As Kenya grapples with a deepening procurement scandal involving rice imports worth over Sh14 billion, Abdiweli Hassan, the maverick developer behind Eastleigh’s Business Bay Square Mall, has quietly sealed what may be the largest private real estate deal in Kenya’s history.
On Thursday, Hassan signed a Sh65 billion agreement with Tatu City Special Economic Zone to develop a 60-acre mixed-use community spanning residential homes, retail spaces, offices, logistics facilities, and religious infrastructure.
The timing of this announcement carries particular significance: Hassan himself has been accused by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah of being at the helm of a rice import cartel, though Hassan’s legal team has vehemently denied any involvement in rice importation deals.
Meanwhile, the Kenya National Trading Corporation wallows in a separate but related procurement controversy that has drawn judicial intervention, creating a complex narrative that highlights both the opportunities and perils facing Kenya’s business landscape.
The contrast could not be more dramatic. Just weeks before Hassan’s Tatu City announcement, the High Court in Mombasa threw a judicial spanner into a controversial rice importation deal, with Justice Jairus Ngaah issuing interim orders that exposed what appears to be a scandalous procurement process riddled with irregularities and potential fraud.
The ruling effectively froze the Agriculture and Food Authority’s attempt to reallocate a massive 250,000 metric tonnes rice import quota to four largely unknown private firms, bypassing established procurement procedures and potentially defrauding legitimate bidders of billions in business.
The court intervention came after Ibrahim Muhumed Mohamed and Abdiaziz Moge Noor filed an urgent petition challenging what they described as a brazen attempt by AFA to circumvent legal processes and hand over lucrative import quotas to politically connected individuals outside the lawful tender process conducted by KNTC.
Justice Ngaah’s orders restraining AFA from issuing, reallocating, or otherwise purporting to allocate the rice importation quota to any private individuals or entities outside the lawful tender process sent a clear message that the courts will not tolerate blatant manipulation of public procurement.
Hassan’s journey from transforming Eastleigh through the 130,000-square-meter Business Bay Square Mall to this record-setting investment at Tatu City represents a masterclass in strategic development thinking.
Where others saw congestion and limited infrastructure, Hassan identified opportunity. His BBS Mall, housing over 1,000 shops and restaurants, didn’t just create commercial space; it reimagined an entire neighborhood’s economic potential and fundamentally altered public perception of what Eastleigh could become.
Yet Hassan’s business empire has not been without controversy.
In August 2025, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah publicly accused Hassan of leading a rice import cartel that threatens Kenyan farmers.
The outspoken lawmaker made the allegations in a series of posts on social media, following the government’s decision to allow 500,000 tonnes of duty-free rice imports from India and Pakistan. Omtatah claimed during a Senate session on July 31, 2025, that the import deal favored BBS Mall’s ownership, questioning the legality and transparency of the rice import allocation.
Hassan’s legal team, led by prominent lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, responded forcefully with a demand letter dated August 23, 2025, threatening legal action unless Omtatah retracted his Senate statements.
“For the record, we state expressly that our client was never allocated any quota to import rice,” the letter asserted, labeling Omtatah’s statements as baseless and misleading.
The standoff escalated into a broader political battle, with Omtatah declaring, “Parliamentary privilege is not for sale. I will not be gagged for demanding answers on the 500,000 tonnes of duty-free rice imports that threaten Kenyan farmers.”
The accusations against Hassan came as local farmers in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, reported unsold stocks amid the influx of imported rice.
Omtatah traced his concerns back to a Senate statement request on July 9, 2025, where he raised issues about bypassing regulatory bodies like the Agriculture Food Authority. While Hassan’s legal team categorically denied any involvement in rice importation, the controversy placed the BBS Mall founder at the center of a heated national debate about food security, farmer protection, and the influence of business cartels on government policy.
The Tatu City project amplifies this vision exponentially. Located 20 kilometers north of Nairobi’s congested central business district, the development will unfold over a decade, with designs already underway and construction slated to begin within the year.
Hassan’s plan integrates high-quality housing adjacent to 30 acres of parks and recreation spaces, commercial developments including a petrol station and offices, and warehousing and logistics hubs within the Tatu Industrial Park.
A mosque will serve residents near homes and schools, reflecting Hassan’s understanding that truly holistic communities must address both material and spiritual needs.
“BBS Mall changed how people viewed Eastleigh, showing that thoughtful development can reshape neighborhoods and improve how people live and work,” Hassan explained during Thursday’s signing ceremony
“Now, the future of development is moving beyond the city center, where there’s space to build holistic communities with everything people need: schools, offices, entertainment, shops, and recreation. Tatu City offers exactly that, a well-planned environment free from congestion and the hassles of commuting.”
