Category: Business Daily

In Kenya’s property market, where land prices are rising sharply and buyers have more options than ever before, the difference between a property that sells quickly and one that remains unsold often comes down to the landscaping.

Immaculate Salaon’s home in Memusi, a few kilometres outside Ngong Town in Kajiado County, is over 20 years old and has been significantly transformed over the years. It sits on half an acre of land – part of the approximately 70 acres owned by her father-in-law.

‘What makes it remarkable today is not its age or its history, but what I have done with the land around the house,’ says Immaculate.

The compound is a testament to years of intentional cultivation. It contains ornamental plants, fruit trees, indigenous shade trees, and a productive kitchen garden. All of these are sustained by water storage facilities that keep everything alive through the dry seasons.

If she were to sell the property today, Immaculate would not accept anything less than Sh15 million.

“Because of what we have put into it. You can’t just come and buy this and replace everything overnight. Some of these trees have been growing for over twenty years. You can’t put a low price on that,” she says.

A quarter acre in Memusi currently fetches between Sh7.5 and Sh10 million, which is 15 times what it used to cost about a decade ago.

Immaculate has invested over Sh300,000 in the garden, including the cost of sourcing plants, acquiring pots and building the water storage facility that keeps everything alive.

Then there are the large, old indigenous trees that have been growing on this land for over 20 years.

‘You can buy a seedling, but you can’t buy 20 years of growth,’ she says.

However, her landscaping journey didn’t start as a property investment strategy. It started with a woman who needed a place to heal. It was March 2019.

Immaculate had just emerged from a difficult period of stress at work and personal pressures, a time in her life that felt as though it was closing in on her.

After her father-in-law’s death, the family compound had been subdivided. Initially, the land was full of cattle, but they had sold them all as there was no one to look after them. The land felt smaller and quieter than before.

“I needed to do something that would bring me joy. Something that would take my mind back to nurturing.”

She started by watering the existing plants and planting new ones. In those early days, she would spend hours outside, moving plants from one spot to another, learning which liked sun and which preferred shade.

At first, her family thought she had gone a little crazy. But she was, without fully realising it, beginning to transform her most valuable asset.

‘I wanted to beautify my space so that, when someone steps into the garden, it makes an impression and announces itself,’ she says.

The first thing that strikes you when walking through Immaculate’s garden is the abundance of greenery.

Rather than the flat, uniform green of a manicured lawn, there is a layered, textured greenery of many shades and heights.

Concrete, ceramic and terracotta pots, as well as homemade ones, are arranged throughout the garden, each one chosen intentionally. Ornamental plants and flowers sit alongside fruit trees bearing oranges, avocados, mangoes, lemons and plantain. Tree tomatoes and passion fruit spread and climb wherever there is space.

The kitchen garden is filled with vegetables and herbs, including sage and bitter leaf, which Immaculate dries and grinds for medicinal use.

Neat rows of aloe vera clusters define the pathways. In one corner, a bird of paradise stands tall, while snake plants and peace lilies bring quiet elegance to the shadier corners. Mature indigenous trees, including muhuhu and croton, stretch overhead. Their wide canopies earned them their place long before the garden took its current shape.

Immaculate’s former garage has been converted into a nursery, complete with germinating seeds and cuttings waiting to be potted. Water storage facilities ensure that everything stays green, even during the dry season.

She buys her plants from nurseries across Nairobi, a hotel garden in Mombasa and a gardening shop in the United States, where she volunteered for a summer to expand her knowledge.

“My vision is to finally find complementary pots: browns in different shades and whites with different plants.”

Ask Immaculate why she keeps going, and she doesn’t hesitate.

‘When you wake up and find that a plant has produced a new flower, it gives you joy and hope. When I come out and look at a plant, all my worries have disappeared by the time I leave.’

She aspires to create spaces where children can learn to water plants and grow food during the school holidays.

‘If you instil the value of beauty and landscaping in children from a young age, it stays with them,’ she says.

Most homeowners tend to spend majority of their renovation budget on the interior, leaving the exterior for later. Immaculate argues that this is the wrong approach.

“If you are selling a home, show potential buyers the outside first. People now go inside because they start to imagine living there. You want to be able to read a book out there. You have guests. You can have barbecues and children can play,’ she says.

“For me, it’s not just about the plants. I consider the landscaping as a whole, such as how you shape different areas, where you put water features, and where you put marble. All of that can give the place a completely different look.”

According to Immaculate, the most common mistake made by homeowners is to treat landscaping as something to deal with after the house is built. By then, it is too late to plan properly.

“…As you design your home, you also need to consider the kind of landscaping you want,’ she says.

One of the biggest challenges Immaculate has encountered is choosing the right pot.

“A good plant deserves a beautiful pot. There is no negotiation,’ she says.

She recently bought a pot for Sh3,500, which now retails at Sh5,500. Unique pieces sell for Sh7,000 or more.

To reduce costs, she is considering making her own concrete moulds at home and buying materials in bulk from factories. ‘You have to think outside the box.’

Investor conversations in Kenya are becoming unusually candid. From debates on land versus equities to public unpacking of sovereign debt risk and valuation metrics, the country’s investment discourse is shifting in real time, and with it, the expectations placed on financial institutions to guide how capital is allocated across a very complex risk environment.

For decades, the country’s investment hierarchy was relatively fixed. Land occupied the top of the social and psychological pyramid, fixed deposits and government securities were treated as the default ‘safe’ option, and equities remained peripheral, often viewed as speculative or the preserve of a narrow investor class. Wealth was defined less by allocation efficiency and more by visible ownership.

