Category: Business Daily

San Diego Comic-Con 2026, the buzz was all about the future of superhero casting. David Jonsson was officially announced as the new Black Panther, a choice that had people talking since many expected Damson Idris. On top of that, Ryan Gosling is the next Ghost Rider, perfect casting. Fans have spent years claiming Gosling was born to play that character, much like Robert Downey Jr and Iron Man. All of that got me thinking about fan casting versus studio casting.

Let’s take Alan Ritchson, for instance. While casting discussions are always up to the directors, studios and producers, I am one of those people who thinks Alan Ritchson should be Batman in James Gunn’s DCU.

He has the physical presence, the look, and the presence required to play Bruce Wayne, and lately has also been quietly proving his broader acting range in different productions. To get an idea of his acting range, you only need to look at his latest film, Motor City.

Motor City is a fascinating piece of cinema because it strips away traditional dialogue, forcing you to follow the characters purely through their performance, expressions, editing and cinematography. I can only remember three lines of spoken dialogue in the entire runtime, with one line from the main female character and the other delivered by the villain at the end.

For all intents and purposes, this functions almost as a silent crime thriller with a sprinkle of action. That is not to mean that this is a non-stop John Wick-style film with action running from the second act to the credits. Based on the marketing and trailers, you might find yourself slightly surprised, almost disappointed. This is a slower film, and calling it a traditional action movie misses the point because the actual physical skirmishes are sparse.

If you spend time on the internet, this phrase should be familiar: ‘Yep, that’s me, you’re probably wondering how I got into this situation.’ Motor City is that film minus the dialogue. It kicks off with a brilliant sequence that immediately establishes the tone, builds the gritty feel of the world, and foreshadows the explosive final twenty minutes.

Once that opening hook settles, the film spends the first and second acts laying down the groundwork and character motivation that leads up to that final confrontation. You should not approach this film expecting a wall-to-wall firefight or standard modern action tropes, because it offers something not entirely different, just not what you expect as marketed in the trailers. But let’s take a step back, what exactly is this movie?

Motor City is a 2025 American action thriller film written by Chad St John and directed by Potsy Ponciroli. It stars Alan Ritchson alongside Ben Foster, Pablo Schreiber, Lionel Boyce, and Shailene Woodley. The plot follows John Miller, played by Alan Ritchson, who is an ex-con on a quest for revenge against a gangster played by Ben Foster.

The gangster framed Miller for a crime he never committed and stole his girlfriend, played by Shailene Woodley, all set against the backdrop of a colourful 1977 Detroit. Because spoken words are kept to an absolute minimum, the film relies heavily on a strong soundtrack, good direction, and performances.

The seventies

The art direction captures the look and feel of the late 1970s remarkably. They got the vintage cars right, which is important given that cars play a vital thematic and practical role in the narrative. The costume design, the period-accurate glasses, the moustaches and facial hair, and the overall wardrobe choices make the cast look like they were lifted straight out of a photograph from that era.

The movie also captures the authentic cultural habits of the time without feeling cartoonish. For anyone who grew up watching older generations, smoking cigarettes was a normal everyday part of life, and this film weaves that habit into the visual storytelling. Watching a character light a cigarette becomes a deliberate tool to convey tension and character state. Those period details, which also include a muted colour palette on the walls, interior apartment and car designs, make the title Motor City feel grounded to an era and place once you understand the industrial automotive history of America.

Another risk that somehow paid off is the near-total absence of dialogue. Modern audiences are usually spoon-fed exposition through endless on-the-nose dialogue, but this film sticks to the golden rule of showing rather than telling. With roughly 95 percent of the runtime devoid of dialogue, the soundtrack has to do the heavy lifting, and the music selection is nothing short of perfect, especially if you are into 70s music.

There is a prison sequence underscored by the Moody Blues track Nights in White Satin that is elevated by the choice of music. The movie fills its runtime with carefully picked needle drops that never feel obnoxious or overly stylised in the way modern comic-book movies tend to handle licensed tracks. Instead, the music acts as an emotional anchor, punctuating quiet moments and helping the audience absorb the narrative weight without the need for a character to spell it out.

The physical performances match this stylistic choice primarily because the actors cannot rely on long monologues. They communicate entirely through micro-expressions, posture, and heavy body language. But you never feel like the actors are exaggerating, and you can always tell what they are thinking based on their performances. Ben Foster does a phenomenal job portraying the primary antagonist, he is effective without the need to say anything. Alan Ritchson anchors the entire project with a grounded, physical performance that makes his quest for vengeance feel earned.

The film wisely keeps its runtime lean at around 90 minutes. It refuses to overstay its welcome, structuring its narrative efficiently through a proper setup, a slow-burn middle conflict, and a strong final act.

The elevator scene

That third act delivers one of the best action set pieces of the year. The elevator scene serves as the highlight of the entire production. It is brutal, messy, and painfully realistic, I mean, at some point you will look away. The tone shifts drastically in that elevator, changing how you view the entire movie up to that point. The cinematography inside the confined space gives you something to look at and sometimes allows your mind to fill in the rest, utilising realistic blood-splatter physics and stunt work to elevate the fight. I also appreciated the ending. Instead of taking the predictable route, the filmmakers pull off a conclusion that feels both satisfying and refreshingly different.

