Category: Business Daily

The High Court is expected to make a ruling on Monday on whether the government’s planned sale of a 15 percent stake in Safaricom Plc to parent firm Vodacom Group Limited will proceed.

The South African multinational made the disclosure to investors last week, while noting that it expected a rapid close to the transaction should the court give a favourable ruling.

The transaction was frozen when petitioners Tony Gachoka and Fredrick Ogola sued several State agencies, Safaricom and Vodacom, questioning the legality of the government’s plan to reduce its stake in the telecoms giant.

Two other petitions were filed by Paul Maina and a litigant only identified as Mr Samuel. The two cases were later merged.

The pause on the transaction has delayed the payment of Sh244.5 billion to the National Treasury, including Sh40.2 billion in advanced dividends from what would be the government’s residual 20 percent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm.

‘We expect an update on this ruling on May 18, 2026. Pending this outcome, we’ll be able to finalize the deal very quickly,’ said Vodacom chief executive officer Shameel Joosub in a May 11 earnings call.

‘This transaction was approved by Parliament and in all necessary regulatory bodies but is subject to a status quo order issued by the High Court of Kenya.’

The High Court referred the petition to Chief Justice Martha Koome at the end of March, with Koome consequently appointing a multi-judge bench to handle the case after the presiding judge stepped aside due to time constraints.

The court case was filed as analysts and politicians debated the merits of the government’s partial divestment from Safaricom, with a major issue being whether the State will get full value from the sale price of Sh34 per share.

Some have reckoned that the deal is good for Kenya while others have been sceptical of the benefits of the transaction, seeing Vodacom as the winner after getting majority control of the profitable telecoms operator.

A joint parliamentary committee had approved the sale, paving way for the conclusion of the transaction before the litigants struck.

Under the deal, the National Treasury is to receive Sh204.3 billion for the 15 percent stake, representing a price of Sh34 per share.

The exchequer is also to receive a Sh40.2 billion dividend top-up, representing a loan backed by what will be Kenya’s remaining 20 percent stake in Safaricom.

The delayed sale which had been expected to close in March 2026 will see the Treasury collect Sh16.1 billion. This represents its share of final dividends from its current 35 percent stake when book closure happens on August 4, if the transaction remains on pause.

Vodacom has insisted that the completion of the stake purchase fully rests in the court decision.

‘If the conservatory orders are not lifted, the court case will continue, and it could take a few more months. So, we are a little bit in the court’s hands, and we will see what the court decides,’ added Mr Joosub.

Concurrent to the purchase of the 15 percent stake from the government, Vodacom is also buying a five percent stake in Safaricom that is held by its parent firm, Vodafone Group, at the same price of Sh34 per share.

Once the twin deals are sealed, Vodacom will raise its ownership in the telecom’s operator to 55 percent, attaining majority control.

Earlier in May, Safaricom raised its per share final dividend to Sh1.15 from Sh0.65 previously after its net profit rose 67 percent to Sh95.6 billion.

The government’s share of dividends from Safaricom for the period to the end of March 2026, including an interim dividend of Sh0.85 per share, is Sh28.04 billion.

Proceeds from the transaction are expected to flow to the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), a vehicle designed to finance large-scale infrastructure expansion, including roads, railways, energy and water systems.

The Treasury indicated that there was no pressure to rush the deal as the funding is not a pressing budget issue.

‘We are not using this money for budgetary support. Whether it comes, (in this financial year) or doesn’t come, our budget will be implemented in the usual way,’ said John Mbadi, the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

The High Court has restored control of investment firm TransCentury Plc to receiver managers appointed by Equity Bank, deepening a protracted corporate battle over the company’s Sh6 billion debt.

The ruling reverses interim orders issued last month that had temporarily restrained the receiver managers, George Weru and Muniu Thoithi, from running the company and effectively restored them. Both Mr Weru and Mr Thoithi are from PwC, a multinational professional services and advisory firm.

TransCentury, which invested heavily in power, transport and engineering projects across East Africa, has been battling mounting debt and liquidity problems for years.

In June 2023, the company was placed under receivership and Equity Bank appointed receiver managers and later in 2025 the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) suspended trading in TransCentury shares.

This was after the company defaulted on loans estimated at more than Sh6 billion, triggering legal disputes involving shareholders, creditors and regulators.

The latest case was filed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek)) against the receiver managers, TransCentury, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the National Assembly and the Attorney-General.