That hierarchy is now being disrupted. At the recent BD Investor Education Conference, a noticeably different language is emerging. Investors are not asking where to ‘put money,’ but how different asset classes compare in terms of risk, return, and long-term value creation. The conversation now includes references to valuation ratios, global market performance, inflation dynamics, and sovereign debt exposure, which are concepts that were once confined to institutional finance.

The move, though subtle, is significant, signalling a transition from a savings-led financial culture to an allocation-led investment culture, where capital is no longer parked in a single perceived safe asset but distributed across competing risk buckets. Land is still discussed, but more critically. Fixed income remains relevant, but no longer unquestioned. Equities are becoming part of mainstream conversation, and not speculative interest.

Underlying this change is a growing awareness of macroeconomic risk. Public discussions around rising domestic debt levels, fiscal pressures, and interest rate cycles is filtering into household-level investment thinking. Investors are beginning to recognise that even instruments traditionally perceived as risk-free, such as government securities or bank deposits, are ultimately tied to sovereign balance sheet dynamics and inflation trajectories.

In parallel, financial literacy is expanding. Concepts such as price-to-earnings ratios, market capitalisation, and index performance are now being explained in public forums and investor sessions. This leads to better-informed investors and more analytical ones willing to compare local opportunities with global benchmarks.

This matters because it changes behaviour. As investors become more aware of relative valuation, portfolio construction begins to replace asset accumulation as the dominant logic. Instead of asking whether land, deposits, or equities are ‘best,’ investors are beginning to ask how each fits within an overall strategy for wealth preservation and growth. That change marks the early stages of a more mature capital market.

It also introduces tension into traditional assumptions about safety. The long-held belief that government securities are inherently risk-free is now being discussed in more nuanced terms, particularly in relation to debt sustainability and fiscal space. While confidence in sovereign instruments remains intact, it is now accompanied by awareness that risk is not absent but simply priced differently.

This evolution is important for another reason. It is expanding the role expected of financial intermediaries. As investment decisions become more complex, the need for structured advisory, portfolio diversification, and risk management frameworks becomes more pronounced. The market is gradually moving away from product-led investing toward solution-led investing.

Equities stand to benefit from this change. As valuation awareness deepens and global comparisons become more common, underappreciated segments of the local market are likely to attract greater attention. The conversation is now about ownership, relative value, and future earnings potential.

At a macro level, what is unfolding is a repricing of risk perception across the financial system. Investors are becoming more analytical about trade-offs between liquidity, yield, safety, and growth. This is not a rejection of traditional assets, but a realignment of their role within a more sophisticated investment framework.

The implications are far-reaching. A market that once revolved around saving and asset accumulation is gradually evolving into one driven by allocation efficiency and portfolio strategy. That transition does not happen overnight, but its early signals are already visible in how investors talk, compare, and decide.

The most important story in Kenya’s investment market today is not that of products, platforms, or performance, but about investors themselves. As they seek higher returns, they are also developing a more layered understanding of risk and opportunity across asset classes and geographies. This changing mindset is likely to prove far more consequential for future capital allocation than any single market innovation.

For decades, employee benefits have formed part of an organisation’s compensation package.

Retirement benefits, life insurance, medical cover and wellness programmes have collectively formed an important part of the process of attracting and retaining talent, while also demonstrating an employer’s commitment to the well-being of their employees.

However, I believe that this description is becoming increasingly incomplete. The future of employee benefits is not just about what we provide. It is about the financial confidence we create. This distinction is important because the world of work has changed. People are living longer, careers are becoming less linear, financial pressures are increasing and healthcare costs are rising.

At the same time, families are becoming more exposed to the financial impact of unexpected events and employers are competing for talent in an environment where employee experience has become a genuine strategic differentiator.

Against this backdrop, organisations are being asked to solve a more fundamental challenge than ever before. It’s not just about employing people; it’s about helping them build financial resilience.

According to the Retirement Benefits Authority, membership of retirement schemes has grown to approximately 7.5 million. While this represents encouraging progress, nearly three out of every four working Kenyans remain outside the formal retirement benefits system.

Therefore, millions continue to face the prospect of financing old age through personal savings, family support, or uncertain income sources.

At the same time, Kenyans are living longer. This is undoubtedly something to celebrate.

However, longer life expectancy also means longer retirement periods, higher healthcare costs and a greater need for sustainable income sources beyond active employment. These are no longer just personal finance issues; they are also workforce, business and ultimately, national economic issues.

For many years, the conversation around employee benefits has focused primarily on the products themselves. What pension should we offer? How much life cover is enough? Which medical plan provides the greatest value?

While these remain important questions, I believe a better question is: What financial outcome are we trying to create?

A pension is not just a retirement product; it’s a system that ensures a continuous income. Life insurance is not just a policy but a mechanism that protects families from financial disruption during their most vulnerable times.

Similarly, medical insurance is not just access to healthcare, but a form of protection for households against potentially catastrophic financial shocks. Viewed individually, these appear to be separate financial products, but viewed collectively, they constitute financial infrastructure.

Just as roads enable commerce and electricity enables productivity, employee benefits enable financial resilience. Their value lies not only in their existence, but also in their ability to help people navigate life with greater confidence, stability and dignity.

This shift in perspective has profound implications for how organisations think about distribution.

Historically, distribution often ended once a scheme was implemented. Success was measured by enrolment, compliance, participation, quarterly reports and operational efficiency. While these measures remain important, they are no longer sufficient.

The next evolution of employee benefits will be driven not only by better products, but also by deeper engagement, continuous education, clearer communication and greater financial literacy.

The future of distribution is not just about selling products; it’s about providing an understanding of them. Understanding creates confidence, and confidence shapes behaviour.

Ultimately, behaviour determines outcomes. For example, when employees understand the role that their retirement benefits play in securing their retirement, they are more likely to prioritise long-term savings.