If there is any minor critique to level against the experience, it is that the film leaves you craving a bit more of that elevator fight. Since the first and second acts lean heavily into a slow-burn crime drama with minimal action, one or two intense action set pieces like the elevator scene could have gone a long way.

The plot is basic and easy to follow, predictable, even, and mainstream viewers might struggle with the lack of conventional conversation, but anyone walking in with the correct mindset will find plenty to enjoy. It is a moody crime drama masquerading as a silent movie.

Looking back at my earlier thoughts on franchise casting, there is a specific frame before the title card, shot from below, where Alan Ritchson stands near a sign, and for one brief second, you can clearly picture him suited up in a cape and cowl. Motor City is another film that proves Ritchson has the screen presence to carry a project, offering an artistic, stylish, and genuinely unique experience far from what is currently screening, which includes Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Esther Masese Waititu was just 23 when she joined the banking world as a graduate trainee.

Young, ambitious and fearless, she stunned the bank’s CEO during an introductory meeting by declaring that she intended to take his job one day.

In an earlier interview, Ms Waititu recalled that, even then, she believed the best job anyone could aspire to was that of a chief executive. When the CEO invited questions from the new graduate trainees, she wasted no time.

“I want to have your job. Can you show me how?” she asked.

It was a bold declaration from a fresh graduate, but one that would come to define a career marked by steady progression through Kenya’s corporate ranks.

Those who have followed Ms Waititu’s career may be forgiven for believing that she is edging closer to that childhood ambition after announcing she will leave Safaricom, where she has served as Chief Financial Services Officer since 2023.

Her departure ends a stint at Kenya’s largest telecommunications firm, fuelling speculation that a CEO role may be next.

“I wish to announce that Esther Waititu, our Chief Financial Services Officer, will be leaving Safaricom to pursue other opportunities. At her request, the company has agreed that her last working day will be July 31, 2026,” Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa said in an email to staff.

Though her time at Safaricom lasted only three years, it coincided with some of the company’s most significant innovations. Before joining the telco, she had spent 13 years in banking, serving as KCB Group’s Director for Corporate Banking between September 2021 and February 2023 after holding several senior roles at Standard Bank of South Africa.

At Safaricom, she helped transform M-Pesa from a payment platform into a broader financial ecosystem, earning herself the title, “Mama M-Pesa”.

She oversaw the migration of the platform to the cloud-native Fintech 2.0 architecture, launched Daraja 3.0 to open M-Pesa’s rails to developers and championed products aimed at deepening financial inclusion, including Pochi la Biashara, Tuunza Mapato and device insurance.

Among her signature achievements was the rollout of Ziidi Trader, an integrated mini-app launched in February that allows M-Pesa customers to buy and sell shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange directly from their phones.

Reflecting on her departure in a LinkedIn post, Ms Waititu said her goal had never been simply to build better payment technology but to make M-Pesa a platform that helps ordinary Kenyans save, borrow, insure themselves and build wealth.

“Three years ago, M-PESA was already Africa’s leading digital payment platform. I believed we could do more. With an exceptional team, we set out to make it a lifeline platform, one that helps people save for school fees, insure against risk, borrow to grow and build wealth for the next generation,” she wrote.

She said the launch of Ziidi Trader brought investing within reach of millions of Kenyans by placing the NSE “in the pocket of every M-Pesa customer,” while Fintech 2.0 and Daraja 3.0 laid the digital infrastructure for future innovations. The work, she added, reinforced her belief that financial inclusion and commercial performance are mutually reinforcing.

Long before she was helping reshape Africa’s largest mobile money platform, Ms Waititu was a young woman with big dreams.

Before joining banking, she briefly worked in a coffee shop, where she watched customers casually spend Sh250 on a cup of the beverage before ordering meals. Instead of seeing extravagance, she saw a future.

“I used to look at these guys spending Sh250 on just a cup of coffee before they had their sandwich,” Ms Waititu recalled.

“One day, it shall be me, and I will be served by someone like me on the other side. I wanted to be served with a smile and given options.”

Ms Waititu admits she did not grow up lacking. Her mother worked at property consultancy Knight Frank and the family enjoyed a comfortable upbringing.

Drivers picked them up from school. She attended Loreto Msongari Girls High School while her brothers studied at St Mary’s School, Nairobi. She later got admitted to the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, though her first choice had been the University of Nairobi.

Her life has been guided by the same optimism that defines her career. She met her husband in the early 2000s at the popular Nairobi entertainment spot Kengeles, where a chance encounter blossomed into a lifelong relationship.

The two married, but not before learning one of life’s early lessons in managing the unexpected.

They had planned for about 400 guests at their wedding, only for almost 700 to turn up. Instead of panicking, they negotiated a payment plan with the venue before setting off on honeymoon.

Their destination was the Maldives, the idyllic Indian Ocean archipelago famed for its white sandy beaches, clear waters and luxurious overwater villas that have made it one of the world’s most coveted destinations.

“Things will not always work out perfectly,” she once said.

“But you have to negotiate and find your way to come out of there.”

That resilience would be tested again when she became a mother. Ms Waititu, who has twins, has spoken about the difficult pregnancy that left her hospitalised for several days after giving birth before she was finally discharged to join her newborns.