Cofek sought orders stopping Mr Weru and Mr Thoithi from continuing as the receiver managers of TransCentury and asked the court to appoint the Official Receiver instead.

The lobby also wanted the court to preserve the company’s assets and direct that alleged outstanding tax liabilities owed to KRA be prioritised before payments to Equity Bank.

The court had initially certified the case as urgent and issued interim orders on April 23 restraining the receiver managers from acting pending further directions.

But the dispute quickly escalated after lawyers representing the receiver managers as well as the Equity Bank challenged the validity of the suit, arguing that the advocate who filed the case for Cofek did not have a current practising certificate at the time.

The court was also confronted with a second dispute over who legally controlled and represented TransCentury after the interim orders effectively allowed directors to resume involvement in the company’s affairs despite the existing receivership.

In its ruling, the court declined to invalidate the suit over the advocate’s practising status, holding that litigants should not be punished for such procedural defects.

‘The complaint only concerns the absence of a current practising certificate at the material time,’ the court said.

‘Guided by the decision of the Supreme Court and the provisions of Section 34B of the Advocates Act, I am unable to hold that the pleadings filed herein are invalid or incapable of sustaining the suit,’ the judge ruled.

He added that courts are required to administer justice ‘without undue regard to procedural technicalities’.

However, the court found that Cofek had failed to fully disclose that TransCentury was already under receivership when it obtained the temporary orders.

‘The material before the court confirms that the third defendant was already under receivership when the Plaintiff moved to the court ex-parte and the receiver managers had already assumed control,’ the court stated.

It added that the temporary orders created confusion over the lawful control of the company by effectively reintroducing directors into management despite the subsisting receivership.

‘That fact was not candidly disclosed,’ the court stated, discharging the interim orders and restoring full authority to the receiver managers pending further court directions.

‘Having discharged the interim orders, the issue regarding representation of the third defendant (TransCentury) stands resolved, the receiver managers remaining in control of the affairs and representation of the company pending further orders of the court,’ the ruling stated.

Every investment return comes with risk, but where is the line between an informed decision and speculation?

In this episode of Make Money, Stanley Mutuku, CEO of Lofty-Corban Investment Limited, discusses how investors can assess their risk tolerance, balance potential rewards against possible losses, and make smarter long-term investment decisions.

Make Money, a podcast series hosted by Kepha Muiruri, from Business Daily Africa, unravels ways to be financially savvy. Get practical tips and advice on how to increase your income, build wealth, and achieve financial freedom in Kenya. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned investor, we’ve got something for everyone.

Listen here:

Season 6

Rating KPC’s IPO: Is the Sh9 share price a good deal for you? – Episode 1

How shares trading was built on M-Pesa – Episode 2

Bitcoin’s latest crash: correction or death spiral? – Episode 3

The golden hedge: Navigating global volatility from the NSE – Episode 4

Beyond the money market: Is the pivot to special funds worth the risk? – Episode 5

Trading vs buy-and-hold: Where are stock investors leaving money? – Episode 6

Inside the KPC IPO: What investors learnt – Episode 7

The dividend play: How to make money from rising payouts – Episode 8

Your Q1 investing scorecard: Gulf war, rate cuts and NSE grit – Episode 9

Should I sell my bond now that prices are high? – Episode 10

ETFs explained: One investment, many assets – Episode 11

Season 5

Inside the Sh600bn money markets fund growth – Episode 1

Why more Kenyans are taking their money offshore – Episode 2

The low-interest playbook: Where to invest your money now – Episode 3

The bonds ladder: How to get a monthly pay cheque – Episode 4

The hidden cost of investing: How to stop fees from eating your returns – Episode 5

The financial supermarket: Can your bank do it all? – Episode 6

NSE rally: Is it too late to invest? – Episode 7

Stocks 101: Your guide to opening a CDS account and making your first trade – Episode 8

Can AI replace your financial advisor? – Episode 9

Bubble or Boom? Decoding the AI-fuelled market frenzy – Episode 10

Black November: How to find investment bargains – Episode 11

The 2025 investment scorecard: Where did Kenyan investors win? – Episode 12

Season 4

Episode 1: The allure of infrastructure bonds

Episode 2: Maximising the dividend earning season

Episode 3: Minting generational wealth

Episode 4: Is the MMF party over?

Episode 5: Is your money safe in Saccos?

Episode 6: Insurance: Investment or Illusion?

Episode 7: Why Kenyans are going into business

Episode 8: Willy Kimani’s leap: Business insights from corporate to entrepreneurship

Season 3

Episode 1: Government bonds: Risk-free or low risk?

