Category: Business Daily

Jumia’s sales in Kenya hit a record Sh6.4 billion ($49.7 million) in the three months to June 2026, as strong demand for fashion and beauty items offset a slump in smartphone sales caused by supply disruptions and rising prices.

The sales marked an 84.1 percent increase from Sh3.5 billion ($27 million) in the second quarter of last year. This is the highest sales figure since the e-commerce company began releasing data breakdowns for its individual markets in January 2025.

Kenya is the third-largest of Jumia’s eight African markets, with the latest quarterly sales accounting for 23 percent of the group’s $216.3 million (Sh2.9 billion) Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) – the total value of goods and services sold on its website and mobile app – in Africa between April and June.

Sales on the e-commerce platform in Kenya stood at Sh4.6 billion ($35.9 million) between January and March, Sh5.4 billion ($41.9 million) between October and December 2025, and Sh3.8 billion ($29.6 million) in the quarter to September 2025.

‘GMV growth reflected a category mix shift, with strong performance in fashion, beauty, as well as home and living-categories with lower average item value but higher take rates for Jumia,’ the company said.

The New York Stock Exchange-listed company’s $216.3 million GMV across Africa during the second quarter was a 20 percent year-on-year increase from $180.2 million in the same period last year.

Smartphones and electronics have been a key driver of Jumia’s sales, but the recent global memory chip crisis and processor shortages linked to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) have raised mobile phone prices, hurting online retailers’ sales.

Jumia did not disclose the sales figures of its different categories.

The AI infrastructure boom has diverted memory chips away from consumer electronics, driving up handset prices and squeezing demand in sensitive markets such as Kenya.

Soaring prices for memory chips, which are key components in smartphones, have challenged phone manufacturers after chipmakers shifted production capacity towards high-margin AI data centres owned by tech giants like OpenAI and Anthropic.

The crisis has further been compounded by logistics disruptions linked to war in the Middle East, which triggered airspace closures and flight cancellations in hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.

‘The phones and electronics categories were impacted by supply disruptions from memory chip and CPU (central processing unit) shortages, as well as air freight disruption through the Gulf,’ Jumia said.

Global smartphone shipments fell 11 percent year-on-year in the three months to June, marking the lowest second-quarter volumes since 2013, according to market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research.

Entry-level and mid-tier smartphones, which account for the bulk of global sales, have become unfeasible at previous price points as makers grapple with higher material bills.

In Kenya, the crisis has seen the prices of entry-level smartphone models like the Chinese brand Vivo jump 80 percent from Sh9,999 to Sh17,999. Mid-range devices are up 28 percent from Sh35,000 to Sh45,000 in just two years.

Jumia was first launched in Nigeria in 2012, delivering packages through local retailers. It opened shop in Kenya in 2013.

But since its launch, the online marketplace has struggled to turn a profit and has been cutting costs by shedding headcount, exiting some markets, and closing some product categories to focus on beauty items, clothes, smartphones, electronics and home appliances.

The firm exited Algeria at the start of this year, after South Africa and Tunisia in late 2024. In 2023, it removed grocery items and food delivery services in seven African markets, including Kenya.

Jumia’s expansion into smaller, upcountry towns has helped its sales. ‘Orders from upcountry regions represented 61 percent of total orders in the second quarter of 2026, up from 59 percent in the prior-year period,’ the company said.

The firm expects to break even in the last quarter of 2026 and finally turn a full-year profit next year.

MPs have stepped up pressure on the Treasury to revive a foreign-exchange compensation scheme for Kenya’s diplomatic missions abroad to help protect their budgets from the impact of a volatile shilling.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly asked the Treasury to compensate the State Department for Foreign Affairs for foreign-exchange losses it has incurred over the years, in line with Section 47 of the Foreign Service Act, 2021 (Cap. 185E).

This comes amid similar calls by other parliamentary groups, including the Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee.

The State Department for Foreign Affairs says it is in talks with the Treasury to reinstate the Foreign Exchange Loss Assumption Facility, through which diplomatic missions abroad would be reimbursed for losses arising when the shilling weakens against the currencies of the countries where they are domiciled.

The facility was reduced to zero in the financial year ending June 2013.

Section 47 of the Act deals specifically with foreign-exchange fluctuations.

‘The National Treasury shall compensate the Ministry for any loss incurred resulting from foreign exchange adjustment, from monies sent to its Missions abroad,’ reads part of the Act.

Kenya’s diplomatic missions abroad receive their budgets in Kenyan shillings, while much of their expenditure is incurred in local and other foreign currencies.

As at June 2023, Kenya’s diplomatic missions had accumulated Sh2.5 billion in foreign-exchange losses, with the PAC directing the Treasury to compensate the State Department. The PAC report was adopted by the National Assembly in March 2026.

In response, the State Department for Foreign Affairs said it had requested the National Treasury to reimburse it for the losses.

The money, it said, was expected to be provided as additional funding in the second Supplementary Budget for the financial year ending June 2026 and/or in the current budget cycle.