The experience deepened Ms Waititu’s appreciation for family and strengthened her resolve to pursue excellence at home and work.

Away from the office, she is an avid lover of music, art and travel.

Ms Waititu also enjoys dancing and admits that, after a demanding day, she does not mind stepping out for a night of dancing with family and friends.

Her love for music dates to the beginning of her career. One of the first major purchases she made after landing her first job was a sound system. She bought it on hire purchase.

She also developed a passion for collecting paintings and bought a car, much to the chagrin of her mother, who thought she should have invested in property instead.

“Money should be enjoyed,” she says.

“I have discovered as an adult that money is just a tool.”

Rather than measuring success by how much one earns, she believes people should focus on the quality of life they build.

“I shouldn’t be aiming to see how much money I am making. I should be aiming to see what type of life I want to lead,” she says.

That philosophy extends to travel. While many would rather use Sh1 million to buy land, she believes experiences are equally valuable.

“You have the plot, but I don’t know if you are going to have the experience and richness of life,” she says.

The confidence that led the 23-year-old graduate trainee to tell a chief executive she wanted his job has remained the defining thread of her life.

It carried her from serving coffee to leading one of Africa’s largest fintech businesses, through the demands of marriage, motherhood and executive leadership, and into the upper ranks of Kenya’s corporate world.

As she prepares to leave Safaricom after helping redefine the role of M-Pesa in Kenya’s financial system, the question is no longer if she is ready to lead a company.

It is which board will hand the ambitious graduate trainee the chief executive’s office she first set sights on more than two decades ago.

“I look forward to sharing more about my next adventure soon,” she said in her LinkedIn post.

For generations, wealthy families have encouraged their children to marry within similar socio-economic circles, partly to preserve their fortunes.

“People naturally meet partners with same experiences and hobbies,” says Moses Mathini, Head of Private Wealth and Legal at Liaison Group.

“These hobbies tend to financially exclude those who cannot afford them regularly, reducing the likelihood of people from different economic backgrounds socialising.”

However, as someone once sang, the heart is not so smart. People from rich families may marry down. This has prompted wealth managers to create structures that ensure the wealth built up over years isn’t sacrificed on the altar of romance and matrimonial property.

“Key considerations include establishing clear governance frameworks through incorporated family trusts that define roles, manage expectations and minimise the potential for disputes. These measures protect and preserve the family’s wealth by insulating it from potential divorce or predatory partners,” he says.

Affluent households are increasingly strengthening legal and governance structures that protect wealth, regardless of whom family members settle down with.

“Younger generations are entering marriage already owning businesses, investments and intellectual property,” says Onesmus Maswii, Head of Premier and Absa Wealth Segments.

As a result, open discussions about pre-marital wealth planning, transparency and asset protection have become the norm.

“Rather than holding assets individually, households are using trusts, family companies and family offices. This shifts attention from individual ownership towards governance, business continuity and dispute prevention,” Mr Maswii says.

He adds that families have become aware that poorly managed marital disputes can endanger businesses, trusts and even employees.

“Prenuptial agreements, shareholder agreements and family constitutions are now seen as management tools rather than as signs of mistrust,” he says.

The Constitution guarantees individual property rights and the freedom to marry based on consent. Mr Maswii says successful families respect these rights by educating the next generation on stewardship rather than restricting their choices.

While marriages among the business and political elite still serve as influential social and economic networks, modern unions are driven by personal choice combined with a shared long-term strategic vision.

‘Modern affluent families prioritise whether an incoming spouse understands and respects the family’s core values, long-term vision and governance structures, rather than focusing purely on their social or financial pedigree,’ he says.

Mr Maswii adds that attempting to control relationship choices often triggers conflict without safeguarding wealth. Wealthy households now rely on robust governance instruments like family trusts under the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) Act, shareholder agreements, wills and family constitutions.

“These are used to insulate family wealth from marital shifts,” he adds.

The financial independence of the younger generations has altered the approach to estate planning and marital wealth. Rather than automatically pooling assets upon marriage, couples and their families now distinguish between individual assets, matrimonial property and inherited family wealth.

“This reflects a broader trend of early entrepreneurship, advanced education and financial independence,” Mr Maswii says.

The shift becomes even more apparent when families start to consider succession. According to Mr Mathini, first-generation wealth creators are primarily focused on building wealth.

“Their priority is growing businesses and making investments that multiply the wealth,” he explains.

“Multi-generational rich families focus on preserving wealth, ensuring an orderly transfer of assets and passing on family values and governance principles across generations.”

However, first-generation entrepreneurs are more likely to rely on informal decision-making, which can expose the family and the business to avoidable conflict.

Conversely, multi-generational families tend to separate family ownership from business management by establishing family councils, implementing formal governance policies and engaging professional advisers.

They recognise that it is formal governance that secures prosperity. This difference also shapes how they prepare for future marriages. The lessons become clearest when marriages involving significant family wealth break down.

“It’s better to structure things early, when partners are cooperative and understanding comes more easily, than trying to negotiate when love has deteriorated,” Mr Mathini says.

Waiting too long to have these conversations is a mistake.

“Many families avoid discussing wealth, governance and succession until death strikes. Uncertainty and conflict that arise could have been avoided by early planning,” he says.

