be mentioned on September 29 to confirm compliance and give further directions.

Cargo containers at the port of Mombasa.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

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The challenge comes as KRA faces a separate lawsuit over the same platform.

In that case, technology entrepreneur Jacob Munene claims the tax authority unlawfully copied a cargo management system he developed and presented to KRA three years ago.

Mr Munene, the founder of Greenworld Big Data Ltd, accuses KRA of infringing his intellectual property rights by launching what he describes as a near replica of his proprietary Advanced Cargo Information Declaration (ACID) System, which he says was designed to digitise and automate cargo import and export operations in Kenya.

He argues that KRA's ACD platform closely mirrors his innovation in concept, structure, functionality and even its name.

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Clients seeking services at KRA headquarters, Times Tower, Nairobi.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

"The 1st Defendant's product bears an uncanny, substantial and irresistible resemblance in name, concept, structure, sequence and detailed expression to the ACID System disclosed to the Defendant in 2023," Mr Munene says in an affidavit.

He adds that the similarities are "so glaring not only in form, unique detailed expression and how the system operates, but outwardly, in name and use of the acronyms," amounting to a serious breach of his intellectual property rights.

According to Mr Munene, he conceived and developed the ACID system before March 2023 after conducting what he describes as a big data forensic gap analysis of Kenya's trade and transport industry.

The study, he says, exposed major inefficiencies and revenue leakages in cargo operations, prompting him to develop a digital platform to automate cargo declaration, monitoring and revenue assurance across sea, air, rail and road transport.

He maintains that the system was developed independently at his own expense and specifically tailored to Kenya's cargo management environment before it was presented to KRA.

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