A fresh attempt by NCBA Bank Kenya to place indebted logistics firm Multiple Hauliers (EA) Ltd under administration over Sh7.2 billion debt has been temporarily blocked by the High Court, adding a new twist to the company’s insolvency battle. The debt to NCBA is part of Sh31 billion claims against the logistics firm by various lenders and creditors.
The court, in an order dated August 7, 2026, barred two bank-appointed administrators from taking charge of the company’s operations pending hearing of an application challenging the move.
The court also barred NCBA and the Kenya Commercial Bank from appointing a receiver or receivers over the company until the application is heard.
The orders came just days after NCBA appointed Muniu Thoithi and George Weru of PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited as joint administrators of Multiple Hauliers.
The appointment was announced in a Gazette Notice dated July 27, 2026, which said the administrators would explore ways of rescuing the company as a going concern or securing a better outcome for creditors than liquidation.
‘The primary objective of administration proceedings under the Insolvency Act is to allow the Administrators, licensed insolvency practitioners, to explore ways of rescuing the company either as a going concern where feasible or achieving a better outcome for the creditors of the company than would be in the case of a liquidation,’ the lender said in a July 27, 2026 notice.
‘The Administrators request anyone with a claim against the company to submit it to them within the next 14 days from the date of this notice, for inclusion in the companies’ rolls of creditors. The Joint Administrators act on behalf of the Company without any personal liability,’ it added.
Administration is a process through which a third party – an administrator – is appointed to take over the affairs of a company in distress to improve its financial situation for the benefit of its creditors or effect a sale of the business to preserve its value.
The fresh court orders mean the PwC administrators cannot, for now, hold themselves out as administrators or take control of the company’s operations.
‘A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the third and fourth respondents from holding themselves out as the administrators, or taking charge of the operations, of Multiple Hauliers Ltd, or from discharging any such functions purporting to be the administrators over Multiple Hauliers Ltd, pending the hearing of the notice of motion application,’ said Justice Gregory Mutai.
This decision followed an urgent application by Rajinder Singh Baryan and Manvir Singh Baryan challenging the appointment.
The order does not finally determine whether NCBA’s appointment of the administrators was lawful. The court has instead preserved the position pending arguments from the parties.
Justice Mutai certified the application as urgent and fixed it for hearing on September 25, 2026.
The company’s broader insolvency dispute pits major secured lenders owed in excess of Sh16 billion -though the Official Receiver’s November 2024 report indicated that the total debts were in excess of Sh31.4 billion while the total assets of the company were Sh17 billion.
The senior lenders include NCBA Bank Kenya, which has been seeking to recover Sh7.2 billion from the transport company.
Other secured lenders drawn in the commercial tussle include KCB Bank Kenya, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Prime Bank, I and M Bank and Bank of India, alongside Synergy Industrial Credit and the National Social Security Fund.
Court records indicate that KCB and Co-op Bank were owed Sh8.82 billion as per the official receiver’s Term Sheet dated May 29, 2024, while I and M Bank was owed Sh627.9 million.
The insolvency proceedings have also involved a Sh532 million claim by Synergy Industrial Credit, which sought liquidation of Multiple Hauliers after alleging that the company was unable to pay its debts. The High Court later consolidated the administration and liquidation proceedings.
The company has moved between lender-appointed and court-supervised administration during the legal dispute. In September 2024, Justice Alfred Mabeya appointed the Official Receiver after earlier administrators resigned and directed the receiver to oversee a proposed investment transaction. The court also required periodic reports to creditors.
NCBA had appointed an administrator in June 2021, but the appointment was suspended, and the matter was consolidated with Synergy’s liquidation petition.
The Gazette notice now identifies Thoithi and Weru, both from PwC, as the joint administrators appointed by NCBA.
The notice states that the purpose of the administration is to enable the practitioners to explore rescuing Multiple Hauliers as a going concern, where feasible, or to obtain a better result for creditors than liquidation would provide.
It further states that the administrators will act on behalf of the company without personal liability.
The company’s financial distress has been before the courts for years. Synergy moved to liquidate Multiple Hauliers in 2020 over its debt, but the High Court suspended the petition to allow the company to restructure and pursue a turnaround.
In December 2025, the Court of Appeal granted NCBA a stay of further proceedings in the High Court insolvency cause. The appellate ruling records NCBA as one of the company’s main creditors and notes that the High Court had appointed the Official Receiver as administrator in September 2024.
The Gazette notice did not announce liquidation. Although its heading referred to an ‘Appointment of Liquidators Notice’, the body expressly states that Mr Thoithi and Mr Weru were appointed as ‘Joint Administrators’ under section 534 of the Insolvency Act.
The notice had directed anyone claiming money from Multiple Hauliers to submit their claims to the administrators within 14 days for inclusion in the creditors’ rolls.
It described administration as a process aimed at giving licensed insolvency practitioners an opportunity to rescue a distressed company or achieve a better outcome for creditors than liquidation.
It also said the administrators would act on behalf of the company without personal liability.
The August 7 order now places that appointment under direct judicial scrutiny, with the parties required to present their competing positions before the High Court on September 25.