‘Further, as a way forward in managing forex losses into the future, the State Department is in consultation with the National Treasury to reinstate into the State Department’s budget the Foreign Exchange Loss Assumption Facility that was cut to zero in the financial year 2012/13 to cushion the State Department/Missions from the volatile/unpredictable forex market,’ said the State Department for Foreign Affairs.

‘The National Treasury’s action on this matter is still awaited.’

Kenya has 70 fully fledged diplomatic missions abroad, including embassies and high commissions, which receive budgets in shillings but incur much of their expenditure in foreign currencies.

In addition to paying salaries to workers in these missions, the State Department incurs administrative costs such as office and residential rent, utilities, vehicle maintenance, travel, security and other operational expenses.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal has set aside a Sh780 million tax bill against solar home systems financier Bboxx Capital Kenya, ruling that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) failed to prove how it arrived at the disputed tax assessment.

However, the tribunal agreed with KRA that Bboxx’s customers were not simply renting solar equipment and that the company’s pay-as-you-go business model was subject to income tax on the resulting business income.

It found that customers were paying for the solar systems in instalments with the intention of eventually owning them after completing agreed payments, making the transactions hire-purchase deals rather than leases.

The tax dispute started after KRA treated Sh1.53 billion in the company’s lease stock as under-declared credit sales and applied a 30 per cent margin, while also adding back a Sh33.7 million hire-purchase asset write-off.

Bboxx sells solar panels, lamps, batteries and related equipment through payment plans. Its audited accounts described the sales as cash and hire-purchase transactions.

KRA began auditing Bboxx’s tax affairs for 2018 to 2022 in November 2023. It later assessed Sh780 million in corporation tax for 2019, comprising Sh450.9 million principal tax and Sh329 million interest. KRA treated Sh1.53 billion in lease stock as under-declared sales and applied a 30 per cent margin. It also added back a Sh33.7 million asset write-off.

Bboxx objected, but KRA rejected the objection in September 2025, triggering an appeal at the tribunal. The company argued that ownership of the solar equipment remained with Bboxx while customers bore risks after receiving the systems.

Bboxx said its 2019 accounts recognised Sh23.5 million in upfront sales and Sh598 million in lease revenue, which it said had already been taxed. The Tribunal rejected Bboxx’s classification argument. It found that the contracts with customers contained a purchase price, down payment and final payment, with ownership addressed after completion of payments.

‘A contract under which the customer pays a deposit and instalments towards an agreed purchase price was made with the intention of transferring ownership,” the tribunal said.

Even though Bboxx retained ownership of the solar systems while customers were still paying, the tribunal said this alone did not make the arrangements leases.

It found that the contracts referred to a purchase price, down payment and final payment, and did not require customers to return the equipment after completing the payments.

The tribunal also relied on Bboxx’s accounts, which stated that it had no finance leases and described the transactions as hire purchase.

It nevertheless rejected KRA’s calculation of the alleged under-declared income. It said the 30 percent margin had not been explained in the assessment, objection decision or KRA’s submissions.

‘An unexplained figure is the antithesis of a judgment exercised upon available information,’ the tribunal said, setting aside KRA’s decision.

It also found that KRA had applied the deemed sales on top of Sh621 million in revenue the company had already declared and paid tax on. KRA had not shown how much lease stock represented goods actually supplied during 2019.

Bboxx presented reconciliations, ledgers and movement schedules showing how lease stock was recognised as revenue. KRA did not rebut that evidence.

The tribunal, therefore, held that the Sh1.53 billion adjustments were ‘arbitrary and without a demonstrated factual foundation’ and were not justified. The Tribunal dismissed both KRA’s estimation of the year’s income and the decision to add back the written-off assets, terming them as being without legal or factual foundation and unjustified.

‘The tribunal finds that the respondent’s assessment of under-declared income of Sh1,534,762,601.00, computed by applying an unexplained 30 percent margin to the appellant’s lease stock without eliminating revenue already recognised and taxed, was arbitrary and without a demonstrated factual foundation, and therefore, not justified,’ said the tribunal in its ruling.

It also rejected the Sh33.7 million asset write-off adjustment. The assets had historical cost and accumulated depreciation of the same amount, leaving them with nil book value.

It said removing fully depreciated assets from Bboxx’s register created neither a gain nor loss, and KRA identified no deduction requiring an add-back.

The Bboxx case is not the first time that the taxman arbitrarily used a margin to determine a taxpayer’s income and subsequent tax liability. In August 2024, the authority slapped a petroleum distributor, Koriyo Horse Investments Limited, with a Sh32.9 million tax bill plus interest and penalties after applying a five percent markup on its cost of sales.

In Koriyo the case which was decided in October 2025, the tribunal held that the estimation using mark-ups and cost of sales is only permissible when adequate records are not maintained or produced by the taxpayer. In another similar case decided in September 2024, the tribunal again sided with the taxpayer, stating that even in the absence of record, an estimate must be backed by concrete facts and verifiable economic models.