Similarly, when families understand the purpose of life insurance before tragedy strikes, they can make better decisions about protection.

When healthcare benefits are viewed as protection against financial hardship rather than merely as access to treatment, their value is transformed.

Employee benefits can no longer be viewed solely as a human resources function. They are becoming an integral part of every organisation’s talent, productivity and resilience strategies.

In a world where products can be copied and technology replicated, pricing advantages rarely endure, so financial confidence may be one of the few sustainable competitive advantages that employers can create.

Ultimately, organisations cannot build resilient businesses without resilient people, and resilient people are rarely cultivated through salary alone. They are built through systems that protect income, preserve dignity during uncertain times and inspire confidence in the future.

Perhaps we have spent too many years asking whether organisations offer enough employee benefits. The more important question is whether those benefits build enough financial resilience because the true purpose of employee benefits is to strengthen lives, not simply to transfer risk.

In my view, future leaders in employee benefits will not necessarily be those who distribute the greatest number of policies. They will be those who create the greatest degree of financial confidence. They will understand that confidence is the true product, not insurance, healthcare or even retirement.

It is about having the confidence that your family can withstand unexpected life events, that you will be able to retire with dignity, and that your years of work will translate into lasting financial security. These are the real promises of employee benefits.

LeRoy is an Integrated Wealth Advisor and is currently Head of Distribution and Partnerships – Employee Benefits at Capex Life Assurance Company Ltd.

The High Court has ordered the revival of a company that ‘died’ six years ago to allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) pursue tax dues.

The court directed the Registrar of Companies to restore the registration of Bristol Estate Limited, clearing the way for the taxman to pursue the recovery of Sh475.8 million in taxes.

According to the court, holding that dissolution automatically extinguishes tax liabilities would create a perverse incentive structure.

‘It would mean that companies could divest themselves of tax liabilities through dissolution and effectively obtain an extra-legal waiver of taxation,’ the court in Mombasa stated.

The judge observed that the money claimed by KRA accrued while the company was in existence and, therefore, survived its dissolution.

‘They remain due, payable and recoverable in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act and the Companies Act unless successfully challenged through the available legal avenues,’ the court added in the June 26 ruling.

The decision closes what the court described as a potentially dangerous loophole that could have enabled companies to evade taxes through deregistration.

It affirms that striking a company off the register does not extinguish tax liabilities incurred during its existence, reinforcing the principle that corporate dissolution cannot be used to evade statutory tax obligations.

The KRA moved to the High Court in April last year seeking orders compelling the Registrar of Companies to restore Bristol Estate Limited to the roll, arguing that its removal was in breach of the Companies Act and tax laws.

KRA told the court that the firm was struck off the register through Gazette Notice 3876 of June 5, 2020, following an application for voluntary striking off under Section 897(4) of the Companies Act.

At the time of its dissolution, KRA said, the company owed Sh475.8 million, comprising unpaid income tax of Sh372.6 million and value added tax of Sh103.3 million, exclusive of accrued interest and penalties.

KRA added that Bristol Estate had incurred an additional Sh1 million penalty for failing to apply for deregistration of its tax obligations as required under Section 81 of the Tax Procedures Act.

‘Despite the outstanding tax liabilities, the company neither served KRA with the application for voluntary striking off as required under Section 900 of the Companies Act nor sought cancellation of its tax obligations and Personal Identification Number in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act and the Value Added Tax Act,’ the authority said.

Maintaining that it remained a creditor of the company, KRA asked the court to restore Bristol Estate to the register to enable it to pursue the outstanding taxes.

The agency sued Bristol Estate Limited, Pietro Bongiovanni, Ernesta Sciarra and the Registrar of Companies.

Despite being served with court papers, none of the respondents entered an appearance, filed a response or opposed the application, prompting the court to determine the matter as unopposed.

The High Court found that KRA produced the company’s tax ledger showing outstanding tax liabilities of Sh475.8 million at the time of its dissolution, comprising income tax and VAT, together with accruing penalties and interest.

The judge held that a tax debt arises by operation of law once a taxable event occurs and the tax obligation crystallises, with non-payment giving rise to the right by the government to recover the amount.

‘These owed taxes remain a legally binding debt until they have been challenged successfully. KRA has demonstrated sufficient reason for the grant of the orders sought to reinstate the company,’ the court said.

The judge also found that the company’s striking off failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of Section 900 of the Companies Act, which requires a firm applying for voluntary dissolution to notify every creditor within seven days of making the application.

The judge observed that the use of the word ‘shall’ in the law makes the requirement mandatory and is intended to protect creditors from suffering loss or prejudice without notice or an opportunity to be heard.

‘The applicant was entitled to be notified of the intended dissolution and afforded an opportunity to object thereto and safeguard its interests,’ the court said.

Absa Group of South Africa will accept all offers of 10,000 shares and below for each shareholder in its purchase of an additional 16.5 percent stake in Absa Bank Kenya, sparing small investors the pain of rejected offers in case of an oversubscription.

The lender is purchasing 895.9 million shares through the tender at a fixed price of Sh34.50 per unit, valuing the transaction at Sh30.9 billion. If fully subscribed, the purchase will see Absa Group’s shares in the Kenyan unit rise from 3.72 billion shares to 4.61 billion units, raising its percentage stake from 68.5 percent to 85 percent.

The offer, which opened on June 30, will close on August 11.

Absa Group says in its offer document that the pro-rating in case of an oversubscription will kick in at 10,000 units, which at the offer price values the shares at Sh345,000.

In case of an oversubscription, all shareholders would first get the guaranteed minimum allocation, before those offering shares above the threshold are allotted shares in proportion to the size of their tender.

‘Each Shareholder who tenders 10,000 ordinary shares or fewer in the tender offer shall receive guaranteed acceptance in full for all such ordinary shares tendered,’ said Absa Group in the offer document.

