Category: Business Daily

For more than two decades, close to 200 bank customers believed the courts would one day order banks to refund millions of shillings they say were unlawfully charged on their loans.

Many had taken mortgages and business loans years earlier, only to watch their debts balloon after banks increased interest rates and other charges.

They insisted that the increases were illegal because they had not received the Minister for Finance’s approval, as required by the Banking Act then in force.

Some lost property. Others spent years repaying loans they believed had been inflated by unlawful charges. Together, they turned to the courts in what became one of Kenya’s longest-running banking disputes.

The case was initially filed by Rose Florence Wanjiru in 2003 before other parties were allowed to join the matter in a class action suit.

Ms Wanjiru was seeking a refund from Standard Chartered Bank, which she said was levied illegally, arguing that the bank had not obtained approval from the Minister of Finance to levy the charges as required by the law.

But 22 years later, their fight ended in heartbreak.

Last month, the High Court dismissed the suit, extinguishing the hopes of the depositors who had waited for years hoping for a refund and damages for the suffering they underwent.

The court ruled that the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had been wrongly sued because it had no legal mandate to approve interest rates under the Banking Act.

‘I therefore find that the 3rd Defendant (CBK) acted within the law in undertaking the transactions under Section 44 of the Banking Act as mandated and delegated by Legal Notice No. 35 of 20th April 2006 in its capacity as the donee of delegated authority. It did not, and could not, however, retain responsibility for the outcome of its actions or decisions made in such capacity. That responsibility remained with the Minister,’ said the court.

The judge also struck out claims by some of the later plaintiffs after finding they had joined the proceedings long after the statutory deadline had expired.

The petitioners accused the banks of unlawful and fraudulent increases in bank charges, ledger fees, commissions and other banking-related charges imposed by the lenders.

They contended that such increases were implemented without the prior approval of the Minister for Finance as required under section 44 of the Banking Act.

They argued that these charges had been imposed on depositors, account holders, mortgagors and borrowers over several years, resulting in unlawful enrichment for the banks at their customers’ expense.

One of the petitioners said that he had been forced to sell his property in order to pay off his debt, and he sought a refund of the ‘illegal’ interest charged. However, the court rejected the claim on the basis that the petition was filed too late, in 2016, despite the alleged wrongdoing having occurred in 1988.

The court ruled that the claim was barred by the Limitation of Actions Act.

“The orders permitting joinder of additional plaintiffs did not revive claims already extinguished by statute,” the court held.

On CBK’s role, the judge held that its role under Section 45 is limited to consultation and transmission of applications.

The judge said the statute does not confer upon the Central Bank the primary approval mandate contemplated under Section 44.

The court found that the Finance Minister has the mandate to approve changes in bank charges, even after some of those powers were delegated to the CBK Governor in 2006.

‘The Governor of the CBK carried out a delegated function, lawfully delegated, but did so on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary, who retained ministerial accountability. Responsibility therefore remains with the delegating authority,’ said the judge.

The court said it was not satisfied that the petitioners proved breach of statutory duty, negligence, unlawful conduct or recoverable loss as pleaded against the banks.

The case began in 2003 when Ms Wanjiru sued Standard Chartered Bank seeking a refund of Sh38,960, which she claimed had been unlawfully levied after the bank increased charges without the Finance Minister’s approval.

In March this year, she settled her case with the bank through a consent signed in court.

Her case soon grew into a class action after the Court of Appeal allowed dozens of other customers with similar complaints to join the proceedings.

The plaintiffs accused more than 40 banks, represented by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), of unlawfully increasing interest rates, ledger fees, commissions and other banking charges over several years without obtaining the statutory approvals required under Section 44 of the Banking Act.

They argued that the banks had enriched themselves at the expense of borrowers, depositors and account holders through charges imposed contrary to the law.

Standard Chartered Bank, the KBA and CBK maintained that the claims lacked merit. They also argued that many of the cases had been filed too late, while others were legally defective or had already been determined by previous court decisions.

The High Court initially dismissed Ms Wanjiru’s case, but the Court of Appeal later revived it after finding that the trial judge had erred.

The banks then fought attempts to allow more customers to join the suit, arguing that the class action had not complied with court procedures. The dispute reached both the Court of Appeal and even an attempt to escalate it to the Supreme Court.

In 2016, the Supreme Court declined to hear KBA’s appeal after it sought to challenge the proceedings on grounds that the matter raised issues of general public importance.

Nairobi County has been locked out of the latest round of disbursements of World Bank-funded Sh5.7 billion conditional grants to all the devolved units, after it fell short of meeting reform targets tied to the financing.

Documents from the State Department of Devolution, seen by the Business Daily, revealed that the Nairobi County administration failed to meet a series of reform targets on settling pending bills, improving Own-Source Revenue (OSR) collection, and auditing its payroll system.

