Category: Business Daily

Kenya has dethroned Ethiopia in a fight for the region’s economic dominance in a race that mirrors their fierce rivalry in long-distance running, where the crown regularly changes hands.

After five years of trailing Ethiopia, Kenya overtook its neighbour in 2025 to become the region’s largest economy, as its gross domestic product (GDP) in dollar terms rose while Ethiopia’s shrank, according to the latest report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The devaluation of the Ethiopian birr saw the country’s GDP in dollar terms shrink by 40 percent to $126.35 billion, while Kenya’s rose by 13.7 percent to $135.92 billion (Sh17.57 trillion), allowing Nairobi to reclaim its position as the region’s economic hegemon.

This saw Kenya climb one place to become the seventh-largest economy in Africa, behind the continent’s giants, including South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria, according to the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook.

Other countries that are ahead of Kenya include Algeria in fourth position, Morocco and Angola in that order.

However, the IMF projects Kenya to also overtake oil-producing Angola in 2028, moving up to sixth place in the GDP ranking.

Ethiopia, which had occupied seventh position in the previous year, dropped one place to eighth place, ahead of Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi and South Sudan.

The IMF data put the size of Ethiopia’s economy at $210 billion (Sh28.31 trillion) in 2024, making it the largest in the region.

Kenya’s jump ended Addis Ababa’s five-year reign as the region’s leading economy, during which its output consistently grew by double digits.

Ethiopia, which had occupied seventh position in the previous year, dropped to eighth place after its GDP shrank by 40 percent to $126.35 billion (Sh17.04 trillion).

The Ethiopian economy had for five years stayed ahead of Kenya’s, bolstered by heavy government investment in infrastructure, rising agricultural productivity and an expanding services sector.

However, there was criticism that the country’s currency had largely been overstated, with Addis Ababa putting a leash on its exchange rate.

‘That was just the currency effect,’ said Charlie Robertson, the chief economic adviser to Equity Group Holdings CEO James Mwangi, on why Ethiopia’s GDP contracted, allowing Kenya to overtake it.

In the second half of 2024, Ethiopia was forced to loosen its grip on its exchange rate as part of the conditions for securing financing from the IMF.

This culminated in the devaluation of its currency, the birr, with the impact showing up fully in the 2025 GDP figures, says Robertson.

Mr Robertson reckons that two years ago, Ethiopia’s currency was overvalued by 50 percent, which, in his own computation, means that the country’s GDP in dollar terms was overstated by a similar margin.

‘Today the birr is roughly 20 percent undervalued, so the [dollar] GDP figure is 20 percent too small,’ Mr Robertson explained in a text message.

The Kenyan shilling’s recovery against the US dollar helped boost the country’s GDP in dollar terms, allowing Nairobi to reclaim its status as the region’s largest economy.

Kenya had held the position until 2020, when it was overtaken by Ethiopia, whose economy was expanding rapidly. The rivalry between Kenya and Ethiopia ranges from producing some of the world’s best athletes to exporting high-quality coffee and flowers to international markets.

Both countries are also keen to be the region’s aviation hub, with Kenya seeking to make Nairobi a gateway through its national carrier, Kenya Airways, while Ethiopia is positioning Addis Ababa through Ethiopian Airlines.

Perhaps the fiercest rivalry has been in attracting investors to their manufacturing sectors, particularly textiles, apparel and leather products, as the two nations seek to diversify their exports, create more jobs and reduce dependence on exporting raw materials.

Ethiopia boasts a huge population, making it an attractive consumer market. With an estimated 135.5 million people in 2025, it is Africa’s second-most populous country after Nigeria.

The jump in the ranking of Kenya’s GDP-the sum of a country’s production-confirmed the IMF’s earlier projection that Nairobi would overtake Addis Ababa. This means that by the end of 2025 the size of Kenya’s GDP, in dollar terms, is bigger than Ethiopia’s by $9.57 billion (approximately Sh1.24 trillion).

The size of Ethiopia’s economy in dollar terms took a hit after the Horn of Africa country devalued its currency, the birr, as part of the conditions for securing financing from the IMF.

The birr, Ethiopia’s currency, fell by over a third against the US greenback starting in June 2024.

Kenya is set to maintain that position next year, before climbing a rung higher to sixth place in 2028 by overtaking oil-producing Angola.

In its outlook for October last year, the IMF had projected that Kenya would overtake Ethiopia after Addis Ababa devalued its currency, the birr, as part of the conditions to secure financing from the multilateral lender.

