The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has been barred from locking out timber dealers from a tender to harvest trees in two Kiambu forests, in a legal battle revealing cold fights between sawmills and plywood traders.
In the tender for tree harvesting in Kinale and Thogoto forests, KFS wanted to change terms to limit access to the forests to only plywood operators and Kiambu’s small-scale saw millers, which would have blocked saw millers operating outside Kiambu County from accessing the forests.
“Sub-compartment Thogoto 11C and Thogoto 12A which were reserved for bidding by large-scale forest industry investors within and outside Kiambu County are now to be bid by large-scale plywood investors within and outside Kiambu,” a KFS tender amendment on March 27 stated.
KFS also changed terms for access to 22 portions in Kinale Forest, which had initially been reserved for bidding by general small-scale sawmillers, to be bid by only small-scale sawmillers within Kiambu.
KFS advertised the original tender on March 15, 2025, but amended it on March 27, just a week to deadline for tender submission on April 3.
This triggered a suit by Murang’a-based Poles and Posts Treatment Plant before the public procurement administrative review board in April, which expressed interest in harvesting trees for use as electricity transmission poles.
The company’s director, Judy Muthoni, told the Board that the company had already conducted a ground assessment after KFS issued the tender and incurred costs, faulting the agency’s last-minute decision to change terms.
KFS told the Board that in Kinale Forest it limited access to only sawmillers operating in Kiambu because, by virtue of their proximity to forests, they often participate in the management and replanting activities.
“Given that Kiambu hosts 72 small-scale sawmillers, it was prudent to restrict bidding to investors within the county to afford them a realistic opportunity to access forest materials.”
In the original tender, KFS operators outside Kiambu and other than plywood operators were open to bid.
“The respondent (KFS) submitted that plywood operators had raised concerns with KFS that previous tenders had not reserved any materials for their participation, as such tenders were historically restricted to timber operators only,” the PPARB observed.
KFS said the change of terms was meant to ensure that plywood operators sustain their operations.
It said it reserved two sub-compartments for plywood operators “to ensure they did not feel excluded or discriminated against.”
It was not clear in the PPARB decision the size of forests under contest, but a KFS communication in January indicated that harvesting of mature and over-mature plantations on 109.5 hectares in Thogoto Forest alone was ongoing.
“While these reasons may appear justifiable, the Board finds that such considerations should have been addressed at the outset.
Changing the eligibility criteria mid-process effectively alters the substance of the tender document, which contravenes Section 75(1) of the Act,” the PPARB said.
The Board also noted that KFS did not provide data to prove the number of Kiambu-based small-scale sawmillers who would benefit from the limited reservation, to warrant the change.
“The Addendum No. 1 dated 27th March 2025 issued by the Procuring Entity in relation to TENDER NO. KFS/DISP/90/2024-2025 – Disposal of Forest Plantation Materials in Kiambu County (Salvage) be and is hereby nullified and set aside,” the Board ruled.
PPARB ordered KFS to issue a fresh tender submission deadline to the subject tender “without the addendum, to enable all eligible candidates to prepare their bids.”
In totality, Kinale Forest, located along the Nairobi-Naivasha Highway, covers 10,504.87 hectares, comprising 4,914.32 hectares of indigenous forests, 1,634.8 hectares of plantation forests and bushland, bamboo area, and grassland covering 3,955.75 hectares.
The size of the forest captured in the tender has not been disclosed in the legal dispute.
Information from KFS shows that last year alone, 389,000 trees were planted in Kinale Forest, with a target of 400,000 for this year.