Families also discover that preserving wealth cannot be left to verbal agreements, assumptions or informal understanding. Without clear documented ownership and governance structures, disputes are likely to escalate.

“It is important to maintain records that distinguish matrimonial property from corporate or trust assets. Failure to make this distinction can lead to rows over asset distribution during the dissolution of a marriage, particularly when assets are presumed to be part of matrimonial property when they are not,’ Mr Mathini says.

Even with a valid will, succession planning is not always fool proof. Courts can intervene, based on the size of the estate and the needs of the beneficiaries. Plans must anticipate and mitigate potential family disputes.

“Trust structures and prenuptial agreements are only robust if they are built on full financial disclosure, proper governance and independent legal advice. Courts will not uphold arrangements compromised by deception,’ he adds.

Legal reforms recognising family trusts and prenuptial agreements, combined with the growing sophistication of family businesses, suggest that these are becoming increasingly common among high-net-worth households seeking to maintain harmony and protect their wealth.

“Trusts define beneficiaries, impose conditions and appoint enforcers to ensure compliance,’ Mr Maswii says.

“The law excludes trust assets from matrimonial property. They protect family assets while ensuring beneficiaries get their intended benefits.”

Mr Mathini believes this financial independence transforms the nature of those conversations.

‘The absence of limited resources creates an environment where both parties focus more on emotional well-being than on what they can gain or lose financially from each other.’

The ceremony at State House last Tuesday morning felt different. It wasn’t just another government event with speeches, handshakes and a photo session. It carried the weight of history. As President William Ruto received the Developing a New Vision for Kenya: Towards a First World Nation report from Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o and his team, you could sense a quiet but powerful shift, as though a country were pausing to take a deep breath before beginning a long, demanding climb.

Prof Nyong’o spoke not as a politician, but as a seasoned planner who has watched Kenya rise, stumble, rise again and, at times, lose its way. The President listened with the seriousness of a man who knows that the next 30 years will define Kenya’s place in the world. The room, filled with technocrats, scholars and public servants, reflected the weight of a shared responsibility.

This new vision is not abstract. It is rooted in the everyday frustrations Kenyans face and the hopes they hold. It speaks to the mother in Kayole who wants her children to grow up in a safe, clean neighbourhood; the farmer in Mwea who wants reliable irrigation; the young graduate in Eldoret seeking a job that matches their talent; and the boda-boda rider in Kisumu hoping to earn enough to save, invest and dream. It also speaks to a country that has often come close to greatness, only to lose momentum.

The report captures this honestly: ‘Kenya gets development right, but not long enough to sustain it.’ That line stings because it is true. We have experienced moments of brilliance-the agricultural boom of the 1960s, the economic recovery between 2003 and 2007, and the Vision 2030 infrastructure drive-but political transitions, institutional fragility and governance gaps have repeatedly slowed progress. Last Tuesday’s ceremony was a call to break that cycle.

Kenya is already experimenting with reforms that feel like the first steps of a longer journey. Affordable housing is reshaping skylines and giving young families a chance at dignity, echoing Singapore’s HDB revolution. Social savings reforms, though controversial, are building the long-term capital pools that helped power South Korea’s industrial rise. Healthcare reforms, despite their challenges, are gradually strengthening human capital, much as Thailand did before its economic transformation. These reforms are not perfect. They have generated debate, discomfort and resistance, but they also signal a determination to build institutions that will outlast electoral cycles.

Vision 2030 delivered roads, ports, airports, a fibre-optic backbone and greater financial inclusion. But the report warns that these gains could be lost unless Kenya anchors long-term planning in strong laws and institutions. Countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam transformed because their development plans survived political transitions. Kenya must do the same by strengthening the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), establishing an independent delivery secretariat and enacting a national development law.

The vision’s three pillars-agriculture, industrialisation and technology-are not theoretical. They are practical, relevant and urgent. Agriculture must move from rain-fed uncertainty to irrigation-driven productivity. Industrialisation must shift Kenya from exporting raw tea and coffee to exporting finished products. Technology must convert the creativity of Kenya’s youthful population into innovation, research and global digital competitiveness.

The report’s most compelling message, however, is about people. It insists that Kenya’s transformation must benefit the entire nation. Development cannot be a Nairobi story alone. It must also be a Turkana story, a Kwale story, a Nyeri story and a Kisii story. It must be felt in classrooms, clinics, farms, factories and estates. It must unite rather than divide.

The justice system must also play its part. Courts should become accelerators of development by resolving commercial disputes promptly, digitising processes, reducing backlogs and protecting contracts. Justice delayed is development denied, and Kenya cannot afford slow justice in a fast-moving world.

Last Tuesday’s ceremony was therefore more than a formal handover. It was a reminder that nations prosper when they choose discipline over drama, continuity over chaos and unity over fragmentation. It also reminded us of something deeper: Kenya has overcome difficult challenges before, and it can do so again.

If Kenya maintains stability, strengthens its institutions, invests in its people and keeps its eyes on the horizon, then the dream of becoming a First World nation by 2060 is not merely possible-it is within reach.

The aviation industry has long measured progress through engineering breakthroughs. Predictive maintenance systems, advanced avionics and increasingly sophisticated digital flight planning tools have reshaped how airlines operate and how safety is maintained.