The IMF report shows that Ethiopia’s economy grew at more than twice Kenya’s pace in real terms in 2025, expanding by 9.2 percent compared with Kenya’s 4.6 percent.

However, when GDP is converted into US dollars, Kenya’s nominal GDP rose by about 14 percent to $135.92 billion, while Ethiopia’s plunged by nearly 40 percent from $210 billion to $126.35 billion.

The sharp reversal was therefore not a reflection of Ethiopia’s economic output collapsing, but was largely the result of exchange-rate movements and the way the two economies were valued in dollar terms.

As a result, the currency shifts turned a rapidly growing Ethiopian economy into a much smaller economy when measured in dollars, allowing Kenya to reclaim the regional economic crown.

Ethiopia had for a long time maintained tight control over its exchange rate, giving its currency an artificially higher value and making its imports cheaper. This has raised fears among some observers that Ethiopia’s GDP is overstated.

However, to secure a $3.4-billion (Sh440 billion) four-year IMF loan, Ethiopia loosened its grip on its exchange rate, and its currency has fallen by over a third against the US dollar since July last year.

Instead, Ethiopia switched to a market-determined foreign exchange rate, a major relief for some foreign companies such as Kenya Airways, which had said it was having difficulty unlocking Sh1.5 billion frozen in Ethiopia because of foreign exchange restrictions. This is despite Ethiopia having a much lower per capita GDP than Kenya because of its huge population.

The parent firm of Kenya’s Toyota dealer has joined a consortium that is investing Sh2 billion in a sanitary pad factory in Nairobi, marking the latest expansion by Japanese multinational Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

The operation will be run by Unicharm Corporation -which owns the global feminine hygiene brand Sofy- which is the lead investor in the partnership with a 75 percent stake.

The other members of the consortium are Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) with a 17.5 percent stake and its Kenyan subsidiary CFAO Kenya Limited (7.5 percent). TTC has multiple businesses in Kenyan including CFAO Mobility Kenya which sells various motor vehicle brands such as Toyota.

The new company, Sofy Unicharm East Africa, started operations in September 2026 and will manufacture and distribute sanitary products in Kenya while expanding sales and exports to neighbouring countries.

The business aims to generate Sh1.5 billion in revenue and reach two million women across East Africa by 2030, while expanding distribution and promoting menstrual hygiene education.

‘The new company will integrate product development, production, sales and marketing in Kenya, with plans to expand the supply and export of sanitary products to neighboring East African markets. Representing an investment of Sh2 billion, the joint venture underscores the partners’ commitment to driving regional growth, strengthening local manufacturing capabilities and contributing to the economic development of East Africa,’ Takahisa Takahara, President and Chief Executive Officer of Unicharm Corporation, said.

Under the arrangement, Unicharm will contribute its expertise in product development and manufacturing, Toyota Tsusho will support business expansion and regional trade, while CFAO Kenya will handle local sales and distribution through its logistics network.

‘We are participating in this business not only because we strongly identify with Unicharm’s philosophy, but also because we believe Toyota Tsusho has a unique role to play … By drawing on our experience and capabilities, we will help establish this philosophy in East African society and develop this initiative into a sustainable business for the long term,’ Kazuyuki Urata, the Circular Economy Division CEO at Toyota Tsusho Corporation said.

The venture builds on the partners’ existing operations in Kenya. In 2023, Unicharm and CFAO Kenya began importing and selling Sofy deep absorb sanitary pads from Unicharm’s factory in Egypt.

Amb. Dennis Awori, chairman of CFAO Group Kenya and country delegate, said the joint venture would strengthen local manufacturing, develop industrial skills and improve product availability by building a supply system that responds more closely to local demand.

‘Lasting growth comes from understanding the customer and responding with products that combine quality, affordability and availability,’ he said.

The expansion comes as manufacturers compete for a share of Kenya’s menstrual hygiene market, where disposable sanitary pads dominate despite affordability remaining a concern for some consumers.

According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 91 percent of women aged 15-49 years who were at home during their last menstrual period used disposable sanitary pads, while five percent used reusable ones.

The market includes international brands such as Always and Kotex, as well as locally produced products such as Femistyle, with prices and distribution influencing competition.

Sofy products are sold through supermarkets, online retailers and neighbourhood shops. Some local shops sell packs for about Sh50 and individual pads for Sh10. Online listings on Jumia Kenya have offered Sofy deep absorb eight-pad packs for around Sh119 and 14-pad packs for about Sh225.

Visitors from Milan and Rome have overtaken travelers from Kisumu and Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to Mombasa via Moi International Airport (MIA), underscoring the growing importance of Italy to Kenya’s tourism.

