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The rural folk, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas, always experience hardship and poverty exacerbated by the adversity of climate change. It was not any different in the eastern part of Kenya, where my story begins.

Daily life revolved around one basic need: water. As a child, my marathon was running to the Athi River with donkeys, carrying jerricans down dusty paths and rocky hills. It was always under the scorching sun and the threat of crocodiles.

The lack of alternatives meant we had to disturb their dangerous habitat. Every so often, children and adults alike escaped with injuries, while others were not as fortunate.

We drank directly from the river, polluted by upstream waste from Nairobi. We swam not for leisure, but to cool our bodies before the uphill climb home. That was our childhood.

No packed lunches, no clean water, no safety nets. It was survival, and it came at the cost of missed school days and the burden of child labour.

Looking back, there is nothing about that life to miss. It was real human suffering. And yet, it is this very experience that explains why I am deeply passionate about climate action.

I know, firsthand, what degraded ecosystems mean for families. Deforestation upstream disrupted river flows. Soil erosion stripped the land bare.

Prolonged droughts pushed communities deeper into poverty. Climate vulnerability was not an abstract idea; it was the reality of my childhood.

The World Resources Institute notes that by 2050, nearly one billion people in Africa will face severe water stress unless urgent measures are taken. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report warns that children in Africa born in 2020 will experience four to five times more climate extremes in their lifetime compared to those born 60 years earlier.

These numbers confirm what some of us have lived through since birth.

This is why I advocate for the restoration of landscapes, for clean energy, sustainable food systems, and protection of natural resources that communities depend on.

Climate action should go beyond policy frameworks on paper and fancy global conferences. It is all about human dignity. It is about ensuring that the next generation does not spend its childhood fetching unsafe water or battling odds that should not exist in the first place.

May the policies get better and the actions move faster, so that no more generations have to endure the kind of suffering we went through. Because of that suffering, I now dedicate my voice and work to building solutions.

Climate action, for me, is not just a career path. It is a personal mission to turn pain into purpose and to make sure no child has to endure what we did in the dry and semi-arid eastern part of Kenya.

Tanzanian-owned Lake Gas has snapped up two percent of the local market for handling imported cooking gas, taking a piece of a business that has been dominated for decades by African Gas and Oil (AGOL).

Industry data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) revealed the market share of the Tanzanian oil marketer, adding that AGOL and the Shimanzi Oil Terminal (SOT) dominate with a combined share of 94.56 per cent. AGOL’s facility has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes, while SOT connects to five storage facilities with a combined capacity of 2,335 tonnes.

Kenya Reinsurance Corporation (Kenya Re) has extended the suspension of managing director Hillary Wachinga for a further 21 working days starting October 2, 2025.

Dr Wachinga was first suspended on September 3 for 21 working days following what the board termed as a ‘preliminary review of internal matters, which is ongoing.’ This, even as sources linked his suspension to a talent review process he had initiated to streamline operations at the State-owned reinsurer.

A notice on Friday morning announced the extension, which will keep Dr Wachinga out of the office at least up to the end of the month. ‘The board of directors of Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited wishes to inform the public that it has extended the suspension of the managing director, Dr Hillary Wachinga, for 21 working days from October 2, 2025,’ read the notice in part.

The extended suspension means general manager for property and investments, Nicodemus Gekone, will continue to serve as the acting managing director for the intervening period. Dr Wachinga, a part-time lecturer at Strathmore Business School, a golfer and poet, became Kenya Re managing director in March 2023, with the board hailing him as a ‘multiskilled strategic thinker’ and a ‘flexible and adaptable corporate leader.’

Kenya Re share price shed 8.38 per cent of its value on the day Dr Wachinga was first suspended, closing the day as the top loser at Sh3.17.

The share price opened Friday trading at Sh3.18.

In the financial year ended December 2023, Dr Wachinga led Kenya Re in a 41.5 percent growth in net profit to Sh4.97 billion that saw shareholders’ dividend per share raised 50 percent to Sh0.30 amounting to Sh839.94 million plus bonus shares of one for each share already held.

Last year, the profit retreated by 10.6 percent to Sh4.44 billion mainly on foreign exchange losses, even as the reinsurance service result -reinsurance revenue less service expenses- grew 4.4 times to Sh2.95 billion. The dividend payout was maintained.

His continued suspension comes at a critical time for Kenya Re given that the September-November window is critical for renewing businesses which has a bearing on the next financial year’s performance.

Kenya Re is also awaiting a new rating from one of the key ratings agencies, raising the risk that the boardroom happenings might filter into the ratings.

A reinsurer’s credit rating is the opinion of an independent agency regarding the company’s financial strength and ability to pay claims coming from insurers. A strong rating points to a reinsurer that can settle insurer’s claims without struggle.

Wholesale prices of electricity will be capped at $0.07 (Sh9.04 at current exchange rates) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that Kenya Power will sign in a move aimed at cushioning consumers from costly electricity.

David Gikaria, the chair of the National Assembly Energy Committee, disclosed that capping of the prices is one of the conditions included in a report that his committee will table in Parliament, setting the stage for lifting of a moratorium that has been in place since 2018.

Commercial banks are asking the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to cut the base lending rate further to help lift the pace of private sector credit growth.

Through the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the lenders say overall inflation remains low, the foreign exchange rate is stable and private sector credit remains ‘under strain,’ requiring further easing of the Central Bank Rate (CBR).

After nearly three decades as an employee-more than half of them as chief executive of Crown Paints-Rakesh Rao longed for the day he could start a business of his own.

Entrepreneurship, he believed, would finally give him ‘peace of mind.” In an April 2021 interview, he said he had given himself about three years-around now, as his two sons settled into their paths-to actualise the dream.

Kenya’s hospitality story is built on warmth, resilience, and world-class talent. But here’s a question for all of us: will the next generation of global hotel brands carry Kenyan names, or will we forever host under someone else’s flag?

For decades, local hotel owners and investors have carried the spirit of Karibu Kenya, welcoming the world with unmatched professionalism.

Our hotels, lodges, and camps have been the heartbeat of tourism, shaping experiences that bring millions to our country. Yet as more international hotel chains set up in Kenya, we must ask: are we building our industry’s future on borrowed names, or nurturing our own to become tomorrow’s global leaders?

International chains undoubtedly bring value-global visibility, expertise, and jobs. But the profits flow abroad, decisions are made elsewhere, and our pioneers risk being overshadowed in their own home market.

Kenyan hotel brands deserve the same incentives, financing, and global exposure offered to foreign players. With a disciplined, highly skilled workforce already sought after worldwide, why shouldn’t Kenyan brands dominate regionally and globally?

In fact, Kenyan hospitality professionals have long been our greatest export. From Dubai to Doha, from Mauritius to southern Africa, our chefs, managers, and staff are in high demand and are well-trained, polished, and trusted to deliver excellence.

Even in Europe, Kenyan graduates are finding opportunities, valued for their professionalism and service culture. If our people can power the success of other countries’ hotel industries, why can’t our own brands be given the tools to succeed at home and abroad?

Other countries have shown us what is possible. In South Africa, Protea Hotels grew from a modest local chain in the 1980s to more than 100 properties across Africa, proving that African hospitality brands can achieve continental scale.

Yet its eventual acquisition by Marriott in 2014 is a double-edged lesson: without strong national and regional support, even successful African brands risk being absorbed by global giants rather than standing as independent players.

In contrast, India’s Taj Hotels began with a single property in Mumbai in 1903 and, with deliberate government and private sector backing, evolved into one of the most respected hospitality names worldwide.