Episode 2: MMFs: Who really needs a fund manager?

Episode 3: How to protect your investments as interest rates fall

Episode 4: Is the stock market still a way make to money?

Episode 5: Does it still make sense to buy dollars?

Episode 6: How time directly impacts your investments

Episode 7: Hacking home ownership

Episode 8: Money matters: To bank or not to bank?

Episode 9: Trading 101: Separating wheat from chaff

Episode 10: What music can teach us about money

Season 2

Episode 1: Redefining your money goals

Episode 2: Making money work for you

Episode 3: Where to make money in 2024

Episode 4: Make your side hustles worthwhile

Episode 5: Loan and Behold: The art and science of borrowing

Episode 6: Career driven – Triumph at your job

Episode 7: Better Together – The Power of Group Investing

Episode 8: Make your networks shape your net worth

Episode 9: Buy now, Pay later – The A to Z of consumer credit

Episode 10: What would you do if you had Sh500,000?

Season 1

Episode 1: Financial fitness – walk before you can run

Episode 2: Myths about investing

Episode 3: Baby steps…Little is more

Episode 4: A cheque from government

Episode 5: NSE – Taking stock of the market

Episode 6: Going offshore – cast your bread in many waters

Episode 7: Kenya’s black gold

Episode 8: Investor’s edge – Saccos

Episode 9: How wife’s wake-up call led Ken to make more money

Media mogul SK Macharia has suffered a legal setback after the High Court upheld an arbitration decision confirming him as a minority shareholder at Directline Assurance Company.

Mr Macharia had been embroiled in a protracted dispute over the company’s shareholding, with rivals accusing him of unlawfully taking control while the matter was pending in court.

The dispute was later referred to arbitration, and in January 2022, the arbitrator ruled that Macharia’s rivals were the majority shareholders, holding 90.336 percent of the company’s shares, while the Royal Media Services owner held 9.66 percent.

The arbitrator also found that Mr Macharia and his group had unlawfully occupied the company’s offices at Hazina Towers and denied access to other shareholders.

While Mr Macharia sought to quash the award, his rivals petitioned the court to recognise and enforce it.

‘Given the said circumstances, this Court is satisfied that the Arbitral Tribunal was properly constituted, and its assumption of jurisdiction cannot be impeached at this stage outside the statutory framework,’ the court said.

The court added that Mr Macharia was attempting to re-litigate issues already decided by the arbitration tribunal.

‘This court cannot therefore entertain claims of factual or legal error by the Arbitrator or interfere with such findings,’ said the court.

Mr Macharia signalled his intention of appealing the decision.

Directline Assurance, established in 1998, initially had its shareholding split among AKM Investments Ltd (48 percent), Janus Ltd (32percent), and Royal Media Services Ltd (20 percent).

Mr Macharia argued that the company’s Articles of Association included a pre-emption clause requiring existing shareholders to be given priority before any transfer of shares to outsiders.

He claimed that from 2007, his late son John Gichia Macharia and Janice Theresa Wanjiku Kiarie excluded him from management and falsely asserted that their shares were held in trust for him.

A 2005 shareholder register showed Royal Credit Ltd with 997 shares (0.01 percent), Mr Macharia, Purity Macharia, and Dan Karobia with one share each, AKM Investments Ltd holding 4,978,108 shares (40.6 percent), Janus Ltd 2,318,738 (20 percent), Royal Media Services Ltd 1,448,212 (11.83 percent), and Triple A Capital Ltd 3,500,000 (28.58 percent).

A more recent register dated February 12, 2023, indicated AKM Investments had a 10.36 percent ownership, SK Macharia at 0.0000000067 percent, Royal Media Services at 9.7 percent, and other holdings distributed among Stenny Investments, Triad Networks, Sureinvest Ltd, Janus Ltd, and others.

Mr Macharia also challenged the arbitrator’s impartiality, arguing he was biased, redefined parties and issues improperly, and denied him a fair hearing. He said he participated under protest.

The court, however, observed that he submitted written evidence and participated in procedural directions issued to all parties.

Other shareholders defended the arbitration process, saying it complied with Section 19 of the Arbitration Act.

They also accused Mr Macharia of resisting the handover of company premises, issuing threats, and mismanaging the company, exposing it to execution proceedings totalling about Sh1 billion.

The court found the allegations of bias unsubstantiated and upheld the arbitration award.