Arrivals from Milan’s Malpensa Airport more than doubled to 28,664 in 2025 from 12,317 a year earlier, while those from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport jumped more than fourfold to 5,811 from 1,355, according to new data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Together, the two Italian gateways supplied 34,475 arriving passengers to Mombasa, surpassing Kisumu, which recorded 23,052 arrivals, and Wilson Airport, which handled 16,878.

The growth comes as Italy strengthens its position among Kenya’s international tourism source markets.

In 2024, for instance, Italy was among the markets that recorded notable increases in visitor arrivals to Kenya when the country received 2.39 million international tourists, up 14.6 percent from 2023, according to the Tourism Research Institute.

Milan is Italy’s principal commercial and financial hub, while Malpensa serves as a major international gateway for northern Italy. Rome’s Fiumicino, the country’s largest international passenger gateway, extends Mombasa’s reach into another major Italian market.

The two cities are connected to Mombasa by Italian leisure carrier Neos Air, which operated two weekly flights between Malpensa and Mombasa and one weekly service between Fiumicino and Mombasa in 2025.

The services provide European holidaymakers with direct access to Kenya’s coast without requiring them to connect through Nairobi.

They also create opportunities for tour operators to combine beach holidays with wildlife safaris, potentially spreading visitor spending across hotels, restaurants, transport providers and inland tourism destinations.

Beyond Italy, arrivals from Frankfurt, Germany, increased 11 percent to 55,589 in 2025, while arrivals in Mombasa from other European airports rose 55 percent to 24,916 from 16,048, pointing to broader growth in traffic from the region.

Frankfurt is connected to Mombasa by leisure carriers Condor and Discover Airlines, which operate direct services catering largely to holidaymakers travelling to the Kenyan coast. The airport is also an important international hub, giving Mombasa access to passengers connecting from other European markets.

Europe contributes about 30 percent of international tourist arrivals to Kenya, with Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom among the leading source markets, according to the Kenya Tourism Board.

The expansion of direct international services to Mombasa also comes as Kenya ramps up efforts to improve connectivity beyond Nairobi under its open-skies policy.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) remained the largest source of arriving passengers at Mombasa in 2025, contributing 441,232, down seven percent from 473,769 in 2024.

Arrivals from Kisumu also declined to 23,052 from 23,562, while those from Wilson increased to 16,878 from 14,010. The stronger growth from Milan and Rome consequently pushed both Italian gateways ahead of the two domestic airports.

Moi International Airport is Kenya’s second-busiest airport by passenger numbers and is expected to benefit from efforts to expand direct international connections to secondary cities.

Ethiopian Airlines has already introduced direct flights between Addis Ababa and Mombasa, opening the coastal city to passengers connecting through its international network.

The new connections could help diversify Mombasa’s passenger base beyond domestic feeder traffic and established European leisure routes. Their longer-term contribution to tourism, however, may depend on whether airlines can sustain demand and whether the increase in passenger arrivals translates into more visitors staying at coastal hotels and spending in the local economy.

The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) and Kenya Re have differed over a regulatory filing indicating the reinsurer bought a Sh3.39 billion stake in collapsed Athi River Mining (ARM) Cement, raising questions over identity of the listed transaction.

The filings from the regulator for the six months to June showed Kenya Re had bought additional shares in ARM Cement, which is a Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed firm that went into liquidation in October 2021.

Kenya Re denied the stake transaction as filings indicated holdings of shares of reinsurers in companies listed at the NSE had grown from Sh1.35 billion to Sh6.32 billion with the insurance regulator citing the ARM deal for growth. ARM Cement was suspended from trading at the Nairobi bourse in 2018 after it was put under administration and its assets were sold to the National Cement Company for Sh5.05 billion.

The firm, which was once Kenya’s second-largest cement maker, was put under administration by some of its creditors, including local commercial banks, over a Sh20 billion debt.

IRA on Thursday doubled down on its notice showing Kenya Re had spent billions of shillings on ARM Cement in the period to June.

‘That is how it is. It is what they filed with us. Whose report is it? It is my [IRA] report, and I am the one telling you so. Let them deny,’ IRA chief executive Godfrey Kiptum told the Business Daily in an interview on Thursday.

This has raised questions about the credibility of the filings from insurance firms and what company shares Kenya Re bought for Sh3.3 billion.

A number of fund managers have counted Kenya Re among the state parastatals that were pressured by the State to buy into Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) initial public offering in quarter one this year.

The pressure came amid fears that the IPO would collapse in the wake of poor interest from retail investors, high-net-worth stock dealers and oil marketers.

