Category: Business Daily

Our conversation with architect Mark Mwoka starts with the black building in Westlands that hosts the Park Inn by Radisson.

Mr Mwoka witnessed the progression of the building from sketches to a solid structure. He was an intern at Innovative Planning and Design Consultants Limited and was involved in its conceptualisation.

The brains behind the project were George Arabbu Ndege, the current president of the Architectural Association of Kenya, and another architect Mr Mwoka prefers to call JT.

‘I worked with both of them on that job, and the project taught me a lot about hospitality architecture,’ says Mr Mwoka.

‘I remember designing the taper on the roof with George Arabbu,’ he adds, noting that he also shared his ideas in the design of the façade (the front-facing glassy part).

The project was completed in 2016. Mr Mwoka recalls that even the colour of the structure, black, was a big point to ponder because buildings of such colour were not popular.

‘Getting that black façade was a very ambitious decision,’ he says. ‘But I think the architects executed it very well.’

The Park Inn building, a brief in our possession shows, was built to muffle outside noises through utilisation of synergy acoustic polyvinyl butyral (PVB) glass. The dark exterior parts of the building, it adds, comprise dark aluminium composite panels.

It is one of the buildings Mr Mwoka mentions when asked about his favourite projects.

Our interview with Mr Mwoka touches on many other issues, including his decision to switch from being employed (senior architect) at Boogertman and Partners Architects – a South African company that he describes as the biggest of its kind in Africa – to starting his own architectural firm at the age of 33.

We also discuss other buildings he has been involved in, his passion for green buildings, and what AI portends for the future of architecture.

Mr Mwoka introduces himself as the founder and principal architect of Lava Architecture, a Nairobi-based practice he describes as specialising in ‘value-driven and timeless architecture’.

The conviction he has now is that someone should construct a structure that occupants will be happy using. That way, he notes, a commercial building will bring back revenues seamlessly.

Mr Mwoka, who studied architecture at the University of Nairobi, sought more studies in green buildings after graduation. He became a Green Star accredited professional through the Green Building Council of South Africa, then went on to study for a certificate in property development and investment at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business.

Before working with Boogertman (2018-2025), he was at Aspera Design Limited (2017-2018) after interning at the firm that designed the Park Inn structure. His decade-long engagement in architecture has shown him how to design buildings in hospitality, retail, commercial and the industrial sectors. He has also learnt a thing or two about master planning.

At Boogertman, he worked under architect Johann de Wet, who helped sharpen his understanding of commercially driven architecture and functional design.

The experience also gave him exposure to large clients and big budgets. He remembers being sent to Nigeria to meet a bank regarding a project.

‘I was a very young person. I was 26. I think that is what builds courage,’ he says.

Without courage, he notes, an architect won’t amount to much.

‘A client will not entrust you with Sh3 billion or Sh4 billion of their investment if you don’t have confidence [and] if they’re not confident in you,’ Mwoka says.

Furthermore, the results of an architect’s work are usually out there for everyone to see. ‘You can never hide it.’

By 2025, after what he calls the ‘seven-year corporate itch’, Mr Mwoka decided to leave employment and start Lava Architecture.

‘Throughout my life, I’d always wanted to build something myself,’ he says. ‘And I guess it resonates with being an architect because as an architect you also are building something, an idea, and then you see it becoming a concrete reality.’

A gap he saw in the field was that architects finish their engagement at the design stage.

‘A lot of architects are just designers. But for me, the passion I had and still have is value-driven architecture,’ he says. ‘When you’re done with the process of designing, do you wonder whether the building is still bringing in revenue as it should? That is a big gap that I noted in our market, because a lot of architects will design and then they will not follow through.’

By now, Mr Mwoka says, Lava has about seven projects in Kenya and is also working in Uganda and Zimbabwe.

‘Fortunately enough, I think I built a very good name when I was at Boogertman. When I left, basically I used that reputational value to get more clients. And we’ve grown,’ he says.

Among the first projects he designed on his own was a two-storey residence in Nairobi that occupies 738 square metres.

‘The main purpose of the project was to create an ultramodern, minimalistic residence, that would encompass functionality and comfort for the owners and be a representative of the modern luxury lifestyle,’ says a brief seen by BDLife.

It adds that the house was constructed using concrete, wood and gabion walling as the main materials.

Mwoka’s education and hands-on experience have given him numerous lessons, one of them being that architecture should never be about the expert imposing their ideas. Rather, he notes, any construction should be a collaboration shaped by clients, engineers, quantity surveyors, consultants, regulations, future tenants and the site itself.

Increasingly, Mr Mwoka says, that collaboration begins before land is even bought. A client may arrive with a brief and a parcel in mind, and an architect’s first task may be to test whether the site can carry the ambition.

‘More and more, we’re finding most of our clients even come to us before purchasing [land],’ he says. ‘If they have a brief in mind, then we can advise from the onset.’

The guiding question to him is always: ‘What does success for this client look like?’

If success is a building that makes a statement, he notes, the architect must interpret that desire. If it is a property that earns income smoothly, the design must respond to occupancy, maintenance, operating costs and tenant satisfaction. If it is both, Mr Mwoka says, the work becomes the art of balancing ambition and discipline.

‘The form of a building should never be arbitrary,’ Mr Mwoka says. ‘It should be a natural outcome of its purpose, its place and its final occupants.’