‘In the premise, this Court is satisfied that the impugned Partial Arbitral Award is valid and enforceable pursuant to the provisions of Section 36 of the Arbitration Act and to the extent of the Correcting Memorandum dated 8th June 2022,’ the court said, allowing the majority shareholders to enforce the decision.

Safaricom Plc is working with select oil marketing companies to ensure supply of fuel to keep its sites operational in the wake of elevated risks in availability of petroleum products. This comes amid supply chain disruptions following the war on Iran.

A site, otherwise known as a base station, refers to the physical structure that creates a signal and provides coverage which then enables consumers to make calls, send messages and connect to the internet.

The listed telco says that as an entity categorised as a critical service provider per the Kenya Information and Communications Act, it is important that there is certainty around its service provision even in the wake of significant shocks such as the one currently being experienced following the war on Iran.

‘We are a telecoms operator and we do consume a lot of fuel running sites and the availability of sites is of paramount importance for us and that is what we are dealing with now. We are working with some of the oil marketing companies to see that we are able to get the quantity that we need, especially because we are a critical service provider,’ Safaricom chief financial officer Dilip Pal told the Business Daily.

Safaricom Kenya closed the full year ended March 2026 with a total of 24,479 base stations of which 7,540 were 2G, 7,536 were 3G, 7,524 were 4G and 1,879 were 5G.

‘It’s not necessarily for long but we are working with some oil marketers to ensure that we have availability of fuel for some time,’ Dilip says.

The telco’s arrangement with select oil marketing companies in the country comes in the wake of intermittent stock outs of petroleum products across parts of the country, following the war in the Middle East.

‘The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum wishes to inform the public that the temporary fuel supply challenges experienced in isolated filling stations in some parts of the country arose from a technical and administrative hitch. This curtailed optimal uptake of petroleum products by a few oil marketing companies operating in the downstream of the supply chain,’ the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said in a statement released on May 6.

The statement came one week after the government had announced a temporary waiver of standards on the Sulphur parameter of petroleum product to the maximum limit of 50.0 milligram per kilogramme for Diesel and Super for six months.

‘Owing to constraints occasioned by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including disruption to supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, and the need to safeguard continuous supply of fuel critical to the economy, the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry has approved a request to temporarily waive the Sulphur parameter to the maximum limit for a period of 6 months,’ the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said in a statement released on April 30.

Safaricom, however, says that its Ethiopian subsidiary is adequately cushioned and therefore under no immediate pressure to work with oil marketing companies to ensure security of supply.

‘The dependency on fuel for Ethiopia is not material. It’s very tiny because it is a green grid and 98.0 percent of our sites are powered through electricity. So, the dependency on fuel in Ethiopia is not much,’ Dilip says.

Safaricom Ethiopia closed the year ended March 2026 with 3,504 base stations having grown 18.3 percent from the number of base stations a year earlier.

Kenya plans to spend Sh80 million in the financial year starting July to continue searching for the exact site of the proposed nuclear power plant in Siaya County, as the government narrows down potential locations within the lakeside county.

Budget estimates tabled in the National Assembly show the allocation for ‘Nuclear Power Plant Siting’ will form part of broader plans to prepare for construction of the country’s first nuclear reactor.

Kenya plans to build a 1,000-3,000-megawatt nuclear power plant from March 2027 at an estimated cost of $5 billion (Sh646 billion) in Siaya, which was chosen partly due to its proximity to Lake Victoria because the plant would require large volumes of water for cooling operations.

The funds will support screening and technical assessment of potential sites identified within Siaya before Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) settles on the preferred location for the multi-billion-shilling project. NuPEA says it has completed the first phase of regional analysis and identified possible locations for the proposed plant.

The agency, tasked with implementing the country’s nuclear power programme, is conducting further screening exercises on the shortlisted areas-which it has not disclosed– to determine which sites meet safety, environmental and engineering requirements.

‘The best candidate sites will then be subjected to a weighted analysis, and the best two will be designated as Proposed Site and Alternate site,’ NuPEA states in its documents.

Justus Wabuyabo, the agency’s chief executive, said site-specific feasibility studies and additional technical assessments will follow once the preferred location is identified.

‘Detailed engineering and scientific studies on the specific site will have to be carried out to confirm the suitability of the selected site,’ Mr Wabuyabo said in an earlier interview.

The Sh80 million allocation for 2026/27 is lower than the Sh104 million approved in the current 2025/26 financial year.