‘Where a shareholder tenders more than 10,000 ordinary shares, the first 10,000 shares shall be guaranteed in full, and the balance shall be subject to pro-rata allocation amongst all shareholders who have tendered more than 10,000 shares.’

Read: Absa Group offers Sh31bn for extra 16.5pc stake in Kenya unit

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Absa Bank Kenya had 49,164 shareholders with holdings of 10,000 shares or less by the end of 2025, its latest annual report shows. They held an aggregate of 103.18 million shares or 1.89 percent of the lender’s 5.43 billion issued shares.

Another 16,501 investors owned between 10,001 and 100,000 Absa Kenya shares, amounting to a total holding of 475.6 million units or 8.76 percent of the bank. Those holding between 100,001 and one million shares numbered 950, with an aggregate stake of 4.81 percent or 261.23 million shares.

The bulk of the lender’s shares are in the hands of the 156 owners who hold above one million units each. This group, whose participation is key to Absa Group hitting its tender target, held 870.6 million shares.

The guaranteed uptake of small investors’ stakes is likely to encourage such shareholders to participate in the offer, especially if they are in line to make a significant capital gain on the stock whose price has gone up by 33 percent this year to close at Sh32.80 on Friday.

Absa Group noted that its offer of Sh34.50 per share represents a premium of 18.1 percent compared to the closing price of Sh29.20 on June 17, 2026 –the last day on which the Kenyan subsidiary shares traded before the bid by the multinational for extra shares was filed.

It also represents a premium of 39.7 percent to the December 31, 2025 traded price of Sh24.7 and 79.7 percent to the June 30, 2025 closing price of Sh19.20.

In raising its stake, the South African lender is eyeing a larger slice of the subsidiary’s growing dividend payouts, in addition to pushing its broad strategy of deepening its presence in high-potential markets in Africa.

Since the split and rebrand of the Kenyan unit from Barclays in 2020, net earnings have grown from Sh7.4 billion (in 2019) to Sh22.9 billion last year, allowing the unit to raise its annual dividend from Sh6 billion to Sh11.1 billion in the period.

It is the second major South African bank making a bid for enhanced presence in Kenya, with an eye on using it as a springboard for the larger East African market.

Absa Group’s rival Nedbank is spending Sh110 billion to buy a 66 percent stake in NCBA Group, Kenya’s fifth largest lender by assets, in a cash and stock offer that was filed on January 21, 2026.

In the transaction, NCBA shareholders can tender 66 percent of their holdings to Nedbank. Out of this pool of shares, 80 percent of the units will be converted into Nedbank shares at a rate of 4.02994 shares for every 100 shares. The Nedbank shares are priced at 250 rand (Sh1,928.5) using the deal’s exchange rate.

The remaining 20 percent of the shares will be bought in cash at a rate of Sh2,100 for every 100 shares or Sh21 apiece.

NCBA investors holding up to 7,519 shares will only receive a cash payout of Sh105 per share for the stocks they will sell, equivalent to a maximum of about Sh789,495.

Limiting small investors to an all-cash option makes it easier for them to realise the value of their shares, since converting a small portfolio of NCBA shares into Nedbank stock is likely to be uneconomical owing to the impact of taxes, commissions and bank charges on foreign income and transactions.

NCBA had 11,912 shareholders with holdings of between one and 500 shares as of December 2025, while 13,389 investors had portfolios ranging from 501 to 5,000 shares. Another1,853 of the bank’s shareholders held between 5,001 and 10,000 shares.

Centum Investment Company and Mi Vida Homes are in a race to raise funds from the country’s first real estate asset-backed security in the private sector as the two firms grapple with the pressure of inadequate long-term capital that aligns with the reality of property investments.

An asset-backed security (ABS) refers to a financial instrument that is backed by a pool of income-generating assets, such as rental income from housing units, allowing both institutional and retail players in the capital market to invest and therefore deploy long-term capital into it.

The pioneer ABS was in July 2025 when the government raised Sh44.79 billion from debt investors who will be paid an annual interest of 15.04 percent from future revenues from the Talanta Stadium.

Centum and Mi Vida, which are major institutional real estate investors, say that a key challenge they are facing in executing housing projects at scale is in aligning what is predominantly short- to medium-term capital with typically long-term investments in property.

‘From site acquisition to when proceeds from projects hit our income statement takes about four years. So, our income statement for 2026 is a reflection of the activities we engaged in four years ago, which is 2022. There is an opportunity in this market to develop financing products that are tailored to the nature of real estate’s operating model, and our markets are yet to mature to that level,’ Mi Vida CEO Samuel Kariuki said.

While the government has been successful in issuing up to 30-year bonds, debt investors have preferred to lend on a shorter-term basis to the private sector through instruments such as bank deposits, commercial papers and corporate bonds maturing in less than 7 years.

‘The expansion of this sector will require deployment of capital and, by and large, the capital available is short-term, and so you don’t have the luxury of borrowing for 15 years because what you are getting is three or four years’ money,’ Centum’s CEO James Mworia said.

‘Asset-backed securities are going to be a very effective tool of connecting long-term capital to housing and infrastructure assets provided those assets have reached cash generative status.’

Read: Mivida Homes enters luxury market with Sh5.6bn project

Going the route of asset-backed securities would mean the two players design ways through which receivables from cash-generative properties are securitised and used to provide backing for instruments that then go to market in capital raising.

Real estate players have in the recent past been active in diversifying their capital-raising avenues, with issuance of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) gaining popularity in the recent past.

In June, Centum’s affiliate Two Rivers International Financial Centre raised Sh3.99 billion through a green US dollar-denominated income REIT, registering a 103.3 percent subscription.