The Sh5.7 billion in grant disbursements to counties fall under the Second Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KSDP II) – a performance-based reform initiative implemented by the Government of Kenya with support from the World Bank to strengthen county governance and service delivery.

The four-year Sh25.9 billion ($200 million) programme aims to improve how counties finance, manage, coordinate, and account for their resources. It targets improvement in areas such as quality of financial statements and financial reporting; compliance with budgeting formats; adherence to procurement procedures; planning, monitoring and evaluation; and county audits and public participation.

‘Unlike the Equitable Share Funding, KSDP II grants are strictly tied to performance. To qualify for grants, counties underwent assessments on specific reform targets. These included reduction in pending bills, cleaning the County Human Resource records to achieve consistency, transforming how counties manage staff performance and increasing Own Source Revenue,’ a document prepared by the Office of the Principal Secretary, State Department for Devolution states.

Earlier in the financial year, all counties, including Nairobi, had received phase one of disbursement under the KSDP II programme, with the subsequent disbursement being tied to performance.

Unlike the first leg of disbursement in 2025/26 where each county was allocated an equal amount, the second leg was based on each county’s success in meeting reform measures alongside the Commission on Revenue Allocation’s Fourth Basis County Sharing Formula.

‘Counties accessed smaller Level I capacity building grants by demonstrating the establishment of basic governance frameworks. Under this grant, all 47 counties received Sh1.67 billion, with each receiving Sh32.5 million. To unlock much larger Level II development grants, however, counties had to prove actual results by achieving reform targets’, the document from the State Department for Devolution states.

The State Department for Devolution revealed that Nairobi County was locked out of the Sh5.7 billion World Bank financing because of the continued use of manual payroll systems. The Controller of Budget, Ms Margaret Nyakang’o, has previously flagged Nairobi County for using manual payroll systems.

‘Analysis shows that Personnel Emoluments totalling Sh13.9 billion were processed through the Human Resource Information System while Sh312 million was processed through manual payrolls. The justification given for the continued use of manual payrolls was that the affected staff are casuals and are engaged on a short-term basis,’ the Office of the Controller of Budget stated in its county expenditure report for the nine months ended March 2026.

Dr Nyakang’o’s office has also flagged Nairobi County for failure to adhere to its plan for payment of trade receivables for the nine months ended March 2026.

‘The County Executive Committee submitted a generalised universal payment plan, and the County Assembly submitted a detailed trade payables payment plan, committing to pay Sh8.8 billion and Sh650.6 million, respectively, in 2025/26. The County Executive and County Assembly did not adhere to their payment plan. The County Executive cleared only Sh4.9 billion while the County Assembly did not clear anything,’ the Office of the Controller of Budget states.

Records from the Nairobi County Assembly show that Nairobi City County set an OSR target of Sh19.9 billion for the 2025 financial period, but only collected approximately Sh13.7 billion.

The World Bank data shows that the biggest recipients in the Sh5.7 billion KSDP II disbursement are Kitui, Kwale and Migori counties, which received Sh184.8 million each, accounting for 13.3 percent of the total disbursement. Kajiado, Kakamega and Uasin Gishu received the least allocation at Sh55.3 million each. The average allocation per county stands at Sh123.9 million.

Money sent home by Kenyans living and working abroad recorded its steepest first-half decline since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, reflecting the impact of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, a new US tax on outbound money transfers and tighter labour policies in Saudi Arabia.

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows diaspora remittances fell 3.03 percent to $2.442 billion (Sh315.75 billion) in the six months to June, down from $2.518 billion (Sh325.58 billion) during the same period last year. The decline wiped out $76.4 million (about Sh10 billion) in foreign exchange inflows.

It marks the sharpest January-to-June contraction since 2009, when the global financial crisis triggered widespread job losses in advanced economies and caused remittances to Kenya to fall by 11.4 percent.

The weakness emerged after a relatively strong start to the year, suggesting external shocks intensified in the second quarter as the conflict involving Israel and Iran disrupted economic activity across the Middle East.

Remittances rose 3.4 percent to $1.274 billion (Sh164.73 billion) in the first quarter, supported by stronger inflows in February and March.

However, the gains were erased between April and June, when inflows dropped 9.2 percent to $1.168 billion (Sh151.02 billion), representing a loss of $118.2 million (Sh15.28 billion).

Monthly data shows the slowdown gathered pace throughout the quarter, with remittances declining 5.9 percent in April, 10.4 percent in May and 11.2 percent in June, making June the weakest month of the year.

The deterioration coincided with heightened tensions in the Middle East, where thousands of Kenyans work, particularly in Gulf states.

The conflict disrupted supply chains, increased transport costs and fuelled inflation in major economies, weakening disposable incomes among migrant workers.