Kenya Re head of property and investments Nicodemus Gekone told the Business Daily in a phone interview on Thursday that the reinsurer was not aware of an investment in ARM Cement.

‘That is not accurate. We have not acquired any ARM Cement shares. I am in charge of investments and I am saying so without any fear of contradiction. We are going to write to IRA,’ said Mr Gekone.

The rare clash between a regulator and an institution it supervises raises questions on credibility of the industry data which IRA says it compiles based on what insurers and reinsurers file with it on a quarterly basis.

Kenya Re is 60 percent owned by government and is among the cash-rich firms that pay steady dividends to the State.

IRA says it does not alter any information a company files with it unless it has consulted the respective firm and agreed on any change.

‘The information contained in this report has been extracted from the quarterly unaudited returns submitted to the authority in line with Section 54 of the Insurance Act without any adjustments, unless in consultation with the affected insurer(s) and/or reinsurer(s),’ states IRA in its report capturing the filing.

The disputed Kenya Re investment came in the period the regulator’s data showed the insurance industry’s exposure to NSE listed firms rose to Sh56.48 billion at the end of June from Sh30.57 billion in the similar period last year.

The surge raised the share of the industry’s quoted shares in total investments to a four-year high of 3.4 percent from 2.2 percent, with reinsurance business having the highest exposure at 6.1 percent.

Insurers and reinsurers have increased their appetite for equities on the back of a boom at the NSE, which has boosted returns.

Life insurers accounted for most of the gains, raising their holdings to Sh43.53 billion in the period under review, up from Sh25.35 billion a year earlier.

ICEA Lion Life Assurance, Jubilee Life Insurance and Britam Life Insurance had the largest share of the equity investments.

IRA said ICEA Lion Life investment in NSE recorded an increase of Sh5.2 billion to Sh14.55 billion, while Jubilee Life increased by Sh4.66 billion to Sh9.93 billion. Britam Life reported an increase of Sh3.92 billion to Sh6.39 billion.

‘Collectively, these three insurers accounted for 75.3 percent of the overall growth in quoted shares during the period,’ said IRA.

The industry had for years dialled down its exposure on the NSE. The latest holding is still well below 2014, when quoted equities took up 20 percent of the sector’s investment.

The rebound in stock prices has made equities more attractive compared to traditional fixed-income instruments. Insurers, which typically prioritise capital preservation, are, however, cautiously increasing their risk appetite given the volatile nature of equities.

The gradual increase in equity exposure suggests insurers are positioning themselves to benefit from capital appreciation while maintaining balanced portfolios.

inet Owoko

_: The Social Health Authority (SHA) has extended the deadline for healthcare facilities to complete new contracts by another two and a half months, a day after their existing contracts were due to lapse, amid complaints from providers about difficulties completing the online process.

In a notice dated October 15, SHA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mercy Mwangangi said existing contracts, which were due to lapse on October 14, would remain in force until December 31, 2026, with the new contracting cycle beginning on January 1, 2027.

‘The extension provides facilities with additional time to complete outstanding contracting requirements, address challenges encountered during the process and ensure uninterrupted healthcare services to SHA beneficiaries,’ Dr Mwangangi said.

She said that the existing contracts will remain in force throughout the extension period, and beneficiaries will continue accessing services at facilities with valid contracts.

The authority also assured service providers of payment of claims submitted during the extension.

‘Valid claims lodged during this period will be honoured,’ Dr Mwangangi said.

This latest extension comes 10 days after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Council of Governors Health Committee agreed that the existing contracts, already extended to October 14, would not be extended further.

Healthcare providers have complained about difficulties completing the contracting process through SHA’s electronic platform, saying the requirements can change while they are filling in their applications and uploading supporting documents.

Some providers said they can enter facility details and submit part of the required information, only to find additional requirements or changes when they return to the portal the following day.

The platform is part of the HAKIKA contracting framework for the 2026-2029 cycle, launched in September to streamline the contracting process through digital applications, document uploads, licence verification, electronic signing of contracts and progress tracking.

The framework also involves transitioning SHA’s provider portal to the Health Management Information System (HMIS), a process the Ministry of Health said was expected to be completed by October 30, 2026. The ministry has also acknowledged concerns about system reliability as the transition continues.

The authority has stated that the previous moratorium on certain documents is no longer in effect and that all facilities must now submit the required documentation, including documents for which some facilities had previously been granted additional time.

Previously, a reprieve had been granted for certain requirements, including documents relating to the National Social Security Fund, the National Environment Management Authority, fire safety, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, provided that facilities were otherwise compliant.