In January, Africa Logistics Properties (ALP) raised Sh4.5 billion through a US dollar-denominated REIT in a restricted issuance that registered 115.0 percent in overall subscription.

Both Centum and Mi Vida argue that adding asset-backed issuances will go a long way in further diversifying how players in the real estate sector can raise capital and address the mismatch between short-term capital and long-term returns.

‘We are always thinking about this, and Centum is looking very closely at the asset-backed security space because today when you go to raise capital internationally, Africa is considered to be risky and that means we don’t have access to long-term capital,’ Mworia said.

Mr Kariuki noted that Kenya has only seen budding examples of what could look like asset-backed arrangements, noting that the very lack of many issuers of this type of debt is a challenge to going big with such financing.

‘The easiest form we have seen tending towards this is in the Tenant Purchase Scheme arrangements, but one could argue that they could have securitized that receivable,’ he said.

‘We have toyed with a product that says the developer originates the Tenant Purchase Scheme, but because they cannot hold that receivable on their balance sheet for long, they are allowed to securitise that. You realise that by the time it is a Tenant Purchase Scheme, the housing unit is ready, and one can securitise based on the backing of that housing unit.’

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, real estate accounts for 8.2 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), placing the total market value at Sh1.43 trillion at December 2025.

The real estate sector registered 3.9 percent year-on-year growth in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of deceleration in growth momentum, having moderated from 7.3 percent in 2023 and 5.3 percent in 2024.

The World Bank has set more than 10 conditions to unlock a new round of funding for Kenya, including the disclosure of the personal interests of public officials and the publication of regulations to restrict unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP) deals, such as the flopped proposal by the Adani Group to upgrade the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Kenya has access to a third instalment of funding under the World Bank’s Development Policy Operations (DPO) programme to help plug its budget deficit if it meets the multiple conditions. The DPO is a fast-disbursing loan facility for developing countries that provides direct budget support tied to the implementation of key policy and institutional reforms, including fiscal consolidation and climate action.

The World Bank approved Sh97 billion ($750 million) in financing to Kenya last week, the second of three operations, after initially disbursing Sh155 billion ($1.2 billion) in June 2024.

Disclosure push

To secure the next disbursement, Kenya faces a series of demands from the World Bank. For example, it will have to enact the proposed Whistleblower Protection Act, which seeks to ensure fair competition, value for money and increase the detection of misused funds.

The adoption of the law is expected to anchor declarations of personal interests by public officials, reviewed and verified by the responsible commissions, from a baseline of zero to 85 percent by 2028.

Kenya is also expected to publish PPP regulations to curb unsolicited project proposals, commonly known as Privately Initiated Proposals (PIPs). A PIP is an unsolicited technical and financial proposal submitted by a private entity to the government to develop an infrastructure or public service project.

The World Bank previously cautioned Kenya against unsolicited PPP deals following the cancellation of proposed Sh2.7 billion contracts linked to Adani Group companies for the JKIA upgrade.

The multilateral has expressed concern that PIP deals could undermine public confidence in the search for private investors to build infrastructure and trigger backlash, including street protests.

Read: World Bank warns Kenya on secret Adani-type deals

The World Bank has urged Kenya to pursue competitively sourced PPPs amid concerns that unsolicited deals are shrouded in secrecy, leading critics to argue that they do not offer taxpayers value for money.

‘I think with PPPs, it’s very clear. International good practice leans on competitive tendering, and I think the same applies to Kenya,’ Marek Amush, the lead economist for the World Bank’s economic policy division in Kenya, said previously.

‘Going forward, the country’s success in PPP projects will depend on putting in place good governance, oversight, planning and accountability… including strengthening practices around unsolicited project proposals to foster predictability and confidence in PPP project development,’ the World Bank said in its December 2024 Kenya Economic Update report.

The World Bank, however, views PPPs as key to helping Kenya close its infrastructure gap.

Kenya must also meet multiple other conditions to continue accessing financing under the World Bank’s DPO programme, including amending the Companies Act, 2015 to align the beneficial ownership registry with updated Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.

The multilateral also requires changes to the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act to ensure that any budget adjustments during implementation are strictly aligned with the fiscal aggregates approved by Parliament.

Kenya must also consolidate human resources and payroll data for all ministries, departments and agencies, counties, non-commercial State corporations, commissions and independent offices.

Reform agenda

The first set of conditions for the third DPO disbursement seeks to promote the efficiency, transparency and equity of public finance, while the second aims to foster more competitive and inclusive product and labour markets.

The final set of conditions focuses on strengthening climate action and includes the enactment of the Railways Bill, as well as regulations for the urban transport policy and the e-mobility policy.

Under this pillar, Kenya must also integrate green building standards into the Kenya Affordable Housing Policy and adopt the Green Building Standard, which establishes mandatory minimum performance requirements for new buildings and major renovations.

The country had to meet a related set of conditions to unlock the latest World Bank funding.

Kenya’s efforts to meet three pending conditions at the eleventh hour helped it secure a Sh97 billion ($750 million) World Bank loan last week, ending a freeze that had been in place for nearly two years.

The World Bank Group approved the funding on Tuesday as part of the second Kenya Fiscal Sustainability and Resilience Growth Development Policy Operation (DPO), which supports reforms aimed at making public resources more transparent, efficient and equitable while reducing corruption.

Last-minute reforms

The country met at least two of the three pending conditions in the past month, including passing amendments to the Forest Conservation and Management Act on May 29 and publishing the sovereign sustainability-linked financing framework in late June.

The State Department for Social Protection also submitted the Social Protection (General) Regulations, 2026, to Parliament at the end of April – the remaining condition required to unlock the funding.

On April 23, the World Bank Group identified the three reforms as outstanding as it maintained the freeze on the Sh97 billion ($750 million) loan, which had initially been expected in the 2024/25 financial year.