He is wary of form for form’s sake. He explains that a client may arrive with a ‘crazy’ symbol in mind, like a calabash-shaped building, but the architect’s work is not to copy the object literally.

‘Beautiful forms are not created by adding complexity,’ he says. ‘They emerge from solving the problems with clarity and some intention.’

That is where his language shifts from artistry to investment protection.

‘An architect’s greatest responsibility is not drawing but protecting clients’ investment,’ says Mr Mwoka. ‘Sometimes we usually say that the architect’s job is to protect the client from themselves.’

Budget control, to him, begins with the earliest design decision: the orientation, the structural grid, the material choice, the construction method, among other considerations.

‘We tend to work very closely with quantity surveyors from the onset of the project,’ he says, describing the practice as ‘value engineering’.

Value engineering, he argues, should not become a polite term for cutting quality but about ‘finding smarter ways to achieve the same outcome through better planning, material selection, and construction methodologies’.

The same logic informs his view of green buildings. He acknowledges that environmentally conscious buildings can cost more at the beginning, but he wants developers to think long-term.

‘Buildings have a 25- to 50-year life cycle,’ he says, noting that green buildings bring returns faster because they lower the operating costs.

Asked to name the best green buildings he has seen in Nairobi, he mentions the Britam Tower in Kilimani and the Skanem Industrial Park in Tilisi as some of the highlights.

‘Britam Tower is a very good green building. In terms of design, it incorporated a lot of natural ventilation [and] passive ventilation,’ he says, adding that the Qwetu student residence projects also perform well on that score.

A green design, in his view, should make the building breathe, cool and light itself as much as possible.

‘If you design it well, you don’t have to use air conditioning because you’ve oriented your building to where the wind is coming from,’ he says. ‘In terms of light, you don’t have to use artificial lighting [during the day].’

Across the region, he sees developers becoming more attentive to performance. The fashionable building, he argues, is no longer the one that scores well on aesthetics only.

‘Success of a building now is measured by occupancy, operational efficiency and the return on investment; not just completion,’ he says. ‘Today’s developers are far more focused on life cycle value.’

That shift is taking place in an age when technology has changed how buildings are conceptualised. Mr Mwoka never used the old ammonia-based printing methods that older architects remember, but he has inherited a profession transformed by simulation and building information modelling (BIM).

‘We no longer just design buildings. We also simulate how they perform before they are even built,’ he says.

Digital tools now allow architects to test energy use, costs, sustainability and constructability early enough to change the outcome. BIM, he adds, allows consultants to work from a shared digital model, reducing errors and improving coordination.

Looking ahead, he says, buildings will become more connected, intelligent and data-driven, using sensors and automation to optimise energy use and improve comfort.

‘Technology hasn’t changed the purpose; it’s just changed what’s possible,’ notes Mr Mwoka. ‘At the heart of it, architecture is still about people.’

Artificial intelligence is the newest topic of discussion in architecture technology. Mr Mwoka does not dismiss it, but neither does he accept the argument that it will make architects irrelevant.

‘AI can’t and won’t replace architects,’ he says. ‘However, architects who embrace AI will have a significant advantage over those who don’t.’

His approach to AI is to use it to strengthen research, improve coordination and accelerate design exploration, not to remove the human from the core.

‘AI can generate options. Architects create vision,’ he says.

Perhaps that is why travel remains one of his most important sources of inspiration. Seeing new places helps open his mind and he tries to visit a new country every year. The latest was Sweden.

‘I like Sweden,’ he says. ‘Stockholm has very good architecture.’

Mr Mwoka’s portfolio includes some of the projects he did in his seven years at Boogertman, which include the Westlands Square that he also names among his favourites.

‘We worked with the client from start to finish, and the clients were open to many ideas. They basically made the work of the architect much easier,’ he says.

At Boogertman, he was also involved in the designing of the 12-storey Qwetu hostels in Nairobi’s Chiromo; the nine-storey Qwetu Aberdare Heights; the three-storey Davis and Shirtliff Engineering Centre in Tatu City; and the Basic shopping centre in Kileleshwa that covers 5,307 square metres; among many others.

‘I used to handle clients from the beginning of a project to the end of a project. So, that gave me exposure. I think being a senior architect in the biggest company in Africa gave me a lot of confidence,’ he says.

Now seeking to sprout in private practice, he has a number of mantras. One of them goes: ‘Architecture is not measured by how impressive it looks on the opening day, but the value it creates decades later.’

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is set to loan Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Kenya Sh19.4 billion ($150 million) for onward lending to small enterprises and to enhance its capital base, new disclosures by the World Bank affiliate show.

The IFC said that it will lend $100 million directly from its account to the Kenyan bank, with the other $50 million coming from parallel lenders to be mobilised by the institution. Approval of the lending is expected to be considered in an IFC board meeting on September 4.

In addition to the cash loan, the IFC added that it will offer advisory services to KCB Kenya to support the implementation of a sustainable finance framework.

‘Financial additionality includes an innovative derisking instrument not readily available in the market, financial structure in terms of loan amount and tenor, and mobilisation of additional funding from co-lenders,’ said the IFC in its disclosure.

‘Non-financial additionality is primarily through advisory services to support KCB Kenya in implementing a sustainable finance framework.’