“The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global supply chains and led to a sharp increase in prices and transportation costs, resulting in higher inflation and moderated global growth,” the CBK’s Monetary Policy Committee said after retaining the benchmark lending rate at 8.75 percent in June.

CBK Governor Kamau Thugge had earlier warned that the conflict would directly reduce remittances from Gulf countries, which account for about 10 percent of Kenya’s diaspora inflows, while indirectly slowing remittances from larger markets such as the United States because of weaker economic growth.

The World Bank also warned in June that up to $40 million (Sh5.2 billion) in monthly remittances to Kenya was at risk because of the conflict.

The slowdown also coincided with the introduction of a one percent US excise tax on outbound money transfers, which took effect on January 1 and increased the cost of sending money home. Analysts have warned that the levy could encourage migrants to reduce formal remittances or shift to alternative channels such as cryptocurrencies.

Although the CBK is yet to release country-by-country data for May and June, its latest figures show remittances from the United States-the source of more than half of Kenya’s diaspora inflows-fell 8.4 percent to $813.6 million (Sh105.12 billion) in the first four months of the year from $888.4 million (Sh114.87 billion) a year earlier.

The $74.8 million (Sh9.67 billion) decline from the US alone was almost equal to Kenya’s entire first-half reduction, underlining America’s central role in the slowdown. The US share of Kenya’s remittances also dropped to 48.7 percent from 53.7 percent a year earlier, marking the first time in recent years that less than half of recorded remittances originated from the US.

Before the tax took effect, Kenya Diaspora Alliance global chairman Shem Ochuodho warned that higher transfer costs could encourage migrants to seek cheaper alternatives.

Saudi Arabia, another major remittance source, also recorded a sharp decline. Inflows from the kingdom dropped 24.8 percent to $88.7 million (Sh11.47 billion) in the first four months from $117.9 million (Sh15.24 billion) a year earlier following labour market reforms aimed at increasing employment of Saudi nationals and slowing economic activity.

Despite the weakness in North America, which saw remittances fall 11.6 percent to $1.278 billion (Sh165.2 billion), stronger inflows from other regions cushioned the overall decline.

Remittances from Europe increased 14.3 percent to $514.3 million (Sh66.5 billion), while transfers from the rest of the world rose 4.4 percent to $649.5 million (Sh83.98 billion). Together, the gains partly offset the sharp slowdown from Kenya’s traditionally largest remittance markets.

World over, access to energy is a lifeline. Reliable, affordable, and sustainable power creates quality jobs, protects livelihoods, boosts security, drives down the cost of doing business and promotes economic growth.

According to economic regulation theory, competition is an enabler to reduction in prices, improved service delivery, consumer experience and delight. Kenya has been among trailblazers in having in place The Energy (Electricity Market, Bulk Supply and Open Access) Regulations beginning May 8, 2026.

This follows decades of progress which saw the traditional vertically integrated utility model evolve to unbundling of generation, transmission and distribution in the electricity sector. Developed economies such as the United States of America and India have been on the path to open access for over two decades. The United States began implementing open access in phases in 1920.

The reforms aim to provide new suppliers access to the market, potentially reducing costs for consumers.

While the goals for open access may be common, each country’s journey and challenges remain unique and shaped by every nation’s peculiar economic, social, and regulatory environment.

The open access concept allows different providers of electricity to make use of the underlying distribution and transmission infrastructure owned by incumbent utility companies at a fee in the form of wheeling charges.

The regulations speak to the establishment and participation in the electricity market, bulk supply, open access, market governance, principles, operations and functions of the system operator among other pertinent issues.

There is no doubt that adopting a more ambitious conception of access may bring conflicting priorities, as well as a scale of challenges, more clearly into focus. A key concern has been that of utility death spiral, in simple terms, a situation where customers reduce their reliance on and leave traditional utilities, forcing them to raise rates on the remaining clients with fears of even driving even more customers away, causing revenue drain and possible financial collapse.

However, and in the words of Sakshi Pawar, Vivek Shastry and Andrew Kamau, open access is not just about opening the grid to more players; it’s about building a resilient, transparent, and competitive electricity market that benefits consumers, investors, and ideally the environment.

Now, more than ever, Kenya needs to ensure that the benefits of energy and more so clean and renewable power are available to all. This is not only a matter of equity but a Kenyan constitutional and statutory imperative. Indeed, traditional utilities such as Kenya Power and Ketraco may have to consider decoupling and diversifying their revenues and profits from energy sales to include transmission and distribution lines monetisation and optimisation.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority on the other hand and in discharging its statutory mandate should continue to ensure just and reasonable, cost-reflective tariffs and the implementation of the regulatory framework that allow the utilities to recover the fixed costs of long-term contracts from the broader market created after liberalisation.