The approved financing comprises a Sh44 billion ($340 million) loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and Sh53 billion ($410 million) in highly concessional financing from the International Development Association (IDA), part of the World Bank Group.

Kenya risked missing out on the funding for a third consecutive year had it failed to meet the three prior actions.

The National Treasury published the delayed sovereign sustainability-linked financing framework in the final week of June, aligning cheaper borrowing costs with commitments to reduce forest cover losses and improve rural electrification.

The framework helped clear the final hurdle for the World Bank financing while laying the groundwork for the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) and loans.

Kenya had initially planned to raise Sh64.7 billion ($500 million) from its debut sustainability-linked bond (SLB) in the 2025/26 financial year.

The World Bank will help underwrite the issuance by providing a guarantee of a similar amount for the expected sustainability-linked loan (SLL), which will take the form of a syndicated commercial loan.

Forest reforms

President William Ruto signed amendments to the Forest Conservation and Management Act, 2016 on May 29, strengthening Kenya’s forest governance and climate action.

Among the landmark reforms is the establishment of the Directorate of Forest Regulation, Kenya’s first dedicated forest regulator responsible for developing national standards, operational guidelines and compliance mechanisms within the sector.

The law also enhances the role of the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) in ecosystem management, technical support and collaboration with county governments and local communities.

Additionally, it promotes agroforestry and off-reserve tree growing as part of efforts to achieve the national target of growing 15 billion trees by 2032.

Funding returns

The fresh disbursement marks the return of multilateral funding after both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) failed to disburse funds to Nairobi in 2025.

The World Bank froze the same disbursement in the 2024/25 financial year after Kenya failed to pass seven laws and four policy reforms.

Kenya has since last year missed out on IMF and World Bank funding and has largely relied on domestic borrowing to plug its fiscal deficit.

The World Bank funding will be timely in helping Kenya bridge its fiscal deficit as the country continues discussions with the IMF on the scope of a funded programme for the 2026/27 budget cycle.

The World Bank’s financing flows directly into the budget to support government expenditure, including the payment of civil servants’ salaries.

The funding will also be crucial as Kenya deals with the effects of the US-Israel war on Iran, which has weakened macroeconomic conditions, including growth and revenue projections.

The World Bank expects the financing to help reduce revenue leakage and generate savings for the Exchequer.

‘By supporting reforms to address conflict of interest, strengthen procurement systems, improve public financial management, and expand social protection, this operation will help Kenya reduce leakage, generate fiscal savings and ensure that public resources deliver better results and reach the people who need them most,’ said Qimiao Fan, World Bank Division Director for Kenya.

‘It is also helping establish the foundational business-enabling environment that is necessary to support higher and more inclusive growth and for the private sector to create jobs.’

The High Court has dismissed fruit processor Del Monte Kenya’s claim against Kenya Railways Corporation for a consignment of pineapple products damaged in transit, ruling that the company could not seek compensation after its insurer had already fully indemnified the loss.

The dispute arose from a transport agreement signed on February 1, 2020, under which Kenya Railways agreed to transport Del Monte’s canned pineapple products from Thika to Mombasa.

According to court records, the consignment, packed in cans, cartons and steel drums, was loaded onto several railway wagons after Del Monte paid the agreed transport charges in full.

On June 3, 2020, the train carrying the cargo derailed at Dandora Railway Station in Nairobi, damaging the consignment.

Del Monte later sought compensation of $338,915 (Sh43.7 million), accusing Kenya Railways of negligence and breach of contract for failing to transport the goods safely.

Kenya Railways admitted the derailment occurred and confirmed that nine wagons, including those carrying Del Monte’s cargo, overturned.

However, the corporation denied negligence, telling the court that investigations attributed the accident to track faults caused by illegal quarrying activities around Dandora Railway Station.

Double recovery

The case ultimately turned not on the cause of the derailment but on Del Monte’s legal standing to seek compensation.

Kenya Railways told the court that an email dated October 2, 2023, from Del Monte’s managing director and legal officer showed that the company had already been fully indemnified by its insurer, although the insurer was not identified in the correspondence.

The corporation argued that Del Monte neither disclosed that fact in its court filings nor stated that it was pursuing the claim under the doctrine of subrogation.

The court agreed, ruling that Del Monte had no recoverable loss after receiving full compensation from its insurer and had failed to properly plead a subrogation claim.

‘There is no doubt that the plaintiff was entitled to file suit against the defendant under the doctrine of subrogation,’ the court said in its June 26, 2026 judgment.

However, it found that Del Monte had failed to plead that it was suing on behalf of its insurer despite having already been indemnified.

The court noted that evidence of the insurance payout only emerged during cross-examination. It also cited an internal email produced during the trial in which the company’s representative acknowledged that ‘our hands are tied once we were compensated by insurance.’

The judge found that Del Monte’s pleadings made no reference to insurance, subrogation or any assignment of the right to sue.

‘The plaintiff, having already received full indemnification from its insurer, has suffered no subsisting loss that is recoverable at law,’ the judge ruled.

‘To award the plaintiff the damages claimed would be to sanction a prohibited double recovery, unjustly enrich the plaintiff at the expense of the defendant, and render the doctrine of indemnity a dead letter.’

Having reached that conclusion, the court said it was unnecessary to determine whether Kenya Railways had been negligent or breached the transport agreement because the suit was legally unsustainable.

The jobs and perks of 15 chief executive officers of State corporations are on the line as the government rolls out the first phase of its plan to dissolve non-viable parastatals and merge agencies with overlapping functions.

New Bills tabled in Parliament by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah seek to dissolve six regional development authorities, triggering the redeployment of their chief executives to other government roles.

