Bia Tosha has suffered another legal setback after the High Court dismissed its latest application seeking to stop the completion of the proposed Diageo–Asahi transaction involving East African Breweries PLC (EABL).
In a ruling, the court held that Bia Tosha had already elected to pursue the matter before the Court of Appeal and could not return to the High Court seeking similar interim orders. The application, dated May 4, 2026, was dismissed with costs.
Court Stresses Adherence to Legal Procedure
The decision marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute, with the court emphasizing the importance of following proper legal processes in a matter that has generated multiple applications and amendments over the years.
According to the court’s reasoning, once Bia Tosha opted to seek relief from the appellate court, the High Court was no longer the appropriate forum to grant the same interim intervention.
Legal analysts say the ruling reinforces the principle that litigants should not pursue overlapping remedies in different courts simultaneously, a practice that can complicate proceedings and create conflicting outcomes.
Series of Setbacks
The latest ruling comes against the backdrop of recent proceedings in which the court directed the parties to first establish which version of Bia Tosha’s petition is properly before the court before any substantive issues can be determined.
That directive followed disputes surrounding a Further Amended Petition that sought, among other remedies, to challenge the proposed transaction and introduce a KSh45 billion claim.
The court’s focus on resolving procedural and foundational questions before addressing the merits of the case has increasingly shifted attention away from the substantive allegations and toward the legal framework underpinning the litigation.
Implications for EABL
For EABL and other parties backing the transaction, the ruling removes an immediate legal hurdle that could have delayed the completion of the proposed deal.
Although the wider dispute remains before the courts, the latest decision is likely to be viewed as strengthening EABL’s position that the matter should proceed through established legal channels and in a procedurally consistent manner, rather than through multiple parallel applications.
The substantive issues at the heart of the dispute are yet to be determined, meaning the broader legal battle surrounding the transaction remains ongoing despite the dismissal of the latest application.
Read: No Takeover as East Africa Regulators Approve Asahi-EABL Acquisition
>>> Court Lifts Block on EABL Sale, Paving Way for Asahi Takeover
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