However, alongside these technical advances has been a subtler transformation, which has had less to do with hardware and more with how operations are communicated and understood.

For example, at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ we have an ‘Intern on a Mission’ programme series, which places interns inside real airline workflows, documenting everyday processes that are rarely visible to the public.

With this, interns have a full view and narrative covering crew briefings, cockpit preparation, take off, route optimisation, inflight coordination and landing procedures.

That perspective matters because aviation safety is shaped as much by organisational culture as by technology. Airlines operate through complex networks of interdependent roles, yet much of that complexity remains hidden, even from professionals outside their own departments.

Story telling initiatives like this open a window into daily operations and begin to dissolve existing boundaries, revealing how engineers, cabin crew, pilots and ground staff function as parts of a tightly integrated safety ecosystem.

Seen this way, storytelling aligns with a broader industry movement toward systems thinking.

Modern safety frameworks rely on layers of redundancy and human decision-making designed to anticipate and absorb risk. However, these systems only function effectively when participants share a common understanding of how their roles intersect. Making operational workflows visible helps cultivate that shared awareness, reinforcing the idea that safety is a continuous collaboration across disciplines and not just a single action, as can be easily perceived.

Meanwhile, as airlines seek to strengthen safety culture internally, they are also confronting an external challenge, and that is attracting the next generation of aviation professionals.

Rising passenger demand and expanding connectivity across the world are increasing the pressure on airlines to recruit pilots, engineers, maintenance specialists and digital operations experts.

Already, there are calls in some regions to raise the pilot retirement age by two years to mitigate a looming shortage, as many approach the mandatory 65-year retirement age.

In this context, traditional recruitment messaging often struggles to capture the dynamism and complexity of such careers, while behind-the-scenes formats offer an alternative that could allow potential recruits to see aviation as a lived environment defined by teamwork, decision-making and constant learning.

The appeal of such formats lies partly in authenticity.

Watching an intern participate in operational briefings introduces viewers to the rhythms of airline life without the distance created by corporate messaging.

For audiences in emerging markets, like those in Africa, where direct exposure to aviation careers may be limited, such visibility can play a role in expanding the talent pipeline by making unfamiliar roles feel attainable.

This same transparency carries implications for how airlines engage with passengers. The aviation industry operates under intense scrutiny, particularly during delays, disruptions or safety-related incidents, when public confidence can be tested.

Explaining procedures and decision-making processes through accessible storytelling helps build a more informed audience, one that understands both what happens but why. Over time, this form of communication may help reduce misunderstandings and reinforce trust during moments of operational stress.

At the same time, as airlines increasingly adopt advanced technologies, the demand for such clear, narrative-driven communication is only intensifying.

Data analytics, predictive maintenance and connected aircraft technologies are adding new layers of operational complexity that can be difficult to convey through traditional channels. Narrative-driven formats offer a bridge between technical depth and public comprehension, translating sophisticated systems into stories that retain accuracy without sacrificing accessibility.

However, maintaining credibility in this approach requires restraint because audiences quickly detect when storytelling prioritises branding over substance.

The effectiveness of ‘Intern on a Mission’ over the last eight years has been grounded in its observational tone, which allows professionals to demonstrate expertise organically rather than through scripted messaging. Such authenticity suggests a broader lesson for airlines experimenting with similar formats that transparency works best when it feels earned rather than engineered.

Kenya’s savings and credit cooperative (sacco) sector remains one of the country’s greatest financial inclusion success stories. For decades, saccos have enabled millions of Kenyans to save, access affordable credit, educate their children, invest in businesses and improve their livelihoods.

Today, regulated saccos serve approximately 7.4 million members, with assets exceeding Sh1.2 trillion, leveraging on over Sh870 billion in member deposits, making it a critical pillar of Kenya’s financial system and economic development.

As the prudential regulator, the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) has a statutory responsibility to safeguard members’ deposits, preserve financial stability and promote a safe, sound and efficient sacco sector. This responsibility guides our supervisory approach and the reform agenda currently underway through our parent Ministry of Cooperatives, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.

Kenya’s savings and credit cooperative (sacco) sector remains one of the country’s greatest financial inclusion success stories. For decades, saccos have enabled millions of Kenyans to save, access affordable credit, educate their children, invest in businesses and improve their livelihoods.

Today, regulated saccos serve approximately 7.4 million members, with assets exceeding Sh1.2 trillion, leveraging on over Sh870 billion in member deposits, making it a critical pillar of Kenya’s financial system and economic development.

As the prudential regulator, the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) has a statutory responsibility to safeguard members’ deposits, preserve financial stability and promote a safe, sound and efficient sacco sector. This responsibility guides our supervisory approach and the reform agenda currently underway through our parent Ministry of Cooperatives, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.

Sales of Isuzu East Africa’s sport utility vehicles (SUVs) rose by 483.3 percent to 105 units in the half year ended June 2026 as local assembly made the car cheaper.

Data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association shows sales of the seven-seater Isuzu mu-X rose from 18 units a year earlier.

‘We lowered the price but also added more features to the mu-X once we started local assembly,’ a source at Isuzu told the Business Daily.