An investment firm associated with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is in talks to buy majority stakes in two insurance firms from South Africa’s Absa Group.

Absa Group on Thursday evening announced that it has inked an agreement to sell its majority stake in Absa Life Assurance and First Assurance Kenya Limited to its Kenyan partner-First Assurance Investments Limited.

The South African financial giant is exiting the insurance business in a number of African countries, including Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, as it increases its stake in the Kenyan subsidiary.

A search at public registry revealed that First Assurance Investments is owned 52.5 percent by Syndicate Nominees, a company Mr Mudavadi said he owned during his vetting in 2022 for the Prime Cabinet Secretary post.

Absa Group has a 63.3 percent stake in each of Absa Life Assurance and First Assurance Kenya Limited.

Sources close to the transaction reckon that Absa Group will seek at least Sh3.8 billion for the two stakes.

‘Absa Group Limited has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with First Assurance Investments Limited, an existing shareholder of First Assurance Company Limited and Absa Life Assurance Kenya Limited for the sale of Absa’s entire stake in the two businesses, which amounts to 63.32 percent shareholding in each of the two entities,’ said a regulatory filing seen by the Business Daily.

Sources at the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) confirmed the deal amid increased deal-making in Kenya’s insurance sector, which has seen share transactions involving Sanlam, Jubilee and Britam.

For Mr Mudavadi and his partner in First Assurance Investments Limited, the transaction will see them buy back the shares they sold to Absa (then Barclays Africa) in 2015 in a Sh2.2 billion deal.

An investment firm called Exclusive Holding Limited, with roots in Mombasa, holds the remaining 47.5 percent stake in First Assurance Investments.

During his vetting on October 17, 2022, Mr Mudavadi disclosed a net worth of Sh4.1 billion to the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, making him one of the wealthiest Cabinet members.

Properties in upmarket Riverside Estate and shares in Absa Bank and First Assurance Company account for the largest share of his wealth.

The Riverside stable was worth Sh1 billion. He also disclosed rental office blocks worth Sh870 million through a firm known as Tritone Investments, underlining his heavy investments in property.

Mr Mudavadi, a former vice-president, also declared Sh200 million shares in Exclusive Air Services Ltd-which leases helicopters.

He also disclosed ownership of high-end cars worth Sh44 million as well as shares in investment firms Jodeci Investment (Sh120 million) and Malulu Land and Developments (Sh250 million).

Absa Life is the seventh largest life insurer while First Assurance Kenya is number 13 among general insurers in a market where premiums continue to grow.

The current insurance penetration of three percent presents potential for investors seeking growth and dividends.

Absa’s exit from the insurance business in several countries marks a strategy shift as it seeks to tap insurance billions through bancassurance as opposed to direct ownership.

The bancassurance model, or a partnership where a bank sells insurance products, will allow Absa to profit from the sector through commissions, without putting its capital on the line.

In Kenya, Absa Bank Kenya’s net profit from bancassurance grew 35 percent to Sh1.3 billion in the year ended December 2025, placing it top in the country’s bancassurance business.

During the same period, Absa Life’s net profit fell 26 percent to Sh790.1 million, offering clues on why the South African giant is selling its majority stake in the two companies.

Absa’s deal with First Assurance Investments comes at a time when the Johannesburg-based group is increasing its stake in Absa Bank Kenya to 85 percent from 68.5 percent in a Sh30.9 billion deal.

Absa Group’s subsidiary, Absa Financial Services, last year sold its 100 percent stake in Absa Life Botswana to Hollard International, the international wing of South Africa’s Hollard Insurance Group.

In the same year, it sold its entire stake in Absa Life Zambia and its Mozambique insurance operations to the same entity.

‘We switched to a bancassurance distribution model with key partners across our Africa regions, hence selling our insurance businesses in Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique,’ Absa Group said in the 2025 annual report on the three deals.

Mr Mudavadi owns First Assurance through two investment vehicles, First Assurance Investments and directly through Syndicate Nominees, with a 12.35 percent ownership, giving the Prime Cabinet Secretary a 21.26 percent stake.

Other shareholders of First Assurance are Stephen Githiga (4.0 percent), Chandaria Ventures Limited (1.67 percent), Epoch Investments Limited and Absa Pension Services Limited with 0.84 percent each.

Mr Githiga is the former CEO of First Assurance Company and Sasini. Chandaria Ventures is associated with Darshan Chandaria and Neer Chandaria, while Epoch Investments is associated with Jambojet chairman Ayisi Makatiani.

Absa Life Assurance Kenya commenced operations in 2015 after receiving an IRA licence and has grown over time, breaking into the top 10 life insurers in the country.

It was the first life insurer in Kenya to adopt a bancassurance model of distribution.

First Assurance started off in Kenya as Prudential Assurance Company in 1930 before Kenyan investors bought the entire stake from Britons in 1991.