However, projected spending is expected to rise more than five times to Sh493 million in 2027/28 before climbing further to Sh2.88 billion in 2028/29.

The rising future allocations signal more intensive studies, feasibility assessments and possible land acquisition activities as the project advances.

The Treasury’s budget documents show the government is targeting 55 percent acquisition of the nuclear plant site by June 2027.

The target is expected to rise to 60 percent in 2027/28 and 65 percent in 2028/29, indicating plans for continued site preparation over the next three years.

The siting process involves analysing several factors to determine whether an area can safely host a nuclear power facility.

According to NuPEA, the government is checking whether potential sites are safe from earthquakes, have suitable ground conditions and minimal impact on wildlife.

Officials are also examining risks such as flooding, nearby pipelines, population levels, road access, the nature of the terrain and whether the site is close enough to areas with high demand for electricity.

NuPEA said detailed engineering and scientific studies will be conducted on the selected sites before a final decision is made.

The next stages after siting will involve preparation of bid invitation specifications, selection of a nuclear technology vendor and further studies by the successful contractor.

The project forms part of the Kenya National Electrification Strategy, which initially aims to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.

Construction of the plant is expected to take at least five years, with the reactor initially projected to start operations in 2034.

The government has previously indicated the project could be financed through a build-operate-transfer arrangement or a special purpose vehicle involving the State, lenders and nuclear technology vendors.

Kenya is also increasing spending on workforce training and legal reforms linked to the nuclear power programme.

Funding for ‘Resource Development for Nuclear Programme’ will rise from Sh37.7 million in the current financial year to Sh55 million in 2026/27, the budget estimates show.

Allocations for ‘Nuclear Policy and Legislation’ will increase from Sh27.8 million to Sh42 million over the same period.

The plans have continued to attract opposition from environmental groups and renewable energy advocates.

Civil society organisations, including the Centre for Justice Governance and Environmental Action and the Kenya Anti-Nuclear Alliance, argue nuclear energy is unnecessary because Kenya already generates more than 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.

The groups have also warned about possible environmental and economic damage in the event of a nuclear accident near ecologically sensitive areas around Lake Victoria.

Mr Wabuyabo, however, argues that Kenya’s current renewable energy mix would not be sufficient to meet projected industrial power demand despite the country generating more than 90 percent of electricity from green sources.

He said Kenya would require up to 60,000 megawatts of electricity for full-scale industrialisation, adding that nuclear energy would provide stable baseload power less affected by weather changes.

‘Nuclear energy will undoubtedly provide, in the medium term, the 3,000 MW baseload that hydro and solar, which are prone to weather changes, simply cannot,’ Mr Wabuyabo wrote in the Business Daily on Monday.

Kenya is among several African countries pursuing nuclear energy projects to support industrialisation and rising electricity demand. They include Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda.

Kenya’s healthcare system faces a divide between the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in its policy frameworks and its full implementation. While AI has become a dominant topic in health policy discussions, its integration into clinical workflow remains limited.

Despite advancements in technology, the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that most countries, including Kenya, have yet to fully leverage digital health and AI for positive outcomes. The Kenya Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2025-2030) acknowledges infrastructure as a key limitation to full realisation in the healthcare space.

Kenya’s inadequate computing power, broadband connectivity and energy efficiency hinder large-scale AI deployment. These hindrances directly affect the scalability of AI-driven healthcare solutions.

Kenya’s health sector is overseen by multiple legal and policy frameworks which include: The Health Act (2017), National eHealth Policy (2016-2030), Data Protection Act (2019), Digital Health Act (2023) and the Social Health Insurance Act (2023). Whereas these laws provide a strong foundation for digital health, they also introduce complexities that affect the harmonisation and implementation of digital health solutions such as AI.

Besides, the fragmented approach of health as a devolved function between the national and county governments creates an additional barrier in digitalisation uniformity. This limits effective deployment and use of AI tools in healthcare, ultimately hindering optimal healthcare delivery.

AI is a transformative force in the healthcare system, aiding in diagnosing illnesses, assessing patients, detecting anomalies, and even in medical imaging, thereby providing faster, improved patient outcomes.

AI has many benefits, but it is not entirely faultless. The downsides, such as breach of data privacy, compromise its ethical use in society. Kenya has an inadequate health-specific AI strategy, and there is no dedicated steering committee to oversee and ensure the successful implementation of AI in healthcare.

Hence, formulated policies should not be restrictive, expensive, or burdensome for this developing field, which would rather benefit more from approaches that allow flexibility for developers and regulators to constantly explore and understand the latest developments.

