Kerugoya High Court has granted orders stopping any public participation in the sale of the Mwea Rice Mill which is among 11 parastatals earmarked for privatisation by the government.

This, the court ruled, is until the case is heard following a petition by two farmers Pius Njogu and John Munene.

High Court judge Richard Mwongo ruled that the respondent Cabinet Secretary for Treasury and the Attorney General had not responded to the petition by the two farmers.

Rice farmers in the Mwea irrigation scheme in Kirinyaga County have expressed concern and opposition to the government's decision to privatize the Mwea Rice Mill Limited.

The proposed sale of the mill has sparked frustration and confusion among the farmers, who question why their mill is being sold when other rice schemes like Ahero and Mbura have never faced such a fate.

The parastatals earmarked for privatisation are Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) and Kenya Seed Company Limited (KSC)., Western Kenya Rice Mills Ltd (WKRM), Numerical Machining Complex Limited (NMC), Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers Limited (KVM) and Moi University-owned Rivatex East Africa Limited (REAL).