By the end of the first quarter of the year, KCB Kenya had a loan book of Sh1.7 trillion, up fromSh1 trillion a year earlier.

The lender estimated that it extended Sh13 billion in new lending to MSMEs in the first quarter of the year. KCB has regularly accessed external financing from development and multilateral institutions to support its lending capacity, particularly targeting medium and small enterprises.

In July, the bank received Sh12.9 billion in financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for onward lending to and women and youth-led businesses, and green enterprises. This was the first investment in the Kenyan banking sector by London-based by EBRD since its formation in 1971.

Similar to the IFC arrangement, EBRD will also offer KCB technical assistance to strengthen its green lending capacity through specialised training, advisory services and technical expertise, enhancing its ability to support environmentally sustainable investments.

Other international lenders who have given loans to the bank include British International Investing with a Sh12.9 billion facility in 2025 and the European Investment Bank with a Sh32 billion facility in 2024.

In total, KCB Bank’s borrowings from development institutions stood at Sh72.4 billion in March, up from Sh67.5 billion a year earlier.

The new capital has come at a time when Kenyan banks are under pressure from the Central Bank of Kenya to grow their lending to the private sector to boost the growth of the economy.

In the 12 months to May 2026, growth in credit to the private sector stood at 9.3 percent, up from 71 percent in April, but still well below the 12 to 15 percent level seen as ideal to back healthy growth of the economy.

Kenya has placed a ceiling on its carbon credit export volumes as part of a strategy to curb over-allocating domestic emission reductions to foreign buyers.

The State Department for Environment and Climate Change has capped credit transfers at 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent between now and 2030.

Carbon credits are permits that allow firms to produce a certain amount of carbon emissions. Organisations that run environmental conservation efforts that remove carbon from the atmosphere or prevent carbon emissions can sell their credits to those that generate emissions.

For instance, as many manufacturers switch to their own-source generation with investments in solar and other renewable energy technologies, they can claim carbon credits for the carbon offset through the projects.

The adoption of a ceiling on exportable carbon credits is aimed at preventing overselling by local players to the global markets at the expense of meeting local climate change mitigation goals and targets.

It is designed to ensure a country has adequate domestic carbon credits to meet both conditional and unconditional 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) targets. NDCs refer to national climate action plans aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement.

‘This Guide for Strategic Investment in Carbon Markets sets a national carbon budget for trading as a decision parameter that limits the cumulative quantity that may be authorised for international transfer during the period, with transparent tracking against the remaining balance. The purpose of a carbon budget is to set a clear, quantitative limit on the total greenhouse gas emissions permitted over a specific period consistent with long-term climate goals,’ the State Department says in a guide.

According to the guide, Kenya’s 10 million tonnes cap on carbon credit exports for the period to 2030 is spread across four priority sectors – energy, transport, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) and waste management.

The government has also adopted a list of priority areas for investment in Kenya’s push for environmentally friendly growth and development.

Read: Emissions: Kenya’s carbon registry could be a game changer for Africa

The State Department for Environment and Climate Change says that through the list, the government will be better placed to undertake a risk-based assessment of activities to be implemented during the period to 2030 in line with the country’s NDCs.

On the special list are electric mobility, renewable power generation, energy access, industry and waste management.

‘The whitelist is a policy steering tool that transparently signals Kenya’s priority activity types. Where the activity type is included in Kenya’s whitelist, it will be prioritised and assessed based on clear expectations. Where an activity is not included in the whitelist, it may still be considered. However, the proponent shall provide a clear justification of strategic alignment and integrity, and the request may be subject to more rigorous scrutiny’, the guide states.

Kenya joins South Africa and Nigeria in capping carbon credits exports.

South Africa’s Climate Change Act of 2024 and Nigeria’s Climate Change (Amendment) Act 2023 both put in place a framework for adoption of ceilings aimed at safeguarding the ability to meet their NDCs.

Kenya’s quest to prevent overselling of carbon credits in the global markets comes just weeks after the State announced plans to have a local carbon exchange operational by the close of March 2027.

The Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC), the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) target to launch the carbon exchange by the end of March 2027.

‘Part of our mandate as the Nairobi International Financial Centre is to explore what the country can do to attract capital that targets innovation such as the trading of Carbon and Virtual Assets, and we are seeing a lot of interest in this. One of the incentives we are lining up is a Carbon Exchange, and we are working together with the NSE and CMA in setting it up,’ NIFC chief executive officer, Daniel Mainda, told the Business Daily.

Speaking while delivering the 2026/27 budget speech on June 11, 2026, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi revealed that the government was working on drafting carbon credit regulations to provide a legal framework on which the trading of carbon credits would be anchored.

‘Kenya is emerging as a key player in the carbon credit space, leveraging its rich natural resources and strong base in renewable energy. To actualise formal trading of Carbon Credits, the government is preparing Carbon Credit Regulations which will allow both public and private sector players to benefit through trading of credits generated in Kenya and the region,’ Mbadi told the National Assembly.

The adoption of Kenya’s Guide for Strategic Investment in Carbon Markets comes six months after the country rolled out its National Carbon Registry, a centralised platform for tracking, authorising and reporting carbon credits generated across sectors, providing proof of ownership for emission reduction.

When Robert Okubo travelled to Washington, D.C., more than two decades ago, he had no intention of becoming a cleaning entrepreneur.