Kenya continues to struggle with inadequate staffing and significant imbalances in the healthcare workforce. Statistics report the Kenyan doctor-to-patient ratio is estimated at 1:17,000 as of 2025, which falls below the WHO-recommended ratio of 1:1,000.

Limited resources and overstretched healthcare systems result in clinicians seeing a high volume of patients with a wide range of health complaints daily and making rapid diagnosis and treatment decisions, often with limited information.

These persistent shortages lead to stark disparities in the quality and accessibility of care across various health care settings. AI-based clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can support healthcare professionals by providing contextually relevant diagnostic and management suggestions. These systems can help minimize therapeutic errors and ensure appropriate referrals.

Penda Health, a private Kenyan Healthcare provider, demonstrates the feasibility of implementing AI in local healthcare settings. The hospital network has deployed AI-based clinical decision support systems into its clinical workflows, and its clinicians use them during consultations.

A study conducted across 16 Penda Health facilities in Nairobi and Kiambu counties demonstrated a gradual increase in the use of AI-enabled clinical decision support systems from 4 percent to 47 percent over an eight-month period.

The study also reported overwhelmingly positive feedback and increased confidence in interacting with the tool and in its ability to provide accurate management output.

Furthermore, the report demonstrated the AI tool’s ability to generate well-reasoned clinical suggestions and appropriate medications and to aid clinicians in reaching an accurate diagnosis. Penda Health AI adoption serves as a model for the healthcare sector. The use of these AI tools in the Kenyan context should augment clinicians’ decisions. Penda Health’s adoption of technology illustrates the successful integration of digital solutions into systemic infrastructure.

Beyond clinical decision-making, AI also has significant potential to strengthen health system operations, especially in pharmaceutical supply chains. Pharmaplus Pharmacy, a leading Kenyan retail pharmacy provider, demonstrates the value of AI beyond clinical care.

By integrating AI-driven tools into its pharmaceutical supply chain, Pharmaplus Pharmacy has improved demand forecasting, optimized stock management, and enabled early detection of near-expiry products. These efficiencies have reduced wastage and strengthened the consistent availability of essential medicines.

In contrast, recurrent drug stock-outs remain a significant challenge across many public health facilities in Kenya. This highlights a clear opportunity for policymakers to scale similar AI-enabled supply chain solutions within the public sector to enhance inventory management and address persistent medicine shortages.

Reliable internet coverage, improved electricity supply, and well-equipped health care facilities are the core foundation towards full realisation.

Besides, well-coordinated efforts between national and county governments that ensure policy alignment and resource allocation are equally critical. Kenya’s healthcare sector cannot delay harnessing these advancements, it must move with urgency.

Before 2024 and subsequent Gen Z-led protests sparked by the controversial Finance Bill, public attention rarely focused on revenue mobilisation.

National conversations revolved around budget estimates that culminated in the annual budget reading, while Finance Bill debates were largely viewed as elitist, and the people followed from the sidelines, except, of course, for Senator Okiya Omtatah.

Over the years, however, the courts and public steadily transformed the Finance Bill into one of the country’s most scrutinised legislative processes.

In 2022, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and others unsuccessfully challenged the Finance Act 2022, arguing that provisions such as VAT on exported services and excise duty on SIM cards had been introduced without proper public participation. The Finance Act 2023 faced even greater legal turbulence.

The High Court declared the proposed housing levy unconstitutional before the Court of Appeal later nullified the entire Act. Although the Supreme Court eventually overturned that decision, citizens had fully grasped the significance of the Finance Bill and its direct impact on their lives.

Then came Finance Bill 2024. The proposed law triggered nationwide protests and unprecedented public opposition, forcing the government to abandon it altogether.

Since then, the State has appeared less forceful and more accommodating of citizen views. Public participation has become more deliberate and extensive. Conversations around finance bills are no longer confined to experts and policymakers; Mwananchi is now fully alert.

It is within this politically sensitive environment that the Finance Bill 2026 arrives. The first notable aspect is its deliberate avoidance of dramatic tax shocks. Treasury appears to have learned from recent public resistance to aggressive taxation.

My observation is that the Bill is more measured, with fewer headline-grabbing levies and greater emphasis on administrative adjustments than outright new taxes.

The Bill also introduces several measures aimed at improving tax administration and compliance. These include penalty waivers, streamlined filing systems and clearer procedures for taxpayers.