‘This has seen an increase in demand. We have more customers in the queue. Our target is the 10,000 Kenyans who spend Sh8 million to Sh10 million on used SUVs,’ the source added, noting that the mu-X comes with a five-year warranty.

Isuzu has an ambition of selling up 1,000 units of the SUV – which is offered with a three or 1.9-litre diesel engine – per annum in the medium term.

Vehicle parts headed to assembly are exempt from the 35 percent import duty on fully-built imports. They are also exempt from excise duty, which is set at 20 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent, depending on engine size and fuel type for internal combustion vehicles, which dominate the roads.

Assemblers also benefit from paying an Import Declaration Fee of 2.5 percent compared to the standard 3.5 percent. They pay a lower Railway Development Levy of 1.5 percent compared to the standard rate of two percent.

These incentives can lower the cost of vehicles by millions of shillings, giving assemblers the headroom to price their models more competitively or enjoy higher margins.

CFAO Mobility Kenya dropped the price of the Toyota Fortuner from Sh13.2 million to Sh10 million after it started assembling the SUV in Mombasa in 2023.

Some used car dealers are selling eight-year-old Toyota Fortuner models from Sh6.5 million, indicating the growing competitiveness of assemblers.

The tax incentives are designed to help the assemblers boost production and create jobs, with the government further offering them support under the Buy Kenya-Build Kenya strategy.

Seizing the advantages, formal dealers have moved to reduce the units and number of models they import fully-built from Japan, South Africa and other markets.

The firms in June sold 1,476 vehicles that were assembled locally, representing 92.3 percent of total new vehicle sales in the month.

Assemblers also benefit from paying an Import Declaration Fee of 2.5 percent compared to the standard 3.5 percent. They pay a lower Railway Development Levy of 1.5 percent compared to the standard rate of two percent.

These incentives can lower the cost of vehicles by millions of shillings, giving assemblers the headroom to price their models more competitively or enjoy higher margins.

CFAO Mobility Kenya dropped the price of the Toyota Fortuner from Sh13.2 million to Sh10 million after it started assembling the SUV in Mombasa in 2023.

Some used car dealers are selling eight-year-old Toyota Fortuner models from Sh6.5 million, indicating the growing competitiveness of assemblers.

The tax incentives are designed to help the assemblers boost production and create jobs, with the government further offering them support under the Buy Kenya-Build Kenya strategy.

Seizing the advantages, formal dealers have moved to reduce the units and number of models they import fully-built from Japan, South Africa and other markets.

The firms in June sold 1,476 vehicles that were assembled locally, representing 92.3 percent of total new vehicle sales in the month.

A new team was appointed to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) last year. With this transition comes a fresh opportunity to reform Kenya’s electoral system. One issue that deserves urgent attention is the quiet disenfranchisement of polling officials.

Every election cycle, the IEBC recruits thousands of temporary workers, including polling clerks, presiding officers, returning officers, ICT assistants and logistics personnel. These are the people who make it possible for millions of Kenyans to exercise their democratic right. Yet, election after election, many of them do not get to vote themselves.

The reason is straightforward. Most polling officials are deployed far from the constituencies where they are registered. They report several days before the election and remain at their assigned stations until the process is completed. With no provision for early voting or absentee ballots, they are effectively locked out of the electoral process.

This raises an uncomfortable question: How can an electoral system be considered fully inclusive when the people running it are denied the opportunity to participate in it?

Economic realities have also helped normalise this problem. In difficult times, the payment attached to election work can be a significant incentive. Many officials knowingly forgo their vote because the assignment provides a rare opportunity to earn an income. It is a quiet trade-off that has become part of Kenya’s electoral landscape, yet it should not be.

If Kenya has found ways to facilitate voting for citizens living abroad, it should be possible to create a mechanism that enables polling officials to vote while serving the country at home. The challenge is not necessarily technical; it is one of political will, planning and prioritisation.

The new IEBC should consider practical solutions. Early voting for polling officials, special polling sessions at training centres, or designated voting arrangements for officials deployed outside their constituencies could all be explored without compromising electoral integrity.

The details would require careful planning. There would need to be safeguards against multiple voting, clear verification procedures and a reliable system for transmitting results. These are challenges, but they are not insurmountable.

Service to the country and participation in its democratic processes should not be mutually exclusive. The people who safeguard the vote should not have to surrender their own.

Allowing polling officials to vote would affirm their dignity and strengthen the legitimacy of Kenya’s elections. As the new IEBC begins its work, it should ask a simple question: Why should those who make democracy possible be excluded from practising it?

Esther Masese Waititu was just 23 when she joined the banking world as a graduate trainee.

Young, ambitious and fearless, she stunned the bank’s CEO during an introductory meeting by declaring that she intended to take his job one day.

In an earlier interview, Ms Waititu recalled that, even then, she believed the best job anyone could aspire to was that of a chief executive. When the CEO invited questions from the new graduate trainees, she wasted no time.

“I want to have your job. Can you show me how?” she asked.

It was a bold declaration from a fresh graduate, but one that would come to define a career marked by steady progression through Kenya’s corporate ranks.

Those who have followed Ms Waititu’s career may be forgiven for believing that she is edging closer to that childhood ambition after announcing she will leave Safaricom, where she has served as Chief Financial Services Officer since 2023.