Under the revised timeline, healthcare providers must complete the contracting process and ensure that their new contracts are signed and effective before the new cycle begins on January 1, 2027.

The electronics business is an interesting one. Quite often, a customer will see an appliance or piece of equipment that catches their eye and sparks a desire to own it.

They will then spend considerable time researching it, comparing its features, weighing its advantages against its limitations and, ultimately, determining whether it offers value for money.

Once they make their decision, they buy it with an expectation that the product will deliver on the promise that convinced them to part with their money in the first place.

Manufacturers understand this. That is why leading brands invest heavily in developing products that are reliable, innovative and capable of delivering on the promises they make to customers.

But, as with everything manufactured, things can sometimes go wrong. And when they do, it is often what happens after the sale that distinguishes one brand from another.

Many sellers are quick to promise warranties. Interestingly, warranties used to be taken very seriously.

They were detailed documents with terms and conditions that customers were expected to read, sign and understand, sometimes accompanied by identification and other documentation. Today, the process can feel considerably less rigorous, with customers sometimes receiving little more than a warranty card that is hurriedly signed or stamped.

The real test, however, comes when something goes wrong. Take for instance a customer who has carefully researched an appliance, saved for it, bought it and taken it home, only for it to fail within the warranty period.

Naturally, they expect the seller to respond quickly, either by repairing the product or, where necessary, replacing it. Yet we continue to hear stories of customers who struggle to have legitimate warranty claims honoured, leaving them frustrated and, in some cases, forced to abandon products they expected to serve them for years.

To avoid this, we must continue to make customer service an integral part of our brand promise. From the beginning, we understand that our relationship with a customer begins when they leave the store with our product.

And in keeping this brand promise, you must continually invest in service points as closest to customers as possible.

The core objective is to ensure that products continue delivering dependable service for many years, when correctly handled and maintained. That is what a warranty should really mean; a statement that we are prepared to stand behind the product we sold, even when it fails.

Global tech giants are stepping up their artificial intelligence (AI) investments in Africa, targeting computing infrastructure and connectivity to research and skills as demand for the technology grows.

Google has made Nairobi a key hub on the continent, hosting its AI research work while investing in subsea cables and high-capacity fibre networks.

The US firm’s director of public policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, Charles Murito, spoke to Business Daily about the company’s infrastructure strategy in Kenya, the balance between regulation and innovation, and the technology’s potential impact on jobs.

What are the biggest gaps Kenya must close to become an AI development hub rather than mainly an AI consumer?

We need to invest more in infrastructure; we might have coverage, but we still don’t have quality devices. The other is skills: learning and adapting to new technology as it emerges so that we are ready to deal with how it affects different fields.

Our policies also need to have the right bandwidth for people to innovate while also providing guardrails that protect Kenyans.

How can African countries regulate AI to address risks such as misuse and misinformation without making it unnecessarily difficult for startups, researchers, and businesses to innovate?

It is about balance; Kenya’s AI draft bill, for instance, makes the government the gatekeeper of Kenyan content and culture, which is problematic because it risks shutting out AI models from learning from Kenyan content and nuances.

There should be room for companies to enforce guardrails in terms of how they source and process data, but innovators need to work together to make sure policymakers understand the gaps we have in the technology ecosystem so that both big players and young innovations can thrive.

Otherwise, we risk becoming like Europe, which I think has stifled innovation with too tight regulation.

Is Google considering more AI and cloud infrastructure investment in Kenya, such as the data centre projects being pursued by other Big Tech firms?

Google’s interest in the region has been in the backbone infrastructure and connectivity, through a high-capacity fibre network to enable local mobile operators or internet service providers to connect more people.

We have landed subsea cables and city-to-city backbone infrastructure, which then becomes shared infrastructure. This is important for technology development in a market like Kenya because if every internet service provider (ISP) has to build their own fibre network, they have to continue investing a lot in that alone.

But when you have organisations building peer-to-peer connection infrastructure that ISPs just buy capacity from, the cost is lower, which then brings the cost of internet in our market down. We see this as a key enabler of AI adoption.

We have a cloud region in South Africa, and we are still exploring opportunities to scale it regionally.

Research has identified AI skills as a major constraint for African businesses. Where are you seeing Kenya’s biggest gap today?

Data analytics, AI skilling for entrepreneurs and MSMEs and students, and prompt engineering.

Prompt engineering is becoming important as AI models advance because the quality of output depends on how skilled the user is at prompting and researching. It is just like how, with the advent of computers in Kenya, skills like word processing were fundamental.