For investors and businesses, predictability is often just as important as low taxation. Kenya’s reputation for frequent tax policy shifts has long unsettled the private sector, and any effort to create greater consistency may help restore some confidence.

For ordinary Kenyans, the central economic question is not whether Treasury can raise revenue, but whether life will become more affordable. Here, the Finance Bill does not offer much comfort.

Particular attention has already turned to the proposed tax on mitumba. This is especially because the tax is levied on ‘deemed’ profit payable at the point of importation before the goods are released. If enacted, the proposal is likely to raise the cost of importing second-hand clothing and similar products, ultimately increasing retail prices while reducing traders’ margins.

The Bill also struggles to address the country’s employment crisis convincingly. While the Economic Survey reports job growth, most of those opportunities are concentrated in low-paying informal work rather than stable formal employment.

The Bill offers limited incentives for labor-intensive industries, manufacturing expansion, or youth enterprise development.

Perhaps the ugliest reality exposed by both the Economic Survey and the Finance Bill is the growing normalisation of economic informality. More than 18 million Kenyans now work outside the formal economy.

The Finance Bill does little to fundamentally change that trajectory. Instead of aggressively incentivising industrialisation, value addition, and export-led growth, the country appears increasingly resigned to managing an economy built around survivalist enterprise.

That presents a dangerous long-term risk. An economy dominated by informal work often produces weak pensions, low productivity, insecure incomes and narrow tax bases. In many ways, the Finance Bill 2026 reflects a government attempting to stabilise rather than transform the economyc reset many Kenyans hoped for.

The good is that Treasury appears to have listened to public frustration and avoided imposing severe new tax shocks.

The bad news is that the Bill offers limited relief to households battling a relentless cost-of-living crisis.

And the ugly truth is that it quietly reveals an economy increasingly dependent on informal survival, while the government remains heavily focused on revenue extraction.

Ultimately, the Finance Bill 2026 may help the state balance its books. Whether it helps ordinary Kenyans build wealth, secure decent jobs and restore purchasing power is a far more difficult question.

Even President William Ruto’s most committed critics would struggle to fault the optics of last week’s France-Africa Summit.

Nairobi hosted 30 heads of state, President Emmanuel Macron of France and the who’s who of African capital – Dangote, Motsepe, El Sewedy, Rabiu – in a pageant that burnished the city’s growing reputation as the continent’s preferred venue for conferences.

I attended the opening ceremony. And what struck me most was the opening remarks by President Ruto. The ideas were not new. African academics have been making these arguments for a long time.

What was new was the messenger: a head of state who had personally negotiated with Western creditors that treat African governments like wayward teenagers on allowance, and discovered – out of sheer necessity -that there are other lenders on the continent willing to answer the phone.

There was something almost evangelical about his delivery – the zeal of the recently converted. That did not surprise because early in his administration, the government had to turn to the African Export-Import Bank and the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) for cash, not out of ideological conviction, but because the government was, at that time, more or less locked out of Western capital markets. Now, having survived that experience, he has elevated the necessity into a doctrine.

Dr Ruto invoked the African Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation, and the TDB not as fallback options when Western capital markets slam the door, but as the primary architects of Africa’s financial future. Bold framing – though one suspects the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remains on speed dial.

His most substantive point concerned Africa’s pension industry – a sleeping giant, as he correctly called it. More than $1 trillion in African pension and insurance assets sit underutilised while governments queue at Western capital markets to borrow at punishing risk premiums, assigned by rating agencies whose methodology critics have long argued is structurally biased against the continent.

President Ruto proposed a continental association of pension funds to mobilise domestic savings for infrastructure. He backed the proposed African Credit Rating Agency.

These ideas have circulated in academic papers and African Union commission reports for the better part of two decades.

The difference here is that a sitting president – one who has personally felt the rating agencies’ boot on his neck – was making the case from experience rather than from a think-tank.

To demonstrate the concept was not merely rhetorical, he pointed to Kenya’s newly created National Infrastructure Fund, which he said had mobilised $2 billion in months. The National Social Security Fund is one of the anchor investors on the multibillion-dollar Rironi-Mau Summit Road toll project.

That is, ultimately, what Ruto’s address was: not a manifesto but a field report from a laboratory rat who made it out of the maze and now wants to brief the other rats on the layout.

Meanwhile, the summit’s polished surface concealed several uncomfortable truths its organisers preferred to leave undisturbed. While Mr Macron spoke warmly of innovation and partnership, French corporate giants were quietly walking out the back door. BNP Paribas was winding down its South African investment arm.