Stephen Jennings, founder and CEO of Rendeavour, the developer behind Tatu City, framed Hassan’s investment as validation of Kenya’s appeal to serious transformative investors despite the country’s well-documented governance challenges.
“People today value a higher standard of living in well-governed, holistic communities,” Jennings noted. “It takes visionaries like Abdiweli Hassan to execute large-scale projects that improve the lives of tens of thousands of people. We are delighted that Hassan selected Tatu City for this record-setting investment in Kenya’s future.”
The significance of Tatu City as the destination for this investment cannot be overstated. As Kenya’s first operational Special Economic Zone, Tatu City offers reduced corporate taxes, zero-rated VAT, and import duty exemptions alongside other fiscal incentives. Over 100 companies have already established operations there, creating approximately 25,000 jobs.
The 5,000-acre development is designed to eventually accommodate more than 250,000 residents and tens of thousands of daily visitors, complete with schools, offices, a shopping district, medical clinics, nature areas, and a sports and entertainment complex.
Yet Hassan’s Sh65 billion commitment emerges against a troubling backdrop of state institutional failure.
The rice import scandal engulfing KNTC exposes how procurement processes at public agencies have been weaponized for private enrichment rather than serving the public interest.
Investigations reveal that four firms, Zyan Agencies, Ecoview Commodities, Njema Commodities, and Solid Commodities, mysteriously emerged as the beneficiaries of the lucrative deal despite not being among the original 60 companies initially considered for the contract.
Even more shocking, these firms edged out 16 legitimate bidders who had already been notified by KNTC on September 9 that they were successful, only to be told the following day that the corporation had “chosen to go a different route.”
Documents reveal this abrupt reversal came after the Agriculture and Food Authority’s decision on September 10 to revoke KNTC’s allocation, followed by KNTC’s own notice on September 17 cancelling the original tender.
The court intervention revealed the extent to which powerful forces were determined to manipulate the system, with these decisions appearing to be a coordinated effort to create space for preferred bidders to walk in through the back door.
Corporate records raise immediate red flags about the beneficiary companies. Solid Commodities, owned by Haroon Omar Bachoo, was incorporated as recently as October 2024, less than a year ago, yet somehow secured a share of this multibillion-shilling deal.
The timing raises serious questions about how a company barely 11 months old could compete with established importers and emerge victorious in such a massive tender.
When journalists attempted to contact Zyan Agencies, which was incorporated in 2018 and operates from an undisclosed building on Nairobi’s Standard Street, using officially registered information, they reached a woman who denied any knowledge of either the company or its listed owner, Ibrahim Murie Ibrahim.
The financial implications of this scandal are staggering. With the government having revised its valuation of grade one white Pakistani rice to $460 per metric tonne, the total consignment is valued at approximately Sh14.8 billion.
The import duty waiver, an annual ritual Kenya uses to plug its rice deficit of nearly 800,000 tonnes, makes this an even more attractive deal for the beneficiaries.
The 16 legitimate bidders who were initially awarded contracts now face the prospect of missing out on business they had every right to expect. Some may pursue legal action against KNTC, potentially exposing the corporation to millions in damages, costs that will ultimately be borne by taxpayers.
The mess has now landed squarely in the courts. Justice Ngaah suspended both AFA’s decision to revoke KNTC’s allocation and KNTC’s notice cancelling the original tender, effectively freezing the entire process pending further court directions. The matter has been set for mention on October 23 for further directions, giving the respondents seven days to file their responses and explain their actions to the court.
This judicial intervention represents a rare victory for transparency and due process in Kenya’s procurement system, though it remains to be seen whether court orders can ultimately untangle the web of suspicious dealings.
Behind the scandal lies a familiar pattern: the thin distribution of culpability across multiple government agencies so no single hand appears directly in the till. Was it KNTC? The Ministry of Agriculture? The Agriculture and Food Authority? This diffusion of responsibility is the classic smoke-and-mirrors approach that has characterized Kenyan procurement controversies for decades.
Lucy Anangwe, KNTC’s current CEO, was promoted to her position in November 2024 despite being implicated in a separate Sh6.5 billion edible oil scandal and facing ongoing disciplinary proceedings. Her predecessor, Pamela Mutua, was dismissed following investigations that revealed contracts worth Sh6.85 billion were awarded to politically connected individuals in violation of procurement laws.