Over the past three years, the mood around education has shifted significantly, thanks to the issue of funding. In 2023, a taskforce – the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms – was formed to come up with recommendations on a financing model that would sustainably support university education in Kenya.

The result of this exercise was a student-centered financing structure, which categorised them into five tiers based on their family income, and allocated varying amounts of scholarships and loans as per those bands.

However, this has eventually proved to be unsustainable, both for families, which cannot afford the high amounts of money which they are asked to pay as fees, and for the government, on what it should give Helb to provide all students with loans (its current budget deficit stands at Sh56 billion), and the Universities Fund with a shortfall of Sh28 billion.

The government plan to drop this model raises questions about how we can approach education financing if Kenya is to subsidise the sector. The problem we should be confronting now is how to fund higher education sustainably for future generations.

A look at the current budget shows that out of the total Sh4.8 trillion only Sh3.6 trillion comes from revenue collected. The other amount, a deficit of Sh1.15 trillion is from loans.

A breakdown of the budget shows that outside the debt repayment (which stands at Sh2.3 trillion), the education sector receives the highest (ministerial) allocation, standing at Sh784.5 billion.

This amount is divided among TSC for payment of teachers’ and interns’ salaries, basic education (capitation for primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions (loans, scholarships, infra projects and research).

However, the amount we consider to be generous still contains huge deficits.

The universities loans and scholarships have a total deficit of Sh84 billion. Add that to the fact that public universities are collectively deep in debt of Sh57 billion, with 23 out of the 37 public universities nearing insolvency.

The government has Sh60 billion owed to private universities for allocating some of the State-sponsored students there between 2017 – 2023. Therefore, the total additional amount that would be crucial to save universities, would be around Sh201 billion.

Where can we get this additional money? The first is that we should seal all corruption loopholes and use what is saved to fund higher education.

The second way out is divert funding from other sectors and allocate it to education. Proponents of this idea suggest that we should slash the budget allocated to State House (which is just Sh8.5 billion) or consolidate all bursary funds (which stand at just Sh9 billion).

However, it is important to note that every department gets an allocation that is commensurate to its activities, and so, asking them to cut theirs, would hinder their operations with a ripple effect on the general economy.

Additionally, when we compare the amounts we need to make an impact, and the amounts we’re trying to generate using these budget cuts, then we find that it’s a drop in the ocean. Therefore, it can only serve as a stop-gap solution.

The third option suggested is obtaining loans. However, since education is a recurrent expenditure and for which we cannot obtain direct returns of investment which would help us repay it, then it would be imprudent to take up loans to fund it.

The fourth option would be creating a separate fund for it, then taxing people, just as has been done with the affordable housing levy.

However, by virtue (or vice) of the fact that we’ve never managed to widen our tax base beyond payslips, it wouldn’t be burdensome to only tax the salaried so as to support the entire nation.

Therefore, there exists no short-term solution. There can only be a long-term strategy, which would involve looking for ways to increase our gross domestic product so as to have more money to fund social amenities.

This is basically asking for industrialisation because the ripple effects run beyond increasing the GDP, and also involve providing jobs for graduates as well as increasing our forex through reduction of imports.

Investors splashed a record Sh460.4 billion for the purchase of three infrastructure bond (IFB) bonds, underlining the abundance of cash in an economy that is seeking passive investments over setting up businesses.

In the August bond, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) targeted Sh150 billion from three reopened IFBs and received three times the securities on offer.

CBK accepted Sh312 billion from the offer, handing back Sh148.37 billion to investors.

The sale marks a continuation of the recent trend of Kenyans pouring billions of shillings into bonds and money market funds while shunning riskier ventures like starting a business, which presents an opportunity for the economy to create new jobs.

For businesses that have delayed investment decisions, the bonds market provides a platform to protect the value of idle capital at minimal risk, while also retaining value through returns that are above the average rate of inflation.

Infrastructure bonds provide an attractive option for the passive investor due to their tax exemption on interest, leading to large subscriptions whenever they are offered by the government.

‘The high subscription rate speaks to a dearth of opportunities in the real economy, where investors are seeing channeling of limited capital into investable options,’ said Churchill Ogutu, an economist and head of research at Capital A Investment Bank.

‘It is also indicative of market participants such as statutory bodies and foreigners who have high liquidity parking it in the IFBs, having waited for one year for a new issuance of the tax-free bonds.’

The amount offered in the bond is more than the Sh360.6 billion in new credit taken up by the private sector from banks in the 12-months to May 2026, highlighting the growing depth of the bonds market relative to investments in enterprises.

It also eclipses the Sh428 billion in equitable share of national revenue allocated to Kenya’s 47 counties in the 2026/2027 budget.

The previous bids record for a bond was the Sh323.4 billion offered in the previous IFB sold in August 2025.

While investors in the newly reopened bonds are set to enjoy regular tax free interest payments of between 11.75 percent and 12.73 percent per year, businesses have continued to struggle for funding, leading to slow growth in new jobs relative to the number of people coming into the labour market.

