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Kenyan beer distributor Bia Tosha has filed a case at Kenya’s High Court, asking that Diageo’s $2.3 billion East African Breweries (EABL) sale to Asahi is blocked.

According to reporting by Reuters, Bia Tosha’s latest motion filed this week asks that the High Court suspends the EABL sale to Asahi until pending litigation – dating back as early as 2016 – is resolved.

The pending lawsuit is based on a longstanding dispute between Bia Tosha, previously a distributor of EABL’s beverages, and EABL parent group Diageo. Bia Tosha has accused the alcohol giant of engaging in anti-competitive trade practices and breaching contractual obligations after EABL said it would not sign a new distribution contract.

Diageo announced the sale in December 2025, a major deal marking the largest investment ever made by a major Japanese brewing group in an African alcohol business. It will see Diageo offload its 100% shareholding in Diageo Kenya Limited, which holds 65% of the EABL shares, to Asahi.

Bia Tosha has claimed that the sale is prejudicial to the ongoing legislation. According to Reuters, Bia Tosha’s lawyer, Kenneth Kiplagat, told its reporters that Kenya’s High Court has certified the case as urgent and set a hearing date for Friday 9 January 2026.