Société Générale was offloading subsidiaries in Burkina Faso. The Bolloré Group – once the very symbol of France’s commercial grip on the continent – had already sold its African logistics empire and departed without ceremony. One might ask: if this is a partnership summit, why do all the partners seem to be leaving?

The summit also exhibited a spectacular ability to avoid the most important questions. France, a nation of 68 million people, produces more wheat than the entirety of sub-Saharan Africa. A genuine partnership summit would have put seed science, irrigation technology, and agricultural productivity transfer at its centre.

The debt question, too, was handled with characteristic discretion: by not handling it at all. Most of the 30 leaders in attendance govern economies where debt service has eaten away all fiscal space for schools and hospitals.

Africa needs something on the scale of the 1953 London Debt Agreement – the arrangement that capped postwar Germany’s repayments and enabled its economic miracle.

As a leading IMF shareholder, Macron had standing to champion debt reform. He chose the safer path- the group photograph.

And the summit barely touched on what may prove the century’s most consequential economic question: Africa’s transition minerals. The green energy revolution runs on niobium, coltan, manganese, and other materials found in abundance across the continent.

The ideas Dr Ruto articulated in Nairobi are worth taking seriously – not because they are novel, but because they are now being advanced by a leader with fresh scar tissue from the very institutions he was critiquing.

That is a different kind of authority. Whether it translates into collective African action, or simply becomes the intellectual wallpaper at the next summit remains to be seen.

Diversified retailer Car and General (C and G) says the improved performance of its boda-boda business has lifted the company from a two-year revenue slump that was previously linked to a weaker demand for motorcycles in the Kenyan market.

The company says in its latest annual report that its boda-boda business in Kenya resumed growth to a monthly average sales of 8,000 units per month in 2025 from 4,600 in 2024.

‘The twelve-month period from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 was positive with all markets showing signs of recovery,’ the company says.

‘In Kenya, specifically, the boda-boda business resumed growth to a monthly average of 8,000 units from a low of 4,600 units per month in 2024. This led to recovery in growth of our Kenya business after two years of decline. In addition, we saw reasonable growth in all product lines and territories.’

The Economic Survey 2026 shows that motorcycle sales in Kenya more than doubled in 2025 to 241,763 units reflecting a strong demand from public transport and courier sectors as prices of motorcycles eased on the back of a stable exchange rate and lower lending rates.

Newly registered motorcycles rose from 118,308 units in 2024, marking a second consecutive year of recovery after sales plunged to 70,691 in 2023.

‘Kenya boda-boda sales are recovering. Volumes in our two-wheeler business in Kenya increased whilst three-wheeler and consumable sales remained stable. In Tanzania, volumes of two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales grew. We see positive potential in all areas going forward,’ the company says.

The group’s net profit grew to Sh2.4 billion in the year ended December 2025 from Sh526 million in the prior year, lifted by motorcycle sales.

Its total revenues grew by 20.9 percent to Sh25.3 billion from Sh20.9 billion in the same period, with the sale of boda-bodas cited as a major contributor.

Sales in Uganda and Tanzania now account for 56 percent of the group’s total sales.

The company made a net loss of Sh273.6 million in the 15 months ended December 2023,reversing a net income of Sh679.4 million in the 12 months to September 2022, with the boda-boda business experiencing a 77 percent in sales volume in Kenya due to increase in fuel price that denied the riders profitability.

These results came after the company changed its financial calendar to end in December from September previously.

C and G says it will continue assembling two-wheelers and three-wheelers at its assembly facilities in Kenya and Tanzania, plans of expanding the production capacity further in 2026.

‘We are confident BodaPlus will do well over time. We are gaining good traction and were profitable in 2025. The market for helmets is growing throughout the region, and our value proposition is solid,’ the company says.

‘We are growing other opportunities related to the localisation of manufacturing including the manufacture of riding suits. We now export to eight countries.’

The company says geopolitical tensions arising from the conflicts in Iran resulted in disruption to some global supply chains, including intermittent delays of logistics and volatility in oil prices which could have potential impact on the group’s operations in future.

‘Going forward, we believe uncertainty will persist in 2026. We do, however, expect less turbulence in East Africa subject to continued availability of fuel. Key to success will be maintaining strict fundamentals in terms of higher efficiency levels in all areas of our business, maintaining market share in core products and achieving satisfactory profitability across all businesses,’ the company said.