Her departure ends a stint at Kenya’s largest telecommunications firm, fuelling speculation that a CEO role may be next.

“I wish to announce that Esther Waititu, our Chief Financial Services Officer, will be leaving Safaricom to pursue other opportunities. At her request, the company has agreed that her last working day will be July 31, 2026,” Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa said in an email to staff.

Though her time at Safaricom lasted only three years, it coincided with some of the company’s most significant innovations. Before joining the telco, she had spent 13 years in banking, serving as KCB Group’s Director for Corporate Banking between September 2021 and February 2023 after holding several senior roles at Standard Bank of South Africa.

At Safaricom, she helped transform M-Pesa from a payment platform into a broader financial ecosystem, earning herself the title, “Mama M-Pesa”.

She oversaw the migration of the platform to the cloud-native Fintech 2.0 architecture, launched Daraja 3.0 to open M-Pesa’s rails to developers and championed products aimed at deepening financial inclusion, including Pochi la Biashara, Tuunza Mapato and device insurance.

Among her signature achievements was the rollout of Ziidi Trader, an integrated mini-app launched in February that allows M-Pesa customers to buy and sell shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange directly from their phones.

Reflecting on her departure in a LinkedIn post, Ms Waititu said her goal had never been simply to build better payment technology but to make M-Pesa a platform that helps ordinary Kenyans save, borrow, insure themselves and build wealth.

“Three years ago, M-PESA was already Africa’s leading digital payment platform. I believed we could do more. With an exceptional team, we set out to make it a lifeline platform, one that helps people save for school fees, insure against risk, borrow to grow and build wealth for the next generation,” she wrote.

She said the launch of Ziidi Trader brought investing within reach of millions of Kenyans by placing the NSE “in the pocket of every M-Pesa customer,” while Fintech 2.0 and Daraja 3.0 laid the digital infrastructure for future innovations. The work, she added, reinforced her belief that financial inclusion and commercial performance are mutually reinforcing.

Long before she was helping reshape Africa’s largest mobile money platform, Ms Waititu was a young woman with big dreams.

Before joining banking, she briefly worked in a coffee shop, where she watched customers casually spend Sh250 on a cup of the beverage before ordering meals. Instead of seeing extravagance, she saw a future.

“I used to look at these guys spending Sh250 on just a cup of coffee before they had their sandwich,” Ms Waititu recalled.

“One day, it shall be me, and I will be served by someone like me on the other side. I wanted to be served with a smile and given options.”

Ms Waititu admits she did not grow up lacking. Her mother worked at property consultancy Knight Frank and the family enjoyed a comfortable upbringing.

Drivers picked them up from school. She attended Loreto Msongari Girls High School while her brothers studied at St Mary’s School, Nairobi. She later got admitted to the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, though her first choice had been the University of Nairobi.

Her life has been guided by the same optimism that defines her career. She met her husband in the early 2000s at the popular Nairobi entertainment spot Kengeles, where a chance encounter blossomed into a lifelong relationship.

The two married, but not before learning one of life’s early lessons in managing the unexpected.

They had planned for about 400 guests at their wedding, only for almost 700 to turn up. Instead of panicking, they negotiated a payment plan with the venue before setting off on honeymoon.

Their destination was the Maldives, the idyllic Indian Ocean archipelago famed for its white sandy beaches, clear waters and luxurious overwater villas that have made it one of the world’s most coveted destinations.

“Things will not always work out perfectly,” she once said.

“But you have to negotiate and find your way to come out of there.”

That resilience would be tested again when she became a mother. Ms Waititu, who has twins, has spoken about the difficult pregnancy that left her hospitalised for several days after giving birth before she was finally discharged to join her newborns.

The experience deepened Ms Waititu’s appreciation for family and strengthened her resolve to pursue excellence at home and work.

Away from the office, she is an avid lover of music, art and travel.

Ms Waititu also enjoys dancing and admits that, after a demanding day, she does not mind stepping out for a night of dancing with family and friends.

Her love for music dates to the beginning of her career. One of the first major purchases she made after landing her first job was a sound system. She bought it on hire purchase.

She also developed a passion for collecting paintings and bought a car, much to the chagrin of her mother, who thought she should have invested in property instead.

“Money should be enjoyed,” she says.

“I have discovered as an adult that money is just a tool.”

Rather than measuring success by how much one earns, she believes people should focus on the quality of life they build.

“I shouldn’t be aiming to see how much money I am making. I should be aiming to see what type of life I want to lead,” she says.

That philosophy extends to travel. While many would rather use Sh1 million to buy land, she believes experiences are equally valuable.

“You have the plot, but I don’t know if you are going to have the experience and richness of life,” she says.

The confidence that led the 23-year-old graduate trainee to tell a chief executive she wanted his job has remained the defining thread of her life.

It carried her from serving coffee to leading one of Africa’s largest fintech businesses, through the demands of marriage, motherhood and executive leadership, and into the upper ranks of Kenya’s corporate world.

As she prepares to leave Safaricom after helping redefine the role of M-Pesa in Kenya’s financial system, the question is no longer if she is ready to lead a company.

It is which board will hand the ambitious graduate trainee the chief executive’s office she first set sights on more than two decades ago.