In 2025, Kenya’s economy added 824,100 new jobs, up from 782,300 in 2024, as per data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2026.

However, 88 percent or 723,100 of these new jobs were created by the informal sector, mirroring the difficulties of corporate Kenya in creating employment for thousands of graduates leaving universities and colleges each year.

The growth in the number of new jobs was achieved against a slower output as Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at 4.6 percent in 2025, from 4.7 percent in 2024.

In the first quarter of 2026, GDP growth stood at 5.3 percent, with the CBK projecting full-year expansion at 4.9 percent.

To achieve higher growth, the government has been pushing to grow lending to the private sector, which grew at an annual rate of 10.6 percent in June and 10.2 percent in July 2026.

While this marks the first time the growth has hit double digits since February 2024, it remains below the range of 12 to 15 percent deemed ideal to power healthy growth of the economy.

Meanwhile, billions of shillings have been channelled into passive assets, with the outstanding stock of government securities now standing at Sh7.3 trillion, while unit trusts hold Sh851.7 billion in assets under management.

Latest data from the CBK shows that commercial banks remain the largest domestic lenders to government at Sh2.64 trillion, followed by pension funds and insurance companies at Sh1 trillion each. The government’s total domestic debt stood at Sh7.46 trillion as at July 31, 2026.

Households have lent Sh470.2 billion to the government, accounting for 6.2 percent of the State’s domestic debt, while parastatals hold Sh529.9 billion worth of the debt. Foreign investors and non-financial corporations account for Sh313.5 billion and Sh112 billion of the debt respectively.

The State’s appetite for new debt from the domestic market is driven by its large budget deficit of Sh1.29 trillion for the 2026/2027 financial year, out of which Sh1 trillion will be financed through domestic borrowing.

The August IFB issuance therefore offered the CBK an opportunity to frontload the borrowing for the year, taking advantage of the high demand for the reopened papers in a market that had been starved of infrastructure bonds for one year.

By reopening a 16-year bond issued in October 2019 at 11.75 percent, an 18-year paper from April 2021 at 12.67 percent and a 21-year bond from September 2021 at 12.74 percent, the CBK also avoided the high interest rates normally associated with IFBs.

Some IFBs issued in 2023 and 2024 pay investors rates of between 14 and 18.5 percent annually, making them the most expensive in the government’s basket of domestic bonds.

Reopening the bonds at government-friendly rates fits in with the CBK’s policy of lengthening the maturity profile of government domestic debt while keeping borrowing costs low amid a growing public debt burden.

For retail investors who put up bids of Sh1 million or less, the reopened bonds represent relatively short exposure due to amortisation clauses that allow the CBK to repay part of the principal ahead of full maturity.

Amortisation in a bond means the staggered repayment of the principal amount within the life of a bond, usually done in order to lessen the burden of a large bullet settlement when the paper matures fully.

On the 16-year bond, the government will repay 50 percent of principal in October 2030, while the 18-year bond will settle half of its principal in April 2030.

All investments below Sh1 million will be repaid in full at the amortisation date, meaning that the bonds are effectively three- or four-year securities for investors who fall under this category.

British American Tobacco Kenya has asked the High Court to strike out a Sh4.5 billion claim over its VELO nicotine pouches, saying the petitioner bypassed remedies provided under tobacco control law.

The company wants the court to dismiss both the petition and an application that is seeking interim orders before it answers the allegations on their merits.

The legal dispute centres on VELO, the smokeless, tobacco-free pouches containing nicotine, flavourings and plant fibres that users place between the lip and gum.

Vivian Anemba, 23, filed the petition last month against BAT Kenya, the Tobacco Control Board, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Attorney-General.

The petition alleges that BAT unlawfully promoted VELO through ground activations, entertainment events, peer promoters and sales of individual pouches, contrary to the Tobacco Control Act.

She seeks Sh1.5 billion for a public health fund and Sh3 billion in punitive damages, besides a recall of VELO products and other orders.

But BAT says it has “good grounds for striking out the petition” because the court should consider the doctrine of exhaustion of remedies and constitutional avoidance.

The company calls the petition an “improper invitation to the High Court to disregard the statutory process of looking into any complaints set out in the Tobacco Control Act”.

BAT says the Act provides mechanisms for dealing with alleged offences and disputes, and those procedures should be used before constitutional litigation.

The company also challenges the damages claim, saying Section 7(2) of the Tobacco Control Act requires licensed cigarette manufacturers or importers to pay a two percent solatium contribution based on the value of tobacco products manufactured or imported. The solatium contribution is a two percent annual levy charged on the value of tobacco products manufactured or imported by licensed companies in Kenya.

Under Kenya’s Tobacco Control Regulations, this compensatory payment feeds into the national Tobacco Control Fund to help pay for public health programmes, cessation support, and damage research.

BAT argues that the provision does not establish the damages sought by Anemba.