What does this mean about computer science and engineering education going forward?

As an industry, we will need students who understand math and the foundational elements of computer science.

Machines will not change human beings; there will always be people working behind them and prompting them. There is, of course, the aspect of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and AI improving itself, but we are not there yet.

The other important thing in the AI age is critical thinking, because it will guide how we look at our local environments and leverage technology to solve problems in localised ways.

Unemployment remains a major concern in Kenya; how do we approach the risk of AI displacing some jobs while creating others?

In essence, what we are seeing is the fourth industrial revolution. With every industrial revolution, there are jobs that are going to go away, those that will be shifted in terms of what their role is, and new jobs will be created.

We need to look at the repetitive, routine jobs that are going to go away. Already, we are seeing the shift. I spend way less time on administrative tasks because AI is helping me, and I focus more on the value-added tasks.

There is a worry about jobs going away, but I think we should focus more on the new opportunities new technology will bring.

AI tools in Kenya are being misused for misinformation and smear campaigns. What is Google doing to prevent its tools from being abused in this way?

AI will have its upsides and downsides. Cybersecurity is a concern, as well as misinformation and disinformation.

We are always innovating, and one of the tools we have so far is digital watermarking in every AI-generated piece of content from our models to help users identify material produced by AI from human-generated content.

It rained in long white lashes. We had come from a funeral and driven into a misty, dark and rainy Kisumu. Water overflowed from the drains and gushed down the road.

My brother had been talking about aliya the whole way. How he craved it with osuga. These are foods my mum cooked when we were young. Maybe it was the burial that had stirred this urge, seeing so many of my aunts and uncles, now in geriatric shoes, wobbling about.

Maybe it was the realisation that we would soon be burying more relatives, and then we would be next.

Or we are next. Who knows, man?

They say grief is an aphrodisiac. Whatever it was, he wanted aliya and osuga. Either that or he was pregnant. Unlikely, seeing as he had a beard. But then again, I’ve seen people with beards who… anyway. We arrived at Kosewe in the pouring rain.

It was really pouring. When you looked up, you couldn’t see anything. You only heard the rain, drumming on the parked cars. We ran inside, into soul music and great cheer. A handful of people had come in from the Friday rain too, shaking water off their jackets like survivors of a shipwreck.

My brother and his wife ordered their aliya and osuga. Aliya is dried, smoked meat; osuga is a traditional leafy vegetable with a deep, green taste, like chloroquine. It’s an acquired taste.

When it came, the meat smelled rich and earthy, the soup a deep brown and a tad oily at the top, as it should be. You can’t go wrong with the food at Kosewe. I wasn’t hungry, but watching them eat like a pair of ravenous carnivores, I felt as though I was eating too.

They ate. I watched. We listened to the rain and let the night pass. Outside, Kisumu felt like it was getting a great wash after a dusty season. Even the lake was getting wet. Inside, we were just fine with good music and great food, and the dead, for a few hours, could wait.

It is not every day that a Kenyan heads the kitchen of an international hotel brand in the country. At Dusit Princess Hotel Residences Nairobi, Kennedy Okall, popularly known as Chef Ken, holds that responsibility.

As executive chef, the 40-year-old oversees everything from food quality and menu design to kitchen operations and financial management. He began dreaming of the role as a child, after an encounter sparked his curiosity about professional cooking.

‘I was walking past an international hotel with my mother once as a child, when I noticed someone putting on a white coat as they went by. I’d never seen a chef’s jacket before, so I asked my mother about it,’ he recalls.

His mother’s answer stayed with him. ‘She said, ‘Those are the people who cook for white people.”

Already fascinated by cooking, Kennedy became curious about preparing international dishes beyond the food he knew from home or the African recipes he encountered in books. After high school, he enrolled at Utalii College for professional culinary training while working as a commis chef at one of the country’s five-star hotels. He graduated in 2009.

At his next job, in a newly established five-star hotel, he joined as a chef de partie and rose through the ranks to junior and then senior sous chef.

He credits much of his development to Italian executive chef Gaetano Sgroi, who taught him the fundamentals of cooking, team leadership and kitchen cost management. Regular visits by guest chefs from abroad also exposed him to different culinary traditions and gave him opportunities to work alongside Michelin-starred chefs.

‘That is where my culinary skills sharpened and where my journey to becoming an executive chef really became clear,’ he says.

The experience prepared him for his next move to another premium hotel brand that was preparing to open. This time, he joined as an executive sous chef, before being promoted to executive chef after a year. He spent about six years there before moving to Dusit Princess Hotel Residences Nairobi, where he has worked since late 2021.