“I look forward to sharing more about my next adventure soon,” she said in her LinkedIn post.

Several products sold in three leading Chinese retail chains in Kenya are in breach of the law that requires goods sold locally to be labelled in English or Kiswahili.

A Business Daily investigation has uncovered that products ranging from baby and feminine care items to skincare products, personal hygiene goods, electronics and industrial adhesives are labelled purely in Mandarin.

The products, sold at Mia Duck, China Square and Panda Mart, bear the Kenya Bureau of Standards’ (Kebs) Import Standardisation Mark (ISM), indicating that they have been certified for sale in Kenya.

The revelations have sparked questions about how products that do not meet the country’s statutory labelling requirements entered the Kenyan market and reached retail shelves, posing consumption and financial risks to consumers. Their labelling in Mandarin denies consumers a window to make informed choices.

One shopper, Caleb Okari, discovered the risks first-hand after buying what he believed was an ordinary tube of household super glue from Mia Duck. The packaging and instructions were written entirely in Mandarin, a language understood by only a tiny fraction of Kenyan consumers. Assuming it was conventional glue, he bought it without understanding its intended use.

‘When I got home and tried to use it, it didn’t work the way I expected,’ Mr Okari recounted. ‘It had a strong smell and did not stick the way the super glue I’m used to does. When I scanned the writing to translate it, I realised it was actually an industrial adhesive and I had been using it all wrong.’

The translated label identified the product as an industrial adhesive designed primarily for construction and automotive applications, including bonding vehicle body panels.

Health agencies, including the US National Library of Medicine, warn that some industrial adhesives require specific handling and adequate ventilation, as prolonged skin contact or inhalation may cause dizziness, headaches, skin irritation and other adverse health effects.

Retailers told the Business Daily that customers who cannot read Mandarin should seek help from staff or use translation applications before purchasing products.

A spokesperson for Mia Duck said buyers are expected to ask staff for assistance, while China Square and Panda Mart said employees are available to translate product labels and instructions for customers.

The practice, however, is inconsistent with Kenya’s labelling laws, which require mandatory product information to be provided in English or Kiswahili so consumers can make informed purchasing decisions and use products safely.

The Weights and Measures (Sale and Labelling of Goods) Rules of 1999 state that ‘every declaration required to be made on a package under this rule shall be either in English or Kiswahili or in both English and Kiswahili.’

It requires that products bear the name and address of the manufacturer, the common or generic name of the product, net weight or measure, and the sell-by date, among other product-specific instructions, all in either English or Kiswahili – the official and national languages of the country.

But the Chinese stores sell products that have all their packaging declarations in Mandarin, with some having only the popular or brand name, the expiry date and the net weight in recognisable characters.

This begs the question: are they really meant for the Kenyan market?

All these products bear the import standardisation mark (ISM) sticker issued by Kebs, which is a certification that they meet the required standards to be on the shelves.

Yet they don’t. Kebs’ standards state that products sold in Kenya must be labelled in English or any other official language in the East African Community, which also includes French and Kiswahili.

‘If the language on the original label is not acceptable to the consumer for whom it is intended, a supplementary label containing the information in the required language may be used instead of re-labelling,’ reads the Kebs standards.

Kebs told the Business Daily that any sale of imported products before relabelling is illegal and that it will take enforcement action against importers and retailers that violate labelling rules.

‘Kebs operates a risk-based conformity assessment and surveillance system that processes thousands of import consignments annually,’ a spokesperson told Business Daily in emailed responses.

‘While the system is designed to ensure a high level of compliance, isolated cases of non-compliance may occur due to factors such as mis-declaration of the customs clearance documents, non-compliance by importers, or circumvention of regulatory requirements by traders.’

Kebs said imported goods are subject to multiple compliance checks before reaching consumers. Under its Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme, products destined for Kenya are inspected before shipment to verify compliance with Kenyan standards, including statutory marking and labelling requirements.

‘Kebs, through its PVoC Programme, verifies that imported products falling within its regulatory scope comply with applicable Kenya Standards and statutory marking and labelling requirements before being shipped, released into, or allowed to remain in the Kenyan market,’ the spokesperson said.

In the event of non-compliance, and depending on the product risk the non-compliances raises, the regulator said it can order an importer to recall the products, seize the products, and destroy them to protect consumers.

The Competition Authority of Kenya, which enforces consumer protection laws requiring traders to provide adequate product information for informed purchasing decisions, acknowledged Business Daily’s questions but did not respond by the time of publication. The retailers are aware they are breaking the law, but they say their hands are tied because they don’t make the products.

‘These products come prepackaged by the manufacturer, so we just have to sell them that way. But we’ve been trying to reduce and now many manufacturers we work with label in English,’ said a China Square spokesperson.

Stephen Mutoro, secretary-general of the Consumers Federation of Kenya, said labelling requirements exist to ensure consumers understand what they are buying and how to use products safely.

‘A label in Mandarin alone, with no English or Kiswahili, denies that right. That is a violation, not a technicality.’

China is Kenya’s largest source of imports, supplying goods worth a record Sh671 billion last year and accounting for more than a quarter of all imports, meaning even isolated failures to comply with Kenyan labelling requirements could affect a large number of products reaching consumers.