Its application says there is no basis for the claim for damages in the petition because the Tobacco Control Act has an elaborate framework for addressing adverse effects of tobacco consumption.

BAT also points to Section 55, saying offences under the law are cognisable offences where a police officer may arrest an alleged offender without a warrant.

The company says the High Court should therefore allow statutory enforcement mechanisms to operate before entertaining the constitutional claims.

The application follows the court’s directions issued on July 25 requiring respondents to file responses and address the application for conservatory orders.

The petition alleges that VELO was promoted in Syokimau in June and July through branded vehicles, product displays and promoters, while individual pouches were sold for Sh30 to Sh40.

The petitioner’s advocates say she photographed the activities and allege that the campaign extended nationwide, including the use of university students as peer promoters.

They say the activities include “ground activation campaigns, commission-based promoter schemes, branded venue infiltration and coordinated retail sale of individual VELO pouches”.

The petition asks the court to stop VELO promotions, order a recall and repackaging, require regulatory audits, and direct investigations and possible prosecution of BAT officials and promoters.

It also seeks Sh500 million as security pending determination, and Sh10 million as security for costs.

The dispute follows BAT Kenya’s earlier entry into nicotine pouches through LYFT, whose sales were halted in 2020 after a regulatory dispute.

BAT Kenya resumed VELO sales in July 2025 after citing regulatory clarity, with the product contributing Sh232 million, or one percent of revenue, in the six months to December 2025.

The company said it expects VELO to contribute 15 percent to 25 percent of total revenue in the medium term, as the company expands its modern oral nicotine category.

BAT Kenya’s 2024 annual report said the company launched VELO in Kenya in 2022 after introducing the category in 2019, but suspended sales at the end of 2023 during an ongoing government regulatory process.

The court case is scheduled for mention on September 1, 2026.

Kenya and Tanzania have renewed a drive to connect their standard gauge railway (SGR) projects with land-locked neighbours Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi amid pressure to diversify funding sources for the undertakings.

Last month, Kenya broke ground on extension of its railway line from Naivasha, six years after the project stalled, to Kisumu and the border town of Malaba, which would bring the project to the doorstep of Uganda.

At the end of July, Tanzania started the extension of its SGR project westwards from Capital Dodoma to Kigoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

The country says it plans to include two new lines as part of the project including linking its port city of Tanga to Musoma on the shores of Lake Victoria, bringing its own line to the doorstep of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

Tanzania has not given timelines for the Tanga-Musoma line, but Kenya hopes to complete its Malaba section by June 2027.

Uganda is expected to develop its own sections of the SGR connecting to both the Kenya and Tanzania lines but has given priority to the Malaba linkage.

‘We are considering doing two new lines in addition to the current Mwanza-Kigoma line. One of the lines is to connect Tanga to Musoma on the Western side of the country. If this happens, then it will really benefit Uganda and Rwanda,’ Khamis Mussa, the Tanzania Minister of Finance said in an interview with this publication last week.

The second line seeks to connect Mtwara and the inland port of Mbamba Bay with the aim of linking Tanzania with its southern neighbours Malawi and Zambia.

Both Kenya and Tanzania are conscious of the cost implications of bringing the regional connectivity projects to life amid limited fiscal space.

The pair is also doing the heavier lifting by developing the largest portions of the rail infrastructure in contrast to neighbouring Rwanda, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

‘While we seek investments that will benefit our neighbours, we must realise that the major investment must be done by us and we must be conscious of the impact on debt levels and debt servicing,’ added Mr Mussa.

‘We have to put up over 2,000 kilometres of railway but Rwanda or Burundi would only be putting up a few kilometres in their sections.’

Kenya has opted to extend its SGR section using securitisation-transforming revenues raised from the railway development levy (RDL) into a tradeable security which will then back the issuance of a bond to pay investors in the project.

The country previously funded the Mombasa-Nairobi-Naivasha section of the SGR using mostly debt raised from China.

Civil works to the extension of the railway line from Naivasha are, however, yet to start, pending land acquisition activities according to the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC).

Kenya plans to use up to 90 percent of the Railway Development Levy (RDL) collections to issue securitised bonds, raising billions of shillings for the stalled SGR extension to Kisumu and Malaba.

The government expects to mobilise up to Sh390 billion from the process to finance the SGR extension.

The country has been forced to innovate, adopting securitisation and public private partnerships (PPP) to implement new multibillion shillings projects.

Tanzania has on its part relied on a mix of external financing and domestic revenues to implement its SGR project, having a wider fiscal space than Kenya.

The country is however escalating its drive for PPPs to implement infrastructure projects while mitigating debt risks.

Last week, Tanzania signed three agreements with Africa50, a pan-African infrastructure investor co-owned by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and sovereigns on the continent to deliver infrastructure projects under the PPP model.

The agreements include a pact with the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanseco), opening the window for private investment in electricity transmission projects through the public-private partnership mechanism including developing high-voltage lines.