This latest scandal comes barely a year after Mutua’s firing, and the similarities between that debacle and the current rice controversy are striking, suggesting that little has changed in the corporation’s procurement culture despite the shake-up in leadership.
Adding another layer of intrigue to this saga is the revelation that Pakistan’s High Commission in Nairobi had been actively lobbying KNTC CEO Lucy Anangwe to grant preferential treatment to Pakistani firms. In a September 12 letter, Pakistani officials requested “favourable consideration in granting preferential treatment for the allocation of rice imports” and sought clarification on procurement procedures to enable Pakistani exporters to engage with the Kenyan market.
While KNTC reportedly dismissed this lobbying effort, the timing of the request, coming just days after the original 16 bidders were informed of their success, raises questions about whether other behind-the-scenes negotiations were taking place.
The contrast with Hassan’s private sector approach is instructive, though complicated by the allegations swirling around him. While government procurement remains captured by competing cartels fighting over shrinking opportunities for rent-seeking, Hassan has identified genuine market demand and mobilized enormous capital to meet it. His investment thesis is straightforward: Nairobi’s growth has made the traditional city center increasingly unworkable for both businesses and residents. Traffic congestion, inadequate infrastructure, and spiraling costs have created demand for well-planned alternatives offering genuine quality of life improvements.
Yet the irony is inescapable.
Hassan’s Sh65 billion Tatu City investment announcement comes as he navigates accusations of benefiting from the very type of opaque government dealings that have plagued KNTC’s rice import program. Whether these allegations hold merit remains contested, Hassan’s lawyers insist he had no involvement in rice importation, while Omtatah maintains his accusations under parliamentary privilege. What is undeniable is that Hassan’s name has become entangled in Kenya’s broader conversation about cartels, procurement integrity, and the influence of wealthy business interests on government policy.
Tatu City’s Special Economic Zone status provides the regulatory predictability and fiscal advantages necessary for such large-scale investment. Hassan’s Sh65 billion commitment represents not merely real estate development but a bet on Kenya’s capacity to provide stable governance frameworks for private investment despite the chaos afflicting state institutions.
The rice import controversy, meanwhile, threatens to impose massive costs on ordinary Kenyans. The import duty waiver was intended to keep rice prices affordable for consumers facing an annual national shortfall requiring imports of nearly 800,000 tonnes. Instead, the program has become another vehicle for questionable enrichment by well-connected insiders.
Rice farmers in Mwea and Ahero, who should be the primary beneficiaries of government food security programs, instead find themselves doubly victimized.
Their produce remains unsold, and payments for stocks already delivered to state-run commodity boards have been delayed indefinitely. If the massive imports proceed unchecked, local prices will inevitably collapse, completing their economic marginalization.
This pattern, where policy systematically privileges import cartels over domestic producers, reflects what the economist Robert Bates identified in his analysis of African agriculture: leaders adopt policies detrimental to farmers because they must maintain coalitions with wealthy supporters who sustain them politically.
Hassan’s Tatu City investment offers an implicit rebuke to dysfunctional governance models, though his own entanglement in rice import controversies complicates the narrative. His track record demonstrates that transparent, market-driven approaches to development can deliver tangible results while creating economic opportunities for thousands.
The Business Bay Square Mall in Eastleigh didn’t require preferential government treatment or opaque procurement processes, at least not in its development phase. It succeeded by identifying genuine demand and executing professional development at scale.
The government’s decision to allow 500,000 tonnes of duty-free rice imports, announced on August 18, 2025, was defended by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe as essential to avert a food crisis, citing a deficit of about one million metric tonnes annually. Domestic production meets only about 20 percent of the country’s annual needs.
However, Omtatah and local farmers argue that such policies, implemented without robust safeguards, risk entrenching cartels and disenfranchising local growers.
The senator’s accusations against Hassan, whether ultimately proven or disproven, reflect broader public suspicion that major business figures wield disproportionate influence over government commodity import decisions.
The Tatu City project extends this model to comprehensive community development. Rather than focusing solely on commercial space, Hassan’s plan integrates residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and religious facilities within a cohesive framework. This holistic approach recognizes that sustainable urban development requires more than infrastructure; it demands thoughtful attention to how people actually live, work, worship, and recreate.
Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute has demanded accountability for the rice scandal, questioning why officials implicated in previous procurement controversies remain in positions of authority. His concerns echo broader frustration with Kenya’s persistent inability to break cycles of corruption in state institutions.