Land prices at Kenya’s Coast have grown in value over the past five years, but finding ready-to-develop-plots remains difficult due to unclear ownership, environmental regulations and infrastructure gaps.

Demand for beach-front homes, hotels and mixed-use developments is rising along the Coast, but investors are increasingly willing to pay a premium for something less visible than ocean views or a prime location: a secure land title.

That has helped drive land prices in Diani. In the five years to December 2025, Diani emerged as the Coast’s strongest-performing land market, with an acre of a beach-front plot going for Sh65.3 million. The average land value rose 79.1 percent, according to a Hass Consult report.

Diani was followed by Watamu, that is now attracting holidaymakers, retirees and property investors. In Watamu, land prices increased by 70.4 percent to Sh44.5 million an acre.

This was followed by Lamu Island (Sh139.9 million an acre), recording growth of 59.7 percent and Bamburi (Sh97.4 million an acre), posting a 56.6 percent.

Other coastal markets also posted significant gains. Kikambala recorded a 42.1 percent increase, Kilifi Town rose by 40.1 percent, Mombasa City gained 38.3 percent, while Shanzu recorded growth of 32 percent.

More established markets such as Nyali, Vipingo and Malindi recorded slower appreciation.

Land values in Nyali increased by only 24 percent over the five-year period, while Vipingo and Mtwapa each recorded growth of 24.7 percent, reflecting their more mature property markets and tighter development conditions.

According to property firm Hass Consult, the variation in performance reflects differences in land availability, infrastructure, environmental constraints and ownership certainty.

‘Availability remains tightly constrained by environmental protection, infrastructure gaps, and, in some areas, unclear titling… these constraints are amplifying price responses to demand surges, particularly in areas with the highest ‘beauty premium’, as the widest and most attractive beaches, and with access to strong services,’ the firm said.

Malindi and Kilifi

The report adds that although Kenya’s coastline appears to offer vast opportunities for development, much of the land remains difficult to transact because ownership has not been fully formalised.

Much of the Coast is still community land, where ownership has not been formally registered.

In some areas, overlapping claims, long-running ownership disputes and informal settlements have made it difficult for investors to buy land with clear legal titles.

On paper, plenty of land is available. In reality, much of it cannot be bought, financed or developed. Areas such as Lamu Island and parts of the Tana Delta have much lower private title coverage, estimated at between 10 and 20 percent, with community ownership remaining dominant.

Malindi and Kilifi retain significant areas under community tenure, while Diani and Watamu generally have clearer ownership structures.

‘Where indigenous communities held customary rights, tracts were never formally registered, or colonial/early post-independence processes did not convert land to freehold titles,’ said Hass Consult.

‘These reduce market liquidity and risk-discount land values. It also raises risks of land disputes, with sometimes overlapping customary claims, including land next to beaches and sand dunes, which are often claimed under clan customary rights. Such disputes delay investments and create development bottlenecks.’

Nyali remains the most expensive, with land at the Coast selling at Sh146 million per acre, driven by its prime location, established services and proximity to Mombasa.

‘But it is now constrained by near build-out, very limited remaining land supply, and its high pricing level relative to alternative coastal options,’ the firm said.

Environmental pressures are adding another layer of complexity.

Coastal erosion, shoreline protection rules and planning restrictions are reducing the size of land suitable for development.

Some sections of Nyali Beach are losing between one and two metres of shoreline annually, while Bamburi and Diani also face erosion challenges.

Infrastructure shortages are further affecting development costs.

Developers along the Coast are also contending with unreliable water supplies and limited sewerage systems. Many are forced to drill boreholes, build treatment plants or invest in other private infrastructure, adding to the cost of new projects.

The just-ended 2026 FIFA World Cup became the most searched tournament in Google’s history in Kenya as fans looked beyond match results to football technology, fan culture and the sport’s biggest personalities.

Google search data shows interest extended beyond scores and fixtures, with fans searching for public viewing venues, the science behind the official match ball and football traditions.

Argentina’s dramatic stoppage-time winner against Egypt in the Round of 16 triggered Google’s highest-ever search traffic globally, setting a new record for queries per second.

‘Throughout the tournament, Kenyans turned to Google Search to follow the biggest matches, and to explore the traditions, technology, personalities and moments that defined football’s biggest spectacle,’ said Google.

The World Cup ran from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, drawing billions of viewers and unprecedented online engagement.

In Kenya, France versus Morocco emerged as the most searched match during the tournament, ahead of Brazil against Norway and Brazil against Japan.

Norway’s clash with England ranked fourth among the country’s most searched fixtures, followed by Portugal against Spain.

Searches for public World Cup viewing venues rose by 700 percent during the final two weeks as fans increasingly sought communal spaces to watch decisive knockout matches.