Tanzania says it is still making baby steps towards fully leveraging PPPs to diversify its project financing.

‘PPP is one area we are yet to fully tap but this has huge potential for not just rail development but also energy transmission. We have seen the appetite for projects from the private sector, but they need assurances including payment and price guarantees,’ Mr Mussa said.

Uganda is seen as the immediate off taker of Kenya’s extended SGR project as it nears the close of funding for the 272 kilometres stretch of standard gauge railway connecting the border town of Malaba and Kampala.

The landlocked country has sought Sh62 billion from a Shariah compliant Sukuk bond to finance the project.

The Malaba-Kampala line is one of four planned corridors with the other three including a southern line stretching 280 kilometres from Bihanga to Mirama Hills at the Rwandan border.

The southern line will eventually link Uganda and Tanzania’s SGR projects.

The full-circle completion of Kenya and Tanzania SGR projects and subsequent connection links to neighbours will provide importers with alternative routes to access the Indian Ocean with the main ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam expected to compete on efficiency.

Mombasa has been tipped to be the main port of call owing to its ability to handle more cargo than its counterpart Dar while Tanzania’s second port of Tanga mainly handles petroleum products.

‘There is no competition as Dar es Salaam cannot entirely handle cargoes meant for countries like Uganda and DRC as Mombasa has double the capacity. I would expect Dar to mostly handle spillover cargoes,’ said David Nashon, a regional consultant working in the transportation sector.

‘All these projects will result in regional connectivity and will give importers the choice of either using the port in Dar es Salaam or Mombasa.’

The share price of diversified dealer Car and General rallied by 31.3 percent during trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, after it more than tripled its interim dividend payout.

The firm’s shares touched a high of Sh285 each during the day, before closing at Sh242.25 per share– marking a 11.2 percent gain, having opened at Sh217. NSE allowed the share change to exceed the intraday limit of 10 percent as it was trading following material disclosure raising its interim dividend to Sh1 per share from Sh0.30 per share the previous year, on the back of a fourfold profit rise.

C and G’s share price has grown tenfold in the last 12 months, making it one of the stocks with the sharpest price rallies on the NSE lately.

One share of the diversified dealer was retailing at Sh24.75 per unit a year ago on the NSE, valuing the company at Sh1.98 billion before the rally, pushing its market capitalisation to the current Sh19.4 billion.

The company posted a profit after tax of Sh2.6 billion for the half-year ended June, up from Sh637 million in a similar period a year ago, propelled by mobile phone financing.

The firm, with five different business lines including automotive and equipment distribution, property investment, financial services, poultry and helmet manufacturing, saw its half-year earnings surpass full-year earnings of Sh2.44 billion reported in 2025.

‘Profit after tax was Sh2.6 billion, compared with Sh637 million in the previous period. It has been a positive period for operations throughout the region,’ C and G said.

‘Profits from our associate, Watu, increased significantly, driven by the growth of mobile-phone financing and good performance in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Nigeria, South Africa and Sierra Leone,’ added the company.

C and G’s share of profit from Watu, which sells mobile phones on hire purchase in different African markets, jumped to Sh2 billion from Sh422 million booked in half-year 2025. This followed a regional expansion which saw Watu expand its footprint to Rwanda and South Africa during the year.

C and G’s revenues grew 30 percent, with Kenya recording the fastest growth of 40 percent. The company cited the sale of boda bodas as a major contributor.

‘Most notably, Kenya motorcycle sales grew to an average of 12,000 units per month in 2026, up from 7,000 units per month in 2025. This represents a significant opportunity going forward,’ said the company.

Its operating expenses rose 24.5 percent to Sh1.64 billion, signaling the increase in operations to drive revenues. The company reported that its helmet subsidiary, Boda Plus, which exports to Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi, is now profitable.

C and G said it would deepen its investment in two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric vehicles whose uptake was on the rise in Kenya and Tanzania.

‘With our financing capabilities, we are confident that we can drive the transition to cleaner energy in the two-wheeler and three-wheeler markets across the continent,’ said C and G.

The firm has observed a conservative dividend policy, having retained 88.8 percent of its profit last year, with management stating the company needs to increase volumes. Despite low dividend, investors have continued to hunt for the company’s share, resulting in the rally. C and G also has real estate holdings which include the Nairobi Mega Mall on Uhuru Highway and 22.5 acres in Shanzu.

It is usually obvious that the most exciting seat in a restaurant will be the one facing the plate. Now, in a growing number of fine-dining kitchens around the world, diners want to see what happens before the plate reaches the table. They want to feel the heat, movement and precision of the kitchen brought into the dining experience.

That is the promise of the chef’s table, a format that gives a small group of diners a front-row seat to a culinary preparation as the chef curates a multi-course meal.

A chef’s table is like getting a VIP seat inside the kitchen. Instead of sitting in the dining area, a small group of guests sits close to the chef and watches as their food is prepared, plated and served, while the chef explains the dishes and interacts with them.