His rise through the ranks may seem seamless on paper, but Chef Ken says the journey was not always smooth.

‘You start getting exposed to leadership from the position of sous chef,’ he says. ‘And managing people is a challenge, particularly if they are older than you.’

His trick to earning respect, he says, is to be what he describes as ‘a modern leader’.

‘The traditional approach to leadership is more authoritarian, but today’s generation doesn’t want that,’ he says. ‘Now, while you still need to be a little autocratic, you must also have some democracy, and that is not always easy.’

Over time, he has also come to learn that leading a kitchen also means understanding the people in it – their personalities, cultures, strengths, and even the different pace at which they learn and grasp new skills.

Beyond the demands of leadership, Chef Ken points to passion for the job as another factor that may explain why relatively few Kenyans rise to executive chef positions.

‘A chef’s job is not easy,’ he says. ‘It requires a lot of commitment. You will be forced to work many hours sometimes and miss out on a lot of leisure time. People will be having fun on Sundays or during the holidays, but you will be expected to be at work. So you really have to set your mind to it properly, be prepared for all of that, and really like the food that you are preparing.’

But passion alone is not enough. Chefs also need curiosity and creativity to distinguish themselves. For Chef Ken, that means understanding how different flavours work together and being willing to not only learn from others, but also experiment beyond what is familiar.

‘There is a reason it is known as culinary art,’ he says. ‘Even creating a menu requires you to think outside the box. It is an art in itself.’

Traditionally, chefs were expected to follow established recipes and serve dishes in a particular way. But today, he notes, chefs have more room to reinterpret those classic recipes, which is how fusion has come in.

‘Some of our chefs remain too attached to following the traditional recipes, which restricts their creativity. It then becomes difficult for them to progress into these big brands, which are often looking for people who can bring fresh ideas and an understanding of international cuisine,’ he says.

For his part, Chef Ken makes a point of eating at other restaurants, sampling what fellow chefs are creating and assessing how their food compares with his own. It is a way of keeping up with the competition, but also of challenging himself to do better.

‘I go eat here, I go eat there. I try to feel whatever those chefs have created, and some of these are foreign chefs,’ he says. ‘Those are the things that always inspire me to do more.’

Away from the creativity involved in developing dishes, however, there is a less visible side to running a kitchen. That is, ensuring that ingredients are properly sourced and stored, recipes are followed, and food safety standards are maintained.

For Chef Ken, every dish follows a process, from sourcing ingredients to the final serving. And one of the most important guiding principles behind this process is sustainability.

‘Waste is money,’ he says.

It starts with choosing the right suppliers, who can consistently deliver the quality of ingredients the kitchen requires. Once the ingredients arrive, they must be received, cleaned and stored correctly to preserve their quality and ensure food safety. The team must also be trained to handle ingredients properly and minimise offcuts during preparation.

‘How the ingredients are supposed to be cooked is also another thing,’ he adds. ‘You have to get the right texture and preparation mode for everything, or it becomes a waste.’

Recipes, too, play a role. Each dish, Chef Ken says, has a recipe that specifies the quantities of ingredients to use and the portions to serve. This helps the kitchen maintain consistency while ensuring that food is not prepared in excess and ends up being thrown away.

So seriously does Chef Ken take waste management that the kitchen has a programme to track how much food is discarded at different stages, from preparation to what guests leave on their plates.

The kitchen separates waste into categories, including scraps from food preparation, leftovers from the buffet and food returned on guests’ plates. Each category has its own bin, which is weighed daily by a member of the team. The figures are then assessed against the number of guests served over the month to establish how much waste the kitchen produces per person.

Chef Ken says the hotel works towards a benchmark of 200 grammes of waste per person, including unavoidable waste such as bones. Last month, he says, it recorded 191 grammes per person, putting it below that threshold.

The effort extends to the staff canteen, where Chef Ken has introduced what he calls a ‘zero dustbin’ policy. Staff are encouraged to take only what they can finish, with bones being among the few things permitted in the bin.

Managing waste among hotel guests can be a little more complicated, particularly at a buffet, where diners can serve themselves more than once. For à la carte meals, however, Chef Ken says, guests who cannot finish their food can have it packed as takeaway, but his team also follows up to find out why a plate has not been cleared.

‘I like to know why food has been left on the plate,’ he says. For him, the feedback allows his team to investigate the dish and assess its quality. If a diner has left food because it did not taste right, for instance, the kitchen can examine what went wrong.