Interest in “World Cup finale watch parties” also jumped 160 percent in the days leading to the final.

‘Over the past two weeks of the tournament, searches for public World Cup viewings surged by 700 percent, highlighting the growing appetite to experience the competition together at fan parks, restaurants and other viewing venues across the country,’ wrote the tech giant in its report.

The jumps highlight the growing popularity of organised fan parks and entertainment venues that have increasingly become central to major sporting events.

Football traditions also attracted growing curiosity among Kenyan fans during the month-long competition.

Searches for “La Ola”, popularly known as the Mexican wave, rose 130 percent compared with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Kenyan searches also reflected sustained interest in African football stars competing on the world stage.

Egyptian captain Mohamed Salah emerged as the most searched African footballer in Kenya during the tournament.

Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Vozinha ranked second, followed by South African midfielder Jayden Adams.

Moroccan nationals Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari completed the list of the country’s five most searched African players.

The data shows that global football icons continued dominating online attention throughout the competition, with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Ferran Torres ranked among Kenya’s most searched footballers during the tournament.

‘Kenyans searched for Lionel Messi only 10 percent more than Cristiano Ronaldo during the World Cup. The GOAT debate is still alive!’ said Google.

‘Searches for ‘Who is the GOAT of football?’ increased 200 percent during the World Cup.’

Beyond players and matches, Kenyan fans increasingly searched for information explaining the technology behind modern football.

Searches related to the official FIFA World Cup match ball surged 290 percent during the tournament’s opening week.

Overall interest in the official match ball was also 10 percent higher than during the 2022 World Cup.

Many users searched for technical questions rather than product specifications, with popular searches including the type of air inside the official ball and how it is manufactured.

Others wanted to know whether the match ball is rechargeable and how it is charged.

Other searches also focused on the cost of the official World Cup ball and what distinguishes it from ordinary footballs.

The findings highlight growing consumer interest in sports technology alongside traditional football content.

Google said the search trends demonstrate that online engagement increasingly extends beyond live match coverage into wider curiosity about the sport.

The High Court has declined to strike out pleadings filed by a local contractor’s lawyer who practised without a valid practising certificate in litigation linked to British multinational Diageo’s planned Sh303 billion sale of its entire 65 percent stake in East African Breweries Plc (EABL).

At the same time, the court rejected contractor Jilk Construction Ltd’s bid to disqualify its former advocate, Mohammed Muigai LLP, from representing EABL over alleged conflict of interest in the dispute.

In separate rulings that left both legal teams intact in the ongoing corporate dispute, the court held that advocates should only be barred where a real conflict of interest is proven, and that clients should not lose their cases because their lawyers failed to hold valid practising certificates.

The court declined to strike out pleadings filed by Jilk Construction’s lawyer, Kibe Mungai, despite finding he practised without a valid certificate for more than two months. Instead, it barred the advocate from recovering legal costs for work undertaken between January 1 and March 10, 2026, when he lacked a valid practising certificate.

Justice Francis Gikonyo also dismissed separate applications by Diageo and Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) seeking broader sanctions against the advocate, including expunging court documents and barring him from appearing before the court.

The rulings keep alive litigation surrounding the sale of Diageo’s 65 percent stake in EABL. The British multinational is also selling its 53.68 percent ownership in spirits maker UDV Kenya to Asahi, with the two transactions valued at about Sh387 billion.

Jilk is challenging the EABL transaction while pursuing about Sh3.4 billion in claims arising from refurbishment contracts at Kenya Breweries Limited’s Kisumu brewery awarded between 2017 and 2019, saying the proposed share sale should not overtake its pending arbitration, constitutional and commercial disputes.

KBL is a subsidiary of EABL. The litigation has expanded beyond arbitration into constitutional, commercial, competition and criminal proceedings while intersecting with legal challenges to Diageo’s planned sale of its Kenyan interests to Asahi Group Holdings.

Diageo had argued that Jilk’s lawyer, Mr Kibe, acted as an unqualified person because he did not obtain his 2026 practising certificate until March 11. The company asked the court to declare his conduct contemptuous, expunge documents filed during the period and deny him audience until costs were paid.

The judge agreed that the advocate practised without a valid certificate between January 1 and March 10 after reviewing evidence from the Law Society of Kenya and Mr Kibe’s own explanations regarding delays linked to the society’s upgraded electronic licensing system.

However, the court held that the omission did not invalidate documents or proceedings undertaken for the client.

“No instrument or document… becomes invalid… only by dint of its having been prepared by an advocate who at the time was not holding a current practising certificate,” Justice Gikonyo said.

The judge added that the Advocates Act expressly preserves the validity of pleadings, affidavits and other legal documents prepared by advocates without practising certificates.