The concept attracts food lovers, tourists, couples celebrating special occasions, corporate guests and diners who are willing to pay more for something intimate and different from the usual restaurant experience.

However, in Kenya, the concept is still a niche proposition.

Archie Athanasius, Executive Chef at Mövenpick Hotel Nairobi, says the concept is naturally more suited to high-end restaurants and hotels because of the space and level of service required.

‘This depends on the level of your hotel or your restaurant. High end restaurants do it more often,’ he says.

Traditionally, the chef’s table is placed inside or alongside a working kitchen which allows diners to interact with the chef.

The concept originated from the old practice of chefs privately entertaining family and friends in their kitchens. Today, chef’s tables range from intimate kitchen tables to counters that overlook open kitchens, with the kitchen itself becoming part of the entertainment.

Chef Athanasius argues that the original format matters.

‘Most of them, hold their chef’s table in the restaurant, which is not correct. It needs to be done in the kitchen.’

However, the chef’s rightful stated concept of putting guests inside the kitchen comes with a business and operational cost. ‘This will also need you to have a kitchen that has good proper equipment,’ Chef Athanasius says.

‘As a chef, you have a curated menu and get the chance to hold conversation with your guests during cooking. You don’t have to be making a new dish, you just have to be creative because people are paying for that experience,’ he adds.

Michelin’s coverage of chef’s tables shows that the concept has evolved into interactive counters and open-kitchen experiences, with restaurants using proximity to chefs as part of the value offered to diners. In Kenya, chefs say diners are often making a different calculation: what will give them the most food for their money?

At Harvest restaurant in Nairobi, Executive Sous Chef Felix Maluni says the economics can be difficult. A chef may design an elaborate seven-course menu, but filling enough seats at the required price is not guaranteed.

‘The problem is, when you have to do a chef’s table, we always have a plan for it, but it often depends with, the spending power of people.’

He gives relatable example.

‘You may have a chef’s table, because I’ll come up with a 7-course menu, but how many people are willing to spend Sh8,000 per person on that menu, especially since you have to take every course of this menu,’ Chef Felix poses.

‘The problem has been that no one wants to spend that kind of money. They think that, ‘I’ll just go for the normal menu, because it has better options’. You may get like only 10 bookings, and then you end up making losses, because you have to produce a lot of food,’ he adds.

Chef Felix also says that chefs have had to adapt since diners favour variety and perceived value.

‘People have moved, the market has changed. You find that when it started dying slowly, chefs decided to come up with sumptuous menus which cut across.’

This, the chef says, has helped make buffets, brunches and the broad à la carte menus more commercially attractive. On major occasions such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day, hotels can package several choices into one offering that gives the diners the perception of greater value.

‘Instead of having set menus, they prefer to have the buffet. They feel like it offers more variety.’

Yet chef Felix believes something is lost in that trade-off.

‘What they don’t know is that the secret of the chef’s table is that these are dishes curated for specific tastes.’

The format also provides creative freedom, something that ordinary service does not. ‘When I started in the industry chef’s table was our mainstay. It is good because it gives the chefs a challenge of coming up, being creative, coming up with new dishes now and then. It’s also a good way to challenge chefs in the kitchen and the team to contribute to this kind of food business. ‘ chef Felix says.

Despite the struggle, Chef Rami Saloum, Executive Chef at Pullman Hotel Nairobi, is among those keeping the concept alive. His approach follows the traditional model with a small table set inside the kitchen.

‘I’m doing it inside the kitchen. I set up a table for 8 to 10 people inside the kitchen and I do everything in front of the guests.’ But even at Pullman, it is not a weekly commercial offering.

Chef Rami says the hotel hosts chefs table roughly every two or three months, although largely as a marketing tool and to generate social media attention.

He adds that the price, ranges between Sh9,000 and Sh12,000, depending on the food selection and drinks. The guests can also influence the menu by sharing allergies, foods they do not eat and their beverage preferences.

‘I create the menu according to the guest some of the guest’s needs after sending and invite and getting confirmation. Of course, keeping in mind the kind of drinks they like to have because every course is supposed to go with a drink or beverage.’

Seeing room for a Kenyan identity within the format, he uses local cuisine with a contemporary interpretation. ‘Sometimes I do the Kenyan cuisine a little bit fusion with twist.’

Still, demand remains slow.

‘Demand is very low.’ His international experience also highlights the difference. In Dubai, where he previously worked, chef’s tables were far more frequent.

‘For example, we used to do it almost every week. My previous hotel, we used to do it at least once or twice a month.’ ‘Chef’s tables make guest have an experience, to see all the action, the shouting, the adrenaline rush and everything cooked in front of you,’ Chef Rami adds.

Globally, the concept is also changing, Michelin’s coverage shows that restaurants are moving toward chef’s counters, open kitchens and interactive formats that allows diners to watch culinary teams without necessarily requiring the formality of a traditional private chef’s table.