He was a travel agent then, determined to promote the Kenyan tourism industry after successfully organising domestic travel packages. His next ambition was to break into the international market.

But some global events changed his plans. While in the United States, Mr Okubo says East Africa was hit by a travel ban following an Al-Shabaab attack in Mombasa, leaving him stranded and needing an alternative source of income.

‘I found myself stuck in the US and I needed to make some money. One of my Kenyan friends connected me to a company that does cleaning. I took it as a part-time job but looking at what they did, I was quite fascinated.’

He spent four years learning every aspect of professional cleaning before venturing into the business himself.

‘When I was employed with the cleaning company, I was making about $60,000 a year. So when I started my business there, my first year in business, I didn’t have to work as hard. However, I always believed that in business, you need about three years to get it off the ground.’

He adds that by the second year, his annual revenues had climbed to around $100,000.

‘We used to make this money during summer only, that’s between June and December. I started thinking about Kenya, whether I could come and test this market.’

In 2010, Mr Okubo returned home convinced that Kenya lacked specialised cleaning services, but he decided to start small just to test the market reception. That is how he became the CEO at 200 Degrees Cleaning Services.

‘I came in with about $40,000. I had bought my equipment in the US already but I bought the company vehicle locally,’ he says.

He then began introducing professional deep-cleaning services to a market that largely relied on conventional methods.

Like many startups, growth was slow.

‘It took me around three years again to gain momentum since the first year was big on creating awareness about the service; letting people understand this new technique of cleaning and its efficiency.’

One of the indications of this niche service Mr Okubo says was that at the time, airing mattresses under the sun was the common way of cleaning them.

They introduced machine cleaning that allowed mattresses to be washed, sanitised and dried within hours.

The same innovation extended to the curtains.

Instead of homeowners removing dozens of curtains and waiting several days for dry cleaners to return them, his team cleaned them while they remained hanging.

‘We were able to cut out all that wasted time and clean them as they hang and dry them the same day. A lot of our clients have since accepted and appreciated that technique and it’s popular.’

Mr Okubo started the company with only three employees, including him. He talks of expanding cautiously in order to match growth with demand.

‘By the time we got to the second year of business we started getting overwhelmed. So we introduced a second car with a second team and slowly we grew like that.’

Today, 200 Degrees Cleaning Services has employed about 25 people across Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa. The CEO says that the expansion outside Nairobi happened after the company noticed a surprising customer trend.

Clients living in Nairobi wanted professional cleaning services in their rural homes. Initially, the teams travelled from Nairobi to western Kenya to undertake assignments.

‘We decided to get partners from different cities and that worked well.’

Their Kisumu branch has expanded into a car wash operation that has employed four people.

Professional cleaning has become competitive over the past decade, but the business is still profitable.

‘Currently I make about Sh500,000 per month.’

Although Mr Okubo admits that earnings in Kenya are lower than what he made in Washington, he believes the local market offers stability.

‘Kenya is an amazing market, especially Nairobi. We probably charge 30 per cent less than what we charge in Washington, which is sustainable. We also are able to work throughout the year since we have good weather.’

That said, like many service businesses, the pandemic reshaped the cleaning market because the demand surged as organisations sought fumigation services.

During that pandemic time, Mr Okubo’s company volunteered to disinfect police stations free of charge, a move, he says, also enhanced its visibility.

However, that business success attracted competitors.

‘After COVID, a lot of people came into the cleaning industry and I would say we went down by about 30 per cent. But we’ve been able to keep afloat because we have a wonderful clientele that’s been supporting us since we also have a lot of residential clients.’

Rather than compete purely on price, the business has chosen to compete on quality.

‘People invest a lot in their homes and furniture. They need to be reassured that any cleaning company coming to sort out their problems should make sure their stuff is safe. The idea is that if we walked into somebody’s home, we should be able to dry everything and have them use them the same day.’

Winning high-value clients

Over the years, consistency has helped the company secure corporate contracts alongside residential customers.

Its biggest client list, Mr Okubo says, includes Bank of Baroda, Prime Bank, the World Food Programme, China State Construction and engineering firms requiring periodic fumigation.

The next target is regional expansion.

‘We have grown to the extent now we wanted to set up a branch in Malawi.’ Mr Okubo says.

When it comes to the cleaning charges, they vary depending on the scope of work.

A detailed clean for an office measuring about 10,000 square feet will costs around Sh30,000, while fumigation for a standard three-bedroom house targeting pests such as cockroaches and mosquitoes costs about Sh9,000.

Mr Okubo adds that long-term service contracts are priced differently depending on frequency.

The biggest operational headaches

Despite years in business, profitability is still affected by operational bottlenecks.

‘Traffic has been one of the major hurdles we have had to deal with. I could book three clients for the day but by the time we got to the second one, we were running into the time slot of the third one so they ended up cancelling. Which was bad for us because we were losing business and also letting down clients.’

Power outages also disrupt operations.

‘Sometimes power outage ends up being a factor as well. Power disappears for one hour and ends up running into the other client’s time slot. Sometimes we would try and have a portable generator.’

Although cheaper alternatives exist locally, equipment quality presents another challenge. Mr Okubo continues sourcing most of his machinery and detergents from the US.

‘I source a lot of my detergents from the US and equipment because of durability. I’ve had machines running from there for over 10 years.’

Lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs

Having built businesses on two continents, Mr Okubo believes many entrepreneurs underestimate the patience required before a company becomes profitable.

‘You have to have a lot of patience. Imagine the first year, that’s what you’re trying to achieve, to get a client every day. The second year, you’re doing the same thing. So that by the time you get to the third year, you’re hoping to get two or three clients per day.’

He also argues that continuous learning is non-negotiable.

‘You also have to be consistent and keep updating your skills because every three years, new techniques come up, new chemicals come up, new equipment comes up.’

His advice to anyone entering the industry begins with investing in dependable tools rather than the cheapest available. Equally important, he says, is having enough working capital to survive the slow months.

‘Start with the right capital that can sustain for the next six months. So, that means that you have enough time to train your employees, you have time to market. And whether the business is good or bad, you can sustain it for the next six months, if possible even a year.’

Dr Jephnei Orina stood inside a United States immigration office, watching a woman cry tears of joy. She had waited 18 years for this moment.

Years earlier, immigration officers had planned to deny her asylum application because she had tried to handle the paperwork herself and failed to submit crucial evidence. Then she hired Orina.

He reviewed every page of her file, gathered the missing documents and walked into the interview by her side.

When the woman was finally granted asylum, she hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek.

“That felt so good for me,” Orina says. “You are able to use your knowledge, your skills, and your experience to change someone’s life.”

He believes every green card he secures for a client is, in many ways, a gift to an entire village back home.

Orina is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and runs Orina and Orina Advocates along Ngong Road in Nairobi. Even while living in the United States, he still logs into virtual court sessions whenever his Kenyan office needs an extra hand.

But before any of that, he was a boy from Kisii County chasing a dream.

“I was born and raised in Kisii,” he says.

He attended St Charles Carolina for primary school before joining St Joseph School Rapogi in Migori County for secondary education. He later graduated from Kisii University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Education (Arts).

After graduation, he moved to Nairobi to pursue what he says had always been his ambition.

“I have always wanted to be a lawyer.”

He enrolled for a law degree at the University of Nairobi’s Parklands campus while simultaneously pursuing an MBA at Kisii University’s Nairobi campus. His schedule left little room to breathe.

“I came to town, did morning classes, went to work at a law firm in Upper Hill,” he says, before rushing to evening law classes.

He graduated with his law degree in 2021, joined the Kenya School of Law and was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 2023.

Soon afterwards, he left for the United States.

“I really wanted to get this done before I get to my 30s,” he says of his ambition to earn a doctorate. “It exposed me to world-class education and international law.”

He completed a Master of Laws at Northeastern University between 2023 and 2024 before enrolling for a PhD in Law at Suffolk University, graduating on May 17, 2026.

Financing that education demanded enormous sacrifice.

“I sold a piece of land back home, my car. I took out a student loan to help cover my master’s degree,” he says.

To pay for his PhD, he worked at a group home caring for elderly residents and people with mental health needs, earning about Sh2,200 an hour.

“For my PhD, I was working 96 hours, 100 hours a week just to be able to pay it,” he says.

His tuition alone totalled nearly Sh7.8 million.

“So, it was just about working those extra shifts until I’m able to pay it off.”

Finding work as an international student was not straightforward.

“International students are not allowed to work outside the university because, remember, you came to study. That is the main purpose,” he explains.

Campus jobs were scarce, forcing him to seek overnight work at the care facility.

“Once residents finish dinner, take their medication and go to sleep around eight in the evening, you have like a block of 10 hours where you can sit overnight and work on your PhD dissertation. You are not supposed to sleep because you are at work,” he says.

His first days in America proved even more difficult than he had imagined.

“The journey in America was a bit rougher than I thought.”

He landed at Logan International Airport in Boston knowing almost no one. A family friend who had promised to host him stopped answering calls the day before he left Kenya.

“So I get to Logan International Airport, I have nowhere to go. I’m in a new country,” he recalls. “That day I actually slept in the airport.”

The university could only direct him to apartment listings, which offered little help to someone without local contacts.

He began calling everyone he knew in the United States. Eventually, a former Airbnb guest connected him to a family from Thika living outside Boston.

They welcomed him into their home for several months.

Before that, he says, he spent days sleeping in classrooms.

“For almost a week, I was sleeping in the classroom because, you know, you don’t have anywhere to go. So in the morning, you go and take a shower at the gym.”

A friend later gave him a car, making it easier to move around the city as he settled into life in America.

After completing his master’s degree, Orina became eligible to sit the Massachusetts bar examination.

“Massachusetts allows lawyers trained in common law countries like Kenya to complete a one-year master’s programme before testing for the bar,” he says.

“The exam itself is a beast.”

“In Kenya, we just do nine courses and that is one per day. But in the US we do 14 courses within two days, totalling 12 hours.”

He says fewer than 40 per cent of first-time candidates pass.

Preparing for the examination came with immense pressure.

“I had grandparents who depended on me, I have parents who depend on me, I have children, I have a family,” he says.

“I remember when I saw the congratulation email that you passed the bar exams, I literally broke down and cried. It was a good feeling.”

He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in May 2025 and opened his own law firm the following month.

He deliberately chose immigration law because it is a federal practice area, allowing him to represent clients across the country while giving him the flexibility to continue his doctoral studies.

“If I was to go and do something like criminal or family law that needs me to go to court, that means you have to go to court at nine,” he says.