He also extended that reasoning to courtroom appearances. “Appearance as part of proceeding… is saved and is not invalid,” the judge said, adding that any misconduct should instead attract sanctions against the advocate rather than deprive litigants of their cases.

In another ruling, Justice Gikonyo dismissed Jilk’s application seeking to remove Mohammed Muigai LLP from representing EABL.

Jilk argued that the law firm previously advised it during arbitration arising from the Kisumu brewery project and therefore possessed confidential information.

The court found no evidence of actual prejudice or conflict. “Where a party asserts that conflict of interest exists, he must provide sufficient evidence,” the ruling states. The court held that Jilk failed to demonstrate “real mischief or real prejudice” that would justify restricting EABL’s choice of lawyers.

The court also rejected KBL’s application to cite Jilk for contempt over letters sent to the Competition Authority of Kenya and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Justice Gikonyo held that the letters “were issued for different purposes altogether” and “did not amount to fragmentation or duplication of proceedings”.

He similarly declined to halt related criminal proceedings, saying concurrent constitutional and criminal cases are permissible unless shown to be abusive or unlawful.

At the same time, the court refused Jilk’s application to lift conservatory orders suspending publication of the arbitral award arising from the Kisumu brewery dispute, leaving the award on hold while constitutional questions are determined.

The wider dispute stems from construction works undertaken at Kenya Breweries’ Kisumu brewery before expanding into arbitration, constitutional litigation, commercial claims, regulatory complaints and criminal proceedings.

It has since become intertwined with separate challenges seeking to stop Diageo’s proposed $2.3 billion exit from EABL and the transfer of its controlling stake to Asahi Group. Diageo announced the sale in December 2025 as part of a global strategy to streamline its portfolio and reduce debt.

The acquisition would give Asahi control of Diageo Kenya, EABL and Diageo’s majority stake in UDV Kenya, subject to regulatory approvals.

A transport company seeking Sh1.5 billion in damages from Absa Bank Kenya over an alleged data breach has told the court it has engaged an independent auditor to quantify the financial losses it claims to have suffered following the alleged unlawful disclosure of its confidential banking records to a third party.

New Mega Africa, which is suing the bank over the alleged breach, sought more time to present the auditor’s expert report, telling the court that the auditor is currently undertaking field assignments outside the country.

At the same time, one of the bank’s intended witness has withdrawn from the case, citing personal reasons. In a letter copied to the parties and the court, Ms Sophie Omondi said the proceedings had taken a toll on her personal life and that she wished to move on.

“For the foregoing reasons, I wish to withdraw as a witness in the case,” she said.

She indicated that the decision also applied to a related case involving the same parties pending before a Nairobi court.

The developments came as former Absa Bank Coast Region Sector Head for Business Banking Mr Evans Murumba testified that New Mega Africa’s confidential financial information was disclosed to third parties in breach of customer confidentiality, evidence the company says supports its claim that the alleged data breach caused it substantial financial losses.

Mr Murumba told the court that New Mega Africa had been a strong performing customer whose credit facilities were progressively increased after the bank established that the business was financially sound.

According to him, the company’s fortunes changed during the Covid-19 pandemic after its key client, Tororo Cement, extended its payment period, straining the transporter’s cash flow and forcing it to seek an extension of its temporary overdraft before later applying for a restructuring of its credit facilities.

“I do confirm that the bank gave the company a temporary overdraft line as it looked for a suitable supplier who will not only take the guarantee on the new terms but also give it an extra limit of Sh5 million to cushion it in the short run,” said Mr Murumba.

He said that despite recommending the restructuring request and assuring the company that approval would be secured within seven days, the process stalled following the transfer of the client’s relationship from one manager to another.

Mr Murumba testified that the delays coincided with what he described as an unlawful disclosure of the company’s confidential financial information by then relationship manager, Mr Wycliffe Makori, to a third party.

He said that after a meeting at the company’s offices attended by himself, Mr Wycliffe Makori and the then incoming relationship manager, Ms Omondi, the bank assured the company that its restructuring request would be processed urgently.

However, about an hour after the meeting, the company’s director, Mr David Abai, telephoned him to report that he had received a call from Mr Jared Makori, then the Kenya National Highways Authority regional manager.

According to Mr Murumba, Mr Jared Makori informed him (Mr Abai) that Mr Wycliffe Makori had disclosed that New Mega Africa was facing financial difficulties, that the bank was considering recalling its credit facilities and auctioning its securities, and warned him against entering into any financial dealings with the company.

“The purpose of the call was to warn him against any potential financial dealings with the company. Mr Wycliffe Makori further advised Mr Jared Makori to inform all other friends or businesses who would potentially enter into any financial dealings with the plaintiff to exercise extreme caution,” Mr Murumba said.

