• Plans by the state to lease sections of Mombasa and Lamu ports are testing the unity of Coast region politicians as those in the opposition challenged their Kenya Kwanza counterparts to resist the move.


  •  “Leave Mombasa Port alone. Go privatise Kenya Airways,” Governor Abdulswamad Nassir slams Ruto’s government over plans to privatise Mombasa Port.


Speaking in Mombasa on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sherrif Nassir has reaffirmed his stance that the county will not yield to plans by the national government to privatise the Port of Mombasa.

“Leave Mombasa Port alone. Go privatise Kenya Airways,” Governor Abdulswamad Nassir slamed Ruto’s government over plans to privatise Mombasa Port.

‘Salamu zifike - we won’t be taken for granted!’ the governor’s statements showed how furious he was while speaking on the issue of privatisation of the port that has been on the rise.

Kenya Ports Authority, a wholly owned State Corporation, was established through an Act of Parliament in January 1978.

KPA was and is still mandated to manage and operate all scheduled seaports along Kenya's coastline and Inland waterways. This includes Mombasa, Lamu, Kisumu, Malindi, Kilifi, Mtwapa, Kiunga, Shimoni, Funzi and Vanga.

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Speaking in Mombasa, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir stressed that they will not allow the current sitting government to privatise the port, calling on the government led by President Ruto to privatise Kenya Airways and not the port of Mombasa.

According to Business Daily, KQ was wholly owned by the State until April 1996, when the government made a conscious choice to float shares to the public, having noted that the real problem behind its dismal performance was the State ownership structure.

Never in the history of African aviation had an airline been privatised until Kenya Airways was inadvertently made a specimen. This is how Kenya, a regional powerhouse, became a highly strategic country that does not fully own a national airline.

Plans by the state to lease sections of Mombasa and Lamu ports are testing the unity of Coast region politicians as those in the opposition challenged their Kenya Kwanza counterparts to resist the move.

Under former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, a rare unity emerged among politicians from across the divide as they resisted attempts by the government to allow private firms to manage critical port assets.

With the current regime, the Kenya Ports Authority has called for bids from private firms to operate facilities at Mombasa and Lamu Ports, which has aroused the discussion again on the port's privatisation.