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Kenya’s Court of Appeal has rejected businessman Paul Wanderi Ndung’u’s latest attempt to reopen a settled dispute linked to the SportPesa name, ending a fresh push to undo a consent that withdrew an appeal involving Milestone Games and the Betting Control and Licensing Board.
In a decision delivered by a three judge bench, the court said Ndung’u’s application lacked merit and awarded costs to Milestone Games. The ruling leaves in place a February 12, 2024 consent that marked Milestone’s appeal against the regulator as withdrawn.
Ndung’u had asked the appellate court to overturn what he described as a consent order dated February 24, 2023 and to formally join the case. Judges said they examined the record and found no consent order dated February 24, 2023. The only valid consent on file, they said, was the February 12, 2024 agreement that ended the appeal.
The court said it could not set aside an order that had not been placed before it and whose terms could not be established. The bench also stressed that parties are bound by their pleadings unless they amend them, limiting what a court can decide.
The dispute traces back to a regulatory clash in 2020, when Milestone sought judicial review to quash two decisions by the Betting Control and Licensing Board. Milestone said the regulator had barred it from using the SportPesa trademark, related web domains, short codes and paybill numbers, while also suspending its bookmaker’s licence indefinitely. Milestone argued the actions were unlawful, breached due process and violated constitutional rights.
The High Court suspended the regulator’s decisions. Contempt proceedings later found officials in contempt, though they were given time to purge it.
Milestone and the regulator later reached a consent in May 2022 to settle the dispute. When the agreement was presented for adoption, Ndung’u opposed it and sought to be joined. The High Court declined to approve the consent at the time, saying it needed assurance the agreement reflected proper board procedure.
Milestone appealed, and Ndung’u applied to join the appeal, arguing he held a 17 percent stake in Pevans East Africa, a company linked to the SportPesa brand. His bid was dismissed in February 2023 after Milestone and Pevans said he had been expelled from the company.
The Court of Appeal revisited that joinder question in April 2025, allowing him in because allegations of fraud required examination. Even then, judges noted the appeal had already been settled and told Ndung’u to pursue any property rights claims through other legal avenues.
In the latest ruling, the court said the joinder issue had already been determined in April 2025 and could not be reopened again.