Immigration practice, which largely involves paperwork and filings, enabled him to build his business around his studies.

He says lawyers trained in Kenya already possess many of the legal foundations needed to practice in the United States.

“The US and Kenya were both colonies of Britain. So we inherited a lot of things from the British. That is the common law type of system,” he says.

“The only difference is there are two levels of government – the federal government and the state government.”

Away from work, Orina remains deeply connected to Kenya.

“I watch the news every day,” he says.

He says he remains active in politics and community development, returning home about four times a year.

“It is home and we have to build it,” he says.

“We want to build a country where our children can get education and jobs, so they do not have to come to the US.”

For Orina, success in America was never about leaving Kenya behind.

It was about gaining knowledge, experience and opportunity before bringing them back home.

It is a long way from the night he slept on the floor of Logan International Airport, but Orina says every sacrifice was worth it.

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) is aiming to increase its presence in the courier business, hoping to capitalise on the current demand for services in this sector, which is currently dominated by an informal delivery network built around upcountry matatus.

The State-owned rail firm has applied for a national courier business permit, signalling KRC’s plans to expand parcel services beyond the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR corridor where it rolled out earlier this year.

A permit approval from the Communications Authority (CA) would allow the State Corporation to collect, sort, transport and deliver parcels and documents across Kenya under a national intra-country courier licence.

‘We’ll do the bulk of the deliveries on the Nairobi-Mombasa line, but we’re also extending to our other routes. We’re not doing last-mile deliveries so clients will pick the parcels from our stations,’ said KRC managing director Philip Mainga in a phone interview.

‘We’re also looking to partner with other courier operators who’ll pick the parcels and do last-mile deliveries.’

KRC launched a dedicated same-day parcel service between Nairobi and Mombasa earlier this year, using the SGR to move consignments between the two cities.

The rail firm says it will use railway stations as collection and distribution points while leaving the final leg of deliveries to customers or partner courier firms.

The approach allows KRC to concentrate on the long-distance movement where rail has an established network while avoiding the cost and operational complexity of building a nationwide last-mile fleet.

The proposed model comes as the courier market undergoes a structural shift from letter delivery towards parcels and logistics, even as overall domestic volumes remain volatile.

Latest data by CA shows that domestic parcel traffic fell 6.1 per cent to 3.7 million in the quarter ended March, down from 3.9 million in the preceding three months.

This came as domestic letters recorded a sharper contraction, falling 20.1 per cent to 636,566 from 796,578 over the same period.

The decline in letters reflects the continued substitution of physical correspondence by email, messaging platforms and other digital communication, leaving parcels as the more relevant growth segment for postal and courier operators.

The State Corporation is entering the market as e-commerce expands demand for delivery services.

Matatus have emerged as a low-cost alternative for moving parcels between Nairobi and upcountry towns, putting pressure on conventional courier operators.

The sector has also seen competition emerge outside the conventional courier model as matatus and buses become widely used to move parcels between towns along established passenger routes.

Operators on upcountry routes offer a network of collection points through transport stages, giving traders and individuals an alternative to formal courier branches.

The model has also been adopted by newer logistics businesses, with some platforms using the existing matatu network to move parcels while providing tracking and delivery guarantees.

Alcohol manufacturer London Distillers (K) Ltd (LDKL) has lost its bid to avoid paying Sh517 million in excise taxes after the Court of Appeal backed the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) decision to reject a directive by the National Treasury to abandon 80 percent of the tax liability.

The appellate court ruled that the Treasury Cabinet Secretary had no legal authority to advise the KRA to abandon taxes already collected from consumers by a manufacturer for remittance to the government.

The three-judge bench said KRA acted lawfully by declining to implement the directive, which had been issued despite legal objections from both the tax authority and the Attorney-General.

“We agree with the trial court that he had no such powers. That abandonment was illegal, and the respondent was not bound to act on it,” the judges said.

The court said there can be no discretion to abandon that which has been collected by a tax agent from third parties for onward transmission to public coffers.

The ruling settles a dispute over whether the CS Treasury can unilaterally waive taxes that have already been collected from consumers but not remitted to KRA.

According to the court, KRA is only required to implement lawful directives issued by the Cabinet Secretary under Section 37(3) of the Tax Procedures Act.

“It would be dangerous to hold otherwise. It would breed uncertainty in tax administration and collection, completely obliterate objectivity in the process of abandonment of tax, interest and penalty, and undermine the inbuilt checks and balances that ensure transparency in tax administration,” the judges said.

The dispute arose after LDKL conducted a self-assessment for the period between January 2020 and August 2021 and declared excise duty amounting to about Sh895 million. The company paid part of the amount, leaving an outstanding balance of about Sh529 million.

After KRA demanded payment, the distiller challenged the claim before the Tax Appeals Tribunal. The parties later recorded a consent allowing the company to clear the debt through agreed instalments, but alcohol manufacturer failed to honour the payment plan.

The company subsequently appealed directly to the National Treasury, seeking abandonment of the outstanding tax.

In September 2021, the Treasury considered the request and, on January 20, 2022, informed KRA that then Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani had approved the abandonment of 80 percent of the principal tax and a full waiver of penalties and interest under Sections 37 and 89 of the Tax Procedures Act.

