High Court Rejects Urgent Petition Over Public Funding for Bayern Munich-Ajax Friendly

Justice Roselyne Aburili of the High Court refused to certify a petition as urgent, meaning the request to fast-track the case will not be heard immediately.

The judge explained that she was not convinced the petition and the accompanying notice of motion dated November 1, 2026 met the criteria for urgency or ex parte consideration, noting that the interim relief sought mirrored the main petition.

She ordered the petitioners to serve the petition and notice on all respondents and interested parties, and directed those parties to file their replies within ten days of service. The matter is set for a mention on November 25, 2026 for further directions.

The petition, filed by six Kenyan citizens under case number HCCHRPET/E737/2026, asks the court to compel the government to reveal the financial arrangements for a friendly match scheduled for January 5, 2027 between Bayern Munich and AFC Ajax at Talanta Stadium. It also seeks conservatory orders that would stop the state, its agents or any person acting on its behalf from authorising, allocating, releasing, committing or spending public money on the event unless constitutional and financial-law compliance can be shown.

The applicants, led by Erick Mankuyio and Julius Kamau, named the Attorney General, the Sports Cabinet Secretary, the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary and Sports Kenya as respondents. The Law Society of Kenya and the Katiba Institute were listed as interested parties.

President William Ruto announced on October 28 that the German and Dutch clubs would meet at Talanta Stadium, and the petitioners referenced media reports suggesting Bayern Munich could receive roughly five million euros – about KSh724.6 million – as an appearance fee, a figure that has not been independently verified.

While the petitioners say they do not oppose international sporting events, they argue that the president’s claim the match will be commercially funded does not guarantee that taxpayers will be protected from any financial obligations.