The agencies targeted for dissolution include the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA), Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA), and the Ewaso Ng’iro South River Basin Development Authority (ENSDA).

Others are the Ewaso Ng’iro North River Basin Development Authority (ENNDA) and the Coast Development Authority (CDA).

The chief executives set to be affected by the dissolutions are Moses Kipchumba (KVDA), Wycliffe Ochiaga (LBDA), Liban Duba (TARDA), Ngala Oloitiptip (ENSDA), Ali Hassan (ENNDA), and Mwanasiti Bendera (CDA).

‘… dissolve the regional development authorities as they have carried out the mandate for which they were created,’ the Regional Development Authorities Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2026, says.

‘The Bill further seeks to align the national and county governments’ functions in tandem with Schedule Four of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, reduce pressure for budgetary allocations, enhance efficiency, accountability, and service delivery.’

The Bill was received in Parliament on Thursday. Mr Ichung’wah has also tabled four separate Bills that seek to merge nine State agencies into four entities.

The Kenya Investment Authority, led by John Mwendwa, and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency, led by Floice Mukabana, will be merged to create the Kenya Investment and Export Promotion Authority, headed by one chief executive.

At the same time, the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority and the National Irrigation Authority, led by Julius Mugun and Charles Muasya, respectively, will be collapsed to form the National Irrigation and Water Harvesting Authority.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo) and the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) will be merged into a new Kenya Intellectual Property Authority.

John Onyango is KIPI’s managing director, while George Nyakweba is Kecobo’s executive director. Robi King’a is ACA’s CEO.

The Tourism Research Institute (TRI), headed by Hesbon Oyendo, and the Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC) will also be collapsed and their functions transferred to the Kenya Tourism Board.

According to the Regional Development Authorities Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2026, all rights, obligations, assets and liabilities of the dissolved authorities will be transferred to the State Department for the National Treasury upon their disbandment.

Similarly, loans, credit facilities, financial obligations, loan collateral and securities administered by the authorities will remain valid and be administered by the State Department for the National Treasury.

Existing contracts, agreements and other instruments will also remain in force and be enforceable by or against the State Department, the Bill says.

Employees of the dissolved agencies will be transferred to the Public Service Commission on terms and conditions no less favourable than those they currently enjoy.

‘The service of all employees transferred … shall be deemed to have been continuous for pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits,’ says the proposed law.

The Cabinet in January 2025 approved the dissolution of the nine State corporations and the consolidation of 42 agencies into 20.

Under the plan, the State also seeks to privatise 16 corporations with outdated mandates, further reducing the number of entities under direct government control in a bid to cut expenditure.

The government spends more than Sh1 trillion annually -equivalent to six to seven percent of its gross domestic product (GDP)- to keep loss-making State corporations afloat, according to a 2025 joint survey by the World Bank and the Competition Authority of Kenya.

The Central Bank of Kenya has previously cautioned banks against indiscriminate lending to State-owned enterprises (SOEs) because many were using long-term commercial loans to pay salaries and other recurrent expenses rather than to fund investments.

In March, Parliament directed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to complete the mergers and dissolutions by October this year.

The recently assented-to Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2026, gives the Treasury Cabinet Secretary power to dissolve or merge government-owned enterprises, subject to the Competition Act, upon the Cabinet’s approval.

The law will scrap 14 State corporations, most of which are loss-making and purely reliant on the Exchequer for funding, and turn them into self-financing commercial enterprises. It will also affect 66 other entities in which the government has a shareholding.

The cash-rich State corporations that are to be turned into companies include the Kenya Airports Authority, the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya Railways Corporation, the Agricultural Development Corporation, and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

Several loss-making corporations such as the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya Literature Bureau, National Cereals and Produce Board, and Postal Corporation of Kenya will also be made companies.

At 44, many female fitness enthusiasts opt for Pilates classes, Zumba or yoga sessions, or light weightlifting exercises. Some do long runs or brisk walking. Not Dr Gathoni Kamau.

She has built her fitness life around heavy weights. In the gym, you will find her sinking deep into squats, picking loaded barbells off the floor, and pressing heavy weights from her chest. Deadlifts exceed her own body weight.

Gathoni is a Kenyan living in Wales, working full-time as a psychiatrist. This September, she will step onto a powerlifting platform hoping to lift a total of 285 kilogrammes across three lifts. If she reaches it, she will qualify for the National Masters Competition next year, where women over 40 compete against each other. It is a goal she has been building toward slowly for more than two years.

It started oddly, with a tennis injury. Gathoni played tennis for many years, and one day she hurt her lower back and shoulder. She went to see a physiotherapist about the pain. She was given simple advice: start strength training to get stronger and protect her body. The goal was not to become a powerlifter. She just wanted to get back on the tennis court, stronger.

She went looking for a new gym.

‘I didn’t know it was a powerlifting gym,’ she said. ‘I tried it for fun.’ The second time was harder. Her muscles burned. Her body strained. But she kept going.

What appealed to her was how simple it was. ‘Powerlifting has only three lifts: the squat, the bench, and the deadlift. We do the same things again and again, and each week you try to lift a little more than before. I liked the simplicity,’ she says. ‘My life is very busy, and this was something simple.’

She also found something else in the gym, a feeling lifters call the pump, the rush of blood and effort that comes after a hard set. ‘I felt this pump and a sense of accomplishment,’ she said.

She laughs when she talks about how much she hates running, one of the reasons powerlifting suits her so well.

‘I hate running and moving fast, so powerlifting is for very lazy people,’ she said. ‘I only get to train for a squat, bench, and deadlift.’

Gathoni, whose job involves caring for elderly patients, sees the effects of muscle loss every single day at work, and it shapes how she thinks about her own training.