Following the decision, KRA acknowledged the Treasury’s communication and demanded payment of about Sh80 million, representing the remaining 20 percent of the tax. London Distillers agreed to settle the amount through weekly instalments of Sh7.5 million and began making payments.

However, KRA later sought legal advice from the Attorney-General, arguing that the Cabinet Secretary’s decision was contrary to the law because the taxes in question had already been collected from consumers.

The Attorney-General advised that the decision be rescinded. Following consultations involving the Treasury, the Attorney-General’s office and KRA, the Cabinet Secretary’s directive was withdrawn.

On March 2, 2022, KRA informed London Distillers that the tax abandonment had been rescinded and demanded payment of the full outstanding balance of Sh517.1 million within seven days, warning that enforcement measures would follow.

The company moved to the High Court seeking orders to quash KRA’s decision, prohibit enforcement of the tax demand, and compel the authority to implement the Cabinet Secretary’s earlier approval.

London Distillers argued that KRA had acted arbitrarily and unlawfully by disregarding the Treasury’s directive. It maintained that it had never received any communication from the Cabinet Secretary withdrawing the decision and accused KRA of usurping powers reserved for the National Treasury.

The petition was dismissed by the High Court, forcing London Distillers to escalate the matter to the Court of Appeal.

The judges observed that if KRA were required to implement every directive from the Cabinet Secretary, including those issued contrary to the law, tax collection would become vulnerable to abuse.

“If the Commissioner were to comply with all directives, including those that are contra statute, then the Government will never collect any revenues because all that taxpayers would require to escape from their tax obligations is to know someone at the National Treasury and their taxes would be abandoned,” the court said.

Rising flood risk is creating a new market for industrial water-removal equipment in Kenya, prompting engineering firms to expand their product offerings as demand grows from government, construction, mining and infrastructure projects.

Swedish industrial equipment maker Atlas Copco is the latest to enter the segment, introducing dewatering solutions to support customers grappling with increasingly frequent flooding.

It joins established global manufacturers such as Xylem, Grundfos and Sulzer, which also recently entered the flood management equipment segment, as competition grows in a market increasingly shaped by climate-related risks and infrastructure investment.

Atlas Copco, which has operated in Kenya for 90 years, has traditionally focused on power solutions and industrial equipment, but recurring floods and growing demand from industries that require large-scale water removal have prompted it to expand into the segment in East Africa.

‘We see it as an emerging segment for the cities. Nairobi has been flooding, for example. For the mines, for construction quarries, we see that as a new segment to us. It’s a segment we are coming into,’ said Atlas Copco East Africa managing director Raphael Kiandiko.

Xylem, a US-based firm, expanded into the segment in 2025, introducing submersible dewatering pumps in the country through partnership with local suppliers. Sulzer and Grundfos also expanded into the market last year through distribution partnerships.

Kenya has experienced increasingly destructive flooding in recent years, with heavy rains damaging roads, businesses and infrastructure while disrupting transport, construction projects and mining operations.

The growing economic cost of floods is pushing both public agencies and private companies to seek equipment that can quickly remove water and minimise damage and downtime.

Dewatering involves pumping out large volumes of water from mines, construction sites, quarries and other industrial facilities, as well as flooded streets and buildings, to keep operations running and reduce flood damage.

While industrial dewatering equipment has long been used in mining and construction, suppliers say demand is now expanding beyond those traditional sectors as increasingly frequent urban flooding creates new commercial opportunities.

According to Mr Kiandiko, the company expects demand from a wide range of customers, including mining and construction firms, government agencies, emergency responders and humanitarian organisations.

‘There’s big need. There’s big need in Nairobi. We will be knocking doors, engaging with institutions and the government to introduce these solutions. We can have flooding, but to a great extent we can control that with these products,’ he said.

Local availability of the equipment is also expected to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers for installation, maintenance and technical support, allowing customers to access spare parts and servicing more quickly during emergencies and major infrastructure projects.

Mr Kiandiko said the company sees mining, quarrying, construction and urban infrastructure as the biggest drivers of demand.

and expects the new business segment to become an increasingly important part of its East African operations as governments and businesses invest more in flood resilience.

The High Court has certified a suit challenging a new digital cargo system by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) as urgent.

The court said the application raises weighty legal issues and directed that it be heard during the court recess.

“The Motion dated August 3, 2026 is hereby certified urgent and admitted for consideration during the current recess,” the court said.

Issa Elanyi Chamao, Patrick Karani and Paul Kirui are challenging the rollout of the Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) Platform launched on August 3.

ACD is a mandatory digital pre-arrival system requiring a 15-digit alphanumeric reference code for all containerised sea cargo destined for Kenyan ports before loading at the point of origin.

The petitioners argue that despite the substantial public expenditure and national importance of the project, KRA has not disclosed procurement records, tender documents, contract awards or statutory approvals relating to the acquisition, development and implementation of the system.

They say there is no evidence that the platform was procured through an open and competitive process or any other lawful procurement procedure.

According to the petitions, there are no publicly available records showing compliance with Article 227 of the Constitution and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, including the procurement method used, the tender process, the successful bidder, the implementing entity or the contractual arrangements governing ACD.

“The ACD Platform therefore constitutes a matter of considerable public importance, with direct implications for customs administration, the movement of goods into Kenya and the conduct of international trade,” the petition states.