His attention to detail pays off when diners compliment the food and keep coming back, something he says remains one of the most satisfying aspects of his career.

With more than 15 years into his career now, Chef Ken is also extremely proud of the fact that he has trained other chefs, some of whom have since moved on to work elsewhere and are doing well for themselves.

‘I am very proud that therew are people who, one day when I hang up my jacket, will say that I was trained by Chef Ken, the way I say I was trained by Chef Gaetano,’ he says. ‘And I’m still training others even now because I like developing talent.’

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has upheld the dismissal of a senior Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officer who cleared six containers before their ship arrived at the port of Mombasa, ruling that he was negligent in checking the cargo records.

However, the court faulted KRA for taking 14 months to dismiss the employee, who was identified in court as ‘Mr KPS’, after a disciplinary hearing, finding that the delay violated the constitutional requirement for timely administrative action.

Mr KPS moved to court in 2022 to challenge his April 2019 dismissal over the premature release of six containers carrying undeclared garments, which the tax agency said exposed it to revenue loss.

He sought reinstatement, damages for unlawful termination, compensation for time spent out of employment and payment of any outstanding dues.

But the court dismissed the claim, finding that KRA had established a valid reason for his dismissal and followed a fair disciplinary process, despite the unexplained 14-month delay between his hearing and termination.

He was a Head Verification Officer at the Container Terminal, Kilindini Port. He joined KRA in January 2005, was suspended on May 27, 2016, and dismissed on April 30, 2019.

KRA said the releases covered six containers under two entries, made on May 11, 2016, before the vessel MV Katharina S docked on May 13. The entries declared the cargo as ladies’ plastic shoes, but a check of the containers found them to contain new garments.

The first entry was released at 7.25 pm, 18 minutes after a verification account was posted. The second, covering five 40-foot containers, followed seven minutes later. Both records showed an expected arrival date of May 14, although the vessel was still at sea.

The investigation reports put unpaid duty at Sh2.8 million for the first entry and Sh6.8 million for the second.

KRA argued that Mr KPS’s actions amounted to negligence and dishonesty, exposing public revenue and security to risk. The court accepted negligence but found no proof that he knew the goods were misdeclared, received money or dealt with the importer.

‘The respondent has discharged its burden under Sections 43 and 47(5) on the negligence limb,’ the judge said.

However, while the court found that Mr KPS was negligent in releasing the containers, it ruled that KRA had failed to provide evidence linking him to deliberate wrongdoing or collusion with the importer.

‘This court is not satisfied that dishonesty was proved. The reports say the officers acted ‘knowingly’ and ‘deliberately’, but the respondent called no investigator and produced no evidence that the Claimant knew the goods were misdeclared, was paid anything or dealt with the importer,’ said the judge.

Mr KPS said he relied on records prepared by other officers and a Kenya Ports Authority system slip showing the containers in the port yard. He argued the vessel’s arrival date was an estimate and said he testified as a prosecution witness after an inquiry conducted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

The court said he had not produced the KPA slip or evidence that investigators had absolved him. It found the final internal check could not depend entirely on colleagues’ paperwork when the dates raised questions. No investigator supported KRA’s allegation of deliberate conduct.

KRA’s reports said its Investigations and Enforcement unit compounded the offence and recovered additional revenue, fines and penalties.

The court said recovery did not make the lapse minor. One container escaped interception, while an intelligence report led to the others being stopped. It found that he failed to question discrepancies in the records.

The court found the termination procedure fair since Mr KPS received two notices to show cause, answered both and attended a committee hearing.

KRA did not produce the hearing minutes, a shortcoming the judge noted, but the court found no evidence that their absence made the disciplinary hearing unfair.

The disciplinary process lasted about 35 months. KRA’s code of conduct envisaged cases being determined within six months ‘as much as may be possible’, while the guidelines called for investigations within a month and action without delay.

The court ruled that, though the period between the hearing and termination was unexplained, the delay did not warrant compensation because Mr KPS had not proved that it caused him any prejudice.

‘The court finds that this unexplained delay was inconsistent with the expeditious administrative action required by Article 47 of the Constitution and with the respondent’s Code of Conduct,’ the court said.

Mr KPS received his basic salary, house and transport allowances and medical cover during suspension. The court said he did not prove lost opportunities or other harm caused by the delay, so it awarded no compensation.

Reinstatement failed because the statutory three-year period expired on April 30, 2022. The employee added the request in January 2025, too late to revive the remedy. KRA said it had paid his salary up to termination, three months’ salary instead of notice and pension benefits.