He testified that he considered the disclosure a blatant breach of customer confidentiality, duty of care and data protection laws.

He added that when he summoned Mr Wycliffe Makori to explain himself, the relationship manager admitted making the call.

“The actions by Mr Wycliffe Makori were, in my view, not in good faith and amounted to utter misconduct. When reviewed alongside his reluctance to hand over the client relationship to Ms Omondi, I found it deeply disturbing because it amounted to a blatant breach of client confidentiality, duty of care and data protection laws, mainly intended to cause panic and reputational damage to the client among its business associates,” Mr Murumba said in his witness statement adopted as evidence.

Absa Bank has denied the allegations.

Although he escalated the matter for investigations and disciplinary action, Murumba said he was later informed that the bank had concluded there was no material risk arising from the disclosure and recommended no further action.

“I was also cautioned that admitting such an allegation to the company director or even taking disciplinary action would be tantamount to the bank admitting liability,” he testified.

Murumba further told the court that opposition to the company’s restructuring request later intensified after concerns were raised internally over its ownership structure, despite his disagreement with those concerns.

He said the prolonged delays left the company unable to obtain additional financing while all its assets remained charged to the bank, eventually crippling its operations.

“I watched the company’s business crumble due to its inability to execute the existing contracts. The most significant one was the repossession of the eleven brand new trucks that had been leased to it by Mombasa Cement,” he said.

Murumba added that after issuing Wycliffe with a verbal warning and raising concerns over the bank’s handling of the matter, he began experiencing resistance in pursuing the company’s restructuring request.

“As a longstanding banker, I am aware that all banks, including Absa, train their staff on the legal implications of failing to protect client information, including obligations relating to data protection, duty of care and customer confidentiality,” he said.

Mr Jared also testified, confirming that Wycliffe had called him and discussed New Mega Africa’s financial position.

“The conversation happened. I can confirm,” he said.

However, when questioned by the bank’s lawyer, he said he had no recording of the conversation.

He also denied having any business interest in the company, saying he only knew its director, Mr Abai.

In the suit, New Mega Africa, which transports clinker from Kenya to Tororo, Uganda, for cement manufacture and processing, accuses Absa Bank of financial sabotage by disclosing its confidential financial information to third parties without its consent.

The company alleges the bank breached its duty of confidentiality by printing and sharing its financial statements without authority, exposing sensitive information to strangers.

It further claims that the bank’s failure to approve its loan restructuring request promptly, coupled with prolonged delays in responding to repeated requests, crippled its operations.

According to the company, the leaked financial information scared away potential financiers, who declined to extend credit after concluding that it was financially distressed and incapable of servicing additional loans.

Absa Bank has denied the allegations, maintaining that neither it nor its employees disclosed the company’s financial information or warned third parties about its financial position.

The bank argues that the data breach claims are baseless and without merit, adding that internal investigations found no evidence of wrongdoing by the bank or any of its staff.

The horrific fire at Utumishi girls school in Nakuru left the nation traumatised. This was followed by a series of identical fires across many boarding secondary schools leading to temporary closures. While investigations into circumstances that led to the tragedy at Utumishi are ongoing, several leaders have proposed reintroduction of corporal punishment. I disagree.

Corporal punishment was banned in Kenyan schools in 2001 and was later outlawed in all settings and for all persons in the Constitution 2010. The reason justification was due to widespread cases of serious student injuries including fatalities.

Outright abuses were inherent in the caning model. These abuses included collective punishment, excessive caning, punishment out of malice and for minor offenses.

The most inhumane reason for corporal punishment was connected to poor exam performance. In the latter there were cases when students would be caned for every question failed. This often led to an atmosphere of terror where some learners could even succumb to enuresis out of fear.

The modern world guided by scientific evidence has moved on from corporal punishment. The World Health Organization opposes this based on the harm caused. While the physical dangers are obvious, the psychological harm is often hidden but long lasting.

Physical abuse in the name of corporal punishment can hamper brain development, cause post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and school refusal. The child’s ability to learn is impaired and the scars may follow them into adulthood. Children who are physically abused through caning are conditioned to use violence as adults.

The Kenya Psychiatric Association (KPA) in a 2022 paper, takes a position against any form of punishment related to academic performance. KPA says intellectual capacity of students varies based on many factors including genetic, psychological and environmental. A student with a learning disability in Mathematics or reading will not improve through physical torture.

The association proposes use of rewards to motivate students to perform better. KPA disapproves corporal punishment in its entirety.

Psychiatrists propose use of alternatives to corporal punishment that should be proportionate to mistakes committed. The association further recommends mental health assessment for students who show repeated cases of indiscipline.

Many factors may be responsible for unrest in our schools. These factors include poor living conditions, inadequate food and overcrowding.