The petitioners are seeking orders suspending further implementation of the platform, arguing that it is already operational and could expose taxpayers to unnecessary costs if it is later found to have been procured unlawfully.

They say suspending the rollout would allow the court to determine whether the platform was lawfully acquired and implemented.

The court directed KRA and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority to file their responses within 14 days. The case will be mentioned on September 29 to confirm compliance and give further directions.

The challenge comes as KRA faces a separate lawsuit over the same platform.

In that case, technology entrepreneur Jacob Munene claims the tax authority unlawfully copied a cargo management system he developed and presented to KRA three years ago.

Mr Munene, the founder of Greenworld Big Data Ltd, accuses KRA of infringing his intellectual property rights by launching what he describes as a near replica of his proprietary Advanced Cargo Information Declaration (ACID) System, which he says was designed to digitise and automate cargo import and export operations in Kenya.

He argues that KRA’s ACD platform closely mirrors his innovation in concept, structure, functionality and even its name.

“The 1st Defendant’s product bears an uncanny, substantial and irresistible resemblance in name, concept, structure, sequence and detailed expression to the ACID System disclosed to the Defendant in 2023,” Mr Munene says in an affidavit.

He adds that the similarities are “so glaring not only in form, unique detailed expression and how the system operates, but outwardly, in name and use of the acronyms,” amounting to a serious breach of his intellectual property rights.

According to Mr Munene, he conceived and developed the ACID system before March 2023 after conducting what he describes as a big data forensic gap analysis of Kenya’s trade and transport industry.

The study, he says, exposed major inefficiencies and revenue leakages in cargo operations, prompting him to develop a digital platform to automate cargo declaration, monitoring and revenue assurance across sea, air, rail and road transport.

He maintains that the system was developed independently at his own expense and specifically tailored to Kenya’s cargo management environment before it was presented to KRA.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on Wednesday said it will charge the CEOs of Co-operative Bank, KCB and NCBA for failing to report suspicious transactions in connection with the loss of Sh363 million in an investment firm, escalating the fight against money laundering.

The CEOs — Gideon Muriuki of Co-operative Bank, KCB’s Paul Russo and John Gachora of NCBA — are required to appear before a Milimani court in Nairobi on August 11 over the alleged failure to comply with reporting institutions’ obligations.

The chief prosecutor indicated the CEOs failed to report suspicious transactions from funds believed to have been stolen from First Assurance Investment Ltd.

The ODPP and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have previously preferred to fine banks for violating anti-money laundering laws, while warning that the office of the chief prosecutor reserved the right to prosecute them in the future.

The ODPP alleges that the three CEOs failed to report the suspicious transactions relating to the fraud, personally holding the heads of the top banks liable, sending shockwaves across Kenya’s capital markets and banking sector.

The charge sheet stated that they conspired with Salim Mohamed Busaidy to defraud First Assurance Investment of the money.

It is alleged that they committed the offence on different dates between May 18, 2018 and April 30, 2024.

Mr Busaidy was a director of the insurance firm and is accused of stealing a total of Sh363.3 million belonging to First Assurance Investment. The money allegedly came into his possession due to his position as a director of the company.

The ODPP said the CEOs will be charged with failure to report suspicious transactions regarding proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 5 as read with Section 44(2) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The ODPP said investigations established that Mr Busaidy, a former nominated Member of the County Assembly (MCA), forged the signature of his co-director, Issa Abdalla Issa Timamy, who is also the Lamu County governor, on multiple company cheques to facilitate the unlawful withdrawal of the company’s funds.

Mr Busaidy denied a total of 120 counts, including conspiracy to defraud and stealing, 114 counts of making a document without authority, and one count of acquisition of proceeds of crime.

The prosecution alleged that Mr Busaidy exploited his position as a director and his access to the company’s bank accounts held at NCBA Bank, KCB Bank and Co-operative Bank to steal the money.

The prosecution further alleged that he forged the signature of his co-director, Mr Timamy, on numerous company cheques, falsely presenting them as duly authorised, thereby facilitating the unlawful withdrawal of company funds.

The charge sheet shows that he presented cheques of various amounts, ranging from Sh150,000 and Sh350,000 and purported to have been signed by his co-director.

The DPP further contends that the accused acquired Sh363,320,459, knowing the money constituted proceeds of crime arising from the alleged theft.

He denied all the counts and was ordered to deposit cash bail of Sh3 million or an alternative bond of Sh10 million with one surety of a similar amount, to secure his release.

The ODPP reserves the right to charge or withdraw the suit, which is the most significant against banking CEOs.

NCBA Bank, KCB Group and Co-operative Bank are listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

KCB is Kenya’s largest bank on assets, with Co-operative Bank and NCBA Bank coming at number three and four.

The CBK fined five banks in 2018 for failing to report suspicious transactions in connection with the theft of funds at the National Youth Service (NYS), a State agency.

Penalties totalling Sh392.5 million were imposed on Standard Chartered Kenya, Equity, Diamond Trust, Co-operative Bank and KCB Group.

The banks had received a total of more than Sh3 billion from the NYS on behalf of their customers, but failed to report the suspicious transactions, the CBK said.

In 2020, the chief prosecutor fined the five banks Sh385 million for violating anti-money laundering laws, adding that further investigations found the lenders had failed to put in place adequate systems to combat money laundering and to know their customers as the law required.