‘Strength training is very important for people as they age, because in my line of work a lot of people I see are old and very frail,’ she explains. ‘Basically, frailty is just a lack of muscle mass.’

Besides building strength and muscles, powerlifting has given her a community.

‘We go for competitions. Travel around to compete, meet amazing people who become friends,’ she says. Before every competition, the lifters gather for a meal together. Since competitors must weigh in and often cut their food strictly for 12 weeks beforehand, that shared meal afterwards becomes something she looks forward to.

Four to six eggs a day

Getting ready for a competition means training hard and eating clean. Gathoni eats about five times a day. She eats between four and six eggs a day, sometimes more. For breakfast, she eats three eggs, an avocado, and one slice of bread. Mid-morning, she might have protein yoghurt or a protein shake, or two more eggs. Lunch is protein, vegetables, and a small portion of carbohydrates. In the afternoon, she eats a small portion of carbohydrates with more protein, again maybe two eggs or a protein snack. She stops eating by 8pm, making sure her last meal has protein in it.

How strictly she eats depends on her goal. If she wants to lose weight before a competition, she goes on what lifters call a cut, eating less than she burns, while still eating enough protein to protect her muscle. Gathoni does not enjoy shedding weight. ‘I only need to lose about three kilogrammes, which can happen in a week. The rule of thumb for eating proteins is simple. Take your body weight in kilogrammes and multiply it by 2.2. If you weigh 100 kilos, you should eat around 200 grammes of protein a day.’

Opening doors

She credits powerlifting with opening doors she might never have found otherwise, from knowing a good plumber to simply feeling like part of a neighbourhood rather than an outsider passing through.

‘If you are someone who just hangs out with Kenyans all the time, you wouldn’t know these things,’ she said. ‘It sort of opens your eyes to where you are. It opens you up to the local community.’

The sport has become a family affair too. Gathoni’s mother now trains alongside her. ‘I’ve made my mother do it,’ she says proudly.

She points to one word first when asked what she has gained the most.

‘Confidence,’ she said. ‘And it has really helped with my diabetes control. It has helped me have some discipline, a routine, and work-life balance. To powerlift, you have to have discipline, and this spills over into your work, into your life.’

During competition season, Gathoni trains four times a week, fitting sessions carefully around her demanding job as a psychiatrist.

‘During competitions, I train four times a week.’

Monday is her day off work. ‘I go in the afternoon, and we have a coaching session with the trainer. And then I find another evening during the week to go,’ she says.

Outside of competition season, she scales back to two or three sessions a week, giving her body time to rest and recover.

Night at work, daytime at gym

Still, the road has not been smooth. Balancing a demanding medical career with a sport that requires strict eating, proper sleep, and consistent training has tested her again and again.

‘Trying to balance it all and making the time is the toughest challenge, because to be good, you have to be consistent and committed. Sometimes life can be very busy and exhausting, and as I get older, it is much harder to get over a night shift.’

She describes the particular struggle of working through the night as a doctor, then somehow finding the energy to lift heavy weights days later. Eating properly becomes its own battle when hospital shifts eat into mealtimes.

‘You eat about four or five times a day, so you have to prepare meals. If I’m going to work, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Am I going to have time for lunch if I’m having a very busy day? If you don’t eat well, you get fatigued, and you don’t train well. I’m just trying to balance it all. The most important thing is just to show up.’

Squat with 120kg

That mindset, showing up even on hard days, has carried her from barely lifting an empty barbell to chasing serious numbers on the platform. When she started two and a half years ago, her bench press struggled to move at all.

‘I could barely lift the bar on its own, 20 kilos. We kept joking, ‘It’s my small Kikuyu hands,’ she said, laughing. In her most recent competition, she bench-pressed 45 kilos. Her deadlift has grown even more dramatically, from under 100 kilos in her first competition to 125 kilos in her last one, a competition she completed while struggling with an injury.

Her squat, which she calls the hardest of the three lifts because of how low she must go, has climbed to nearly 80 kilos.

‘I’m very proud of those achievements. Every week I add one kilo, two kilos. That is the thing with powerlifting. It is about progressive loading. That is why consistency and showing up is important. Over time you see the benefits.’

Now she is aiming higher than ever. Her September competition marks her first since her injury, and she is hoping to hit a combined total of 285 kilos across her squat, bench, and deadlift.

Her favourite

Powerlifting divides athletes by age group, something Gathoni sees as fairness.

‘If you are over 40, you compete in the master’s group, because as you age you lose muscle mass, so it is not fair to compare someone who is 50 to someone who is 30,’ she explains. ‘I’m going to compete in the masters age group, between 40 and 49. I’m trying to qualify for the nationals next year. I need to do a total of 285 kilos. But if I miss it this time, I will go for the competition next year in November, so it gives me time to prepare.’

Among her three lifts, one stands out as her favourite, and it happens to be the one she picked up fastest.

‘Ooh, I really enjoy deadlifting. It was the one I learnt the quickest,’ she said. The bench press, by contrast, has demanded far more technical work. Many gym goers assume the bench press is simple, lying flat and pushing a bar upward, but Gathoni explains there is far more to it.

‘If you lie flat on the bench, that means you are just using your biceps and triceps. For you to engage your pecs and traps [muscles found in the upper body], you need your upper back off the bench. You have to learn to arch your back, because that engages more muscles; therefore you can lift heavier, and it protects your shoulders.’

Even the deadlift, which looks straightforward from the outside, carries its own hidden techniques.

‘You just pick the weight up off the floor, but it is not as easy as we make it sound. It is also about learning the techniques, and that has been quite challenging too.’

Gathoni also draws strength from someone close to home. The current African powerlifting champion in her age category is a Kenyan woman over 50 years old, who lifts more than 230 kilos. ‘She inspires me,’ Gathoni said.