The Senate’s Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee is investigating the retention of staff allegedly involved in the edible oil scandal, including Anangwe herself.
Yet while parliamentary committees investigate and courts issue interim orders, the underlying structural problems persist. With fiscal space shrinking and the state doing little to inject liquidity through development spending, duty-free trade regimes have become among the few remaining frontiers for elite rent-seeking. This is precisely why Hassan’s private sector alternative matters so profoundly.
The Sh65 billion Tatu City investment represents patient capital committed to genuine value creation rather than extractive rent-seeking. Hassan’s development timeline spans a decade, acknowledging that building sustainable communities cannot be rushed.
This long-term orientation stands in stark contrast to the scramble for quick gains characterizing the rice import scandal, where politically connected firms materialized overnight to claim contracts worth billions.
As Kenya navigates its complex development trajectory, the divergence between Hassan’s developmental vision and the chaos at KNTC illuminates fundamental questions facing the country, questions that have become more complicated by Hassan’s own contested position.
Will Kenya’s future be shaped by visionary private sector leaders creating genuine economic value, or will it remain hostage to rent-seeking cartels that have captured state institutions? And what happens when the line between visionary developer and alleged cartel beneficiary becomes blurred in public perception?
The answer may well determine whether Kenya can transition from its current middle-income trap to genuine prosperity. Hassan’s Sh65 billion bet on Tatu City suggests he believes Kenya’s private sector can thrive despite persistent governance failures. His legal team’s categorical denial of involvement in rice importation suggests he views himself as separate from the murky procurement scandals plaguing state institutions.
Yet Omtatah’s persistent accusations, made under parliamentary privilege and backed by farmer advocacy groups, indicate that significant segments of the public remain unconvinced. Whether Hassan’s optimism about Kenya’s business environment proves justified, and whether his reputation emerges intact from the rice import controversy, depends on reforms and revelations that remain frustratingly elusive.
For now, the contrast endures, though it is murkier than simple binaries suggest. While officials at KNTC scramble to explain to Justice Ngaah how unknown companies secured multibillion-shilling contracts outside established procurement procedures, Hassan is moving earth and mobilizing capital to build communities that will house thousands of families and employ tens of thousands of workers.
Yet Hassan simultaneously faces a senator’s allegations, denied but persistent, that he benefits from the very cartel dynamics that corrupt public procurement.
This dual reality captures Kenya’s development paradox. One approach clearly extracts value from public resources through manipulation and capture. The other creates value through professional execution and genuine market response. But what happens when public perception, fueled by legislative accusations and farmer grievances, suggests the same individual might be implicated in both? The rice scandal will eventually work its way through the courts, with the October 23 mention date offering the first opportunity for respondents to explain their actions.
Omtatah has vowed to press his case in the Senate, urging the Agriculture Committee to investigate the import deal’s beneficiaries. Hassan’s Tatu City development, meanwhile, will rise from the ground as testimony to what focused capital and vision can accomplish, even as questions about the source and nature of that success linger in the public discourse.
As construction begins at Tatu City within the year, Hassan’s gamble will face its ultimate test not in tender documents or procurement reviews but in concrete and steel, in schools filled with students and offices humming with commerce, in neighborhoods where families build lives rather than merely survive.
That is the difference between genuine development and mere rent-seeking, between building Kenya’s future and merely exploiting its present dysfunction.
The Sh65 billion question is whether Kenya’s future will be built by developers like Hassan, whose Tatu City investment represents genuine value creation, or undermined by the cartel dynamics he stands accused, however contested those accusations may be, of perpetuating through rice import deals.
Can the same individual embody both Kenya’s developmental promise and its procurement pathologies? Or does the truth lie somewhere more nuanced, in the complex intersection of legitimate business ambition, political accusations, and a governance system so compromised that even legitimate entrepreneurs find themselves suspected of cartel involvement?
As construction begins at Tatu City within the year, Hassan’s gamble will face its ultimate test not in tender documents or Senate debates but in concrete and steel, in schools filled with students and offices humming with commerce, in neighborhoods where families build lives rather than merely survive. That is one measure of success.
Whether Hassan’s name emerges from the rice import controversy vindicated or tarnished will provide another. Together, these twin tests will help define not just one developer’s legacy but Kenya’s capacity to distinguish between genuine value creation and extractive rent-seeking, between building the nation’s future and merely exploiting its present dysfunction.
For now, at least, one developer is betting Sh65 billion that Kenya’s promise outweighs its problems. Time, and perhaps the Senate Agriculture Committee, will tell if that faith was justified.
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