The number of students in our high schools has doubled and, in some cases, tripled in the last 20 years. Even in the best-case scenario where teacher to student ratio is favourable and all other conditions are addressed; these overpopulated schools are unmanageable.

The strategy to avert future cases of indiscipline should include the building of new schools to ease the pressure on management. The standards articulated in our educational policies need to be upheld. It is also important to equip teachers with skills to address social psychological challenges among students. Scrapping boarding schools in one fell swoop is simplistic, impractical and escapist.

The phenomenon of group think needs special attention. When a human being finds themselves in a group – as often happens among high school students – they lose their personal identity, are forced to conform and the outcome may be violence directed towards a group identified as the enemy.

In a landmark experiment, Solomon Asch demonstrated that 75 percent of adult humans would make an incorrect decision when faced with the pressure to conform to a group. The results of this experiment partly explain the reasons behind the holocaust, terrorism, shakahola massacre and school fires.

Teens, grappling with questions of identity face an even higher risk of social influence which may be propagated through the media when coverage may unwittingly confer heroic status on culprits.

As the country reflects on the recent anarchy in our schools, the temptation to embrace solutions straight from the gut must be avoided. Scientific evidence should form the foundation for interventions.

The current evidence condemns corporal punishment in favour of school mental health programmes as they will equip our young people with requisite skills needed to grow into happy and responsible citizens.

The cost of a healthy plate of food in Kenya has risen by 75.79 percent over the past eight years, new data from a group of United Nations agencies shows, pushing nutritious meals further out of reach for over 43 million Kenyans even as the country’s food insecurity crisis persists.

The data shows that the cost of a healthy diet in Kenya climbed from $2.56 (about Sh114.68 at current purchasing power parity rates) per person per day in 2017 to $4.50 (about Sh201.6) in 2025. The IMF has set Kenya’s current purchasing power parity (PPP)-the rate primarily used to compare living standards and economic productivity across nations-at 44.8 against the international dollar.

The data is from a survey conducted by UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

According to the FAO, a healthy diet is adequate, diverse, balanced, and moderate, ensuring that people receive the necessary nutrients while avoiding harmful excesses.

The cost estimates are based on what the FAO calls a ‘healthy diet basket’, which is a combination of the cheapest locally available foods across six food groups: starchy staples, animal-source foods, legumes, nuts and seeds, oils and fats, fruits, and vegetables, standardised to provide 2,330 kilocalories per day. It is designed as a cost floor, not a record of what people actually eat, and does not capture the cost of preparing food or how it is shared within a household.

In 2017, a healthy diet in Kenya was cheaper than the Eastern African sub-regional average ($2.56 versus $2.84). By 2025, the two had nearly closed the gap, with Kenya at $ 4.50 and Eastern Africa as a whole at $4.34. Kenya’s 2025 cost also sits close to the average for lower-middle-income countries globally, $4.36, the income group that Kenya belongs to.

Rising diet costs across Africa are attributed to climate shocks affecting harvests, elevated fuel and transport costs, reliance on food imports, post-harvest losses, and volatility in global markets-particularly for nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lean proteins, which make up the most expensive part of a healthy diet. In the region, animal-source foods, fruits and vegetables together account for close to 70 per cent of the total cost of a healthy diet, despite contributing less than half of its calories.

‘Inflation continued to raise food prices in 2025…The percentage of people who cannot afford a healthy diet (PUA) remains highest in Africa, where it is estimated to have reached 66.6 percent in 2025, more than double the levels currently estimated for Asia (28.9 percent) and Latin America and the Caribbean (25.7 percent),’ reads the report.

That 75.8 percent increase outpaced the global average, which rose from $2.94 to $4.28 over the same period, and pushed Kenya’s diet cost above the world average for the first time in the series, even though the country remains a lower-middle-income economy with far lower average incomes than many high-income countries with cheaper healthy diets.

Meanwhile, 76.3 percent of Kenyans, or about 43.9 million people, could not afford a healthy diet in 2025, up from 69.8 percent (34.3 million people) in 2017. The situation worsened in 2021, when 78.0 percent of the population was priced out of a healthy diet, at the height of pandemic-era disruption and the food and fuel price shocks that followed.

That means Kenya added roughly 9.6 million people to the ranks of those unable to afford proper nutrition in eight years.

‘When healthy food becomes unaffordable, households typically shift toward cheaper, calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods, a pattern linked to childhood stunting and a rising burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension,’ said the report.

Kenya’s food unaffordability rate is now higher than both the Sub-Saharan Africa average (73.5 percent) and the Africa-wide average (66.6 percent), and more than double the global average of 32.7 percent. It is also marginally higher than the Eastern Africa subregional average of 76.5 percent, a group that includes Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Somalia, among others.