Category: Business Daily

Tycoon Jaswant Rai’s takeover of Nzoia Sugar’s factory and nucleus is under scrutiny over alleged concealment of key details in the 30-year concession, even as he pledged to share a portion of sugar and molasses output with the State and inject Sh5.76 billion.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has flagged the leasing of Nzoia Sugar to Rai’s West Kenya Sugar Company as opaque, saying her office was not furnished with a formal handover document or asset valuation report, raising concerns the assets may have been undervalued.

West Kenya is the maker of the Kabras brand.

Under the leadership of Jaswant, the Rai family will manage and operate Nzoia Sugar’s factory and nucleus estate of 3,600 hectares for the next 30 years.

In the audit report for the year ending June last year, Ms Gathungu revealed that under the leasing agreement, West Kenya would pay Sh4,000 per tonne for sugar and Sh3,000 per tonne for molasses, a by-product of cane milling largely used in the production of alcohol, produced from the cane milled at Nzoia Sugar.

“The process of leasing was successfully completed and a handing over between the awarded winner of the lease for the Company and the management of the Company was done on May 10, 2025 at the Company premises,” said the Auditor-General in the report tabled in the National Assembly on April 1, 2026.

“However, no formal handing over document was provided for audit review, neither was a lease contract provided. In addition, it could not be established whether the company’s assets were valued to inform the leasing arrangement. In the circumstances, the regularity of the leasing process could not be confirmed.”

West Kenya did not respond to questions on the claims by the Auditor-General and whether it has injected the Sh5.76 billion into Nzoia.

West Kenya had also promised to pay a one-off goodwill payment of Sh208,305,000 and make an initial investment of Sh5,764,000,000 within six months after signing the contract.

This marks the first time details of one of the leasing agreements have been made public, with the information having remained secret since the government leased out four state-owned sugar mills to private investors.

The four state-owned companies had been haemorrhaging, failing to pay growers and compelling the government to perennially come to their rescue through bailouts. A lasting solution, the government reckoned, was to hand over their management and operations to private investors through leasing agreements.

However, details of the agreements were never made public, kicking off a wave of speculation.

Even as the details of the leasing agreement were revealed, Ms Gathungu flagged the opaque manner in which Nzoia’s assets, including the factory and nucleus estate, were handed over to West Kenya.

The Rai family is one of the sugar barons that emerged from the liberalisation of the sugar industry in the 1990s, rising to dominate private milling as State millers fell on their knees.

Through their holding company, the Rai Group, under which there is a total of 23 companies, the family controls close to 50 percent of the sugar market in the country through its milling factories.

The family owns West Kenya, Olepito, Sukari and Naitiri, whose combined capacity gives the family a strong grip on the sugar market.

But it is the leasing of Nzoia Sugar, once a fierce competitor of West Kenya, that has raised eyebrows. West Kenya’s fight with Bungoma-based Nzoia Sugar over cane poaching was at some point brutal.

As its financial woes worsened, Nzoia Sugar blamed West Kenya’s Naitiri for its losses, accusing it of cane poaching.

Besides West Kenya’s leasing of Nzoia, other fledgling State millers have also been given out largely to their erstwhile competitors. While West Kenya squared it out with Nzoia, Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries scrambled for the same cane farmers with Chemelil.

Under the latest leasing agreement, Chemelil is being operated by Kibos for the next 30 years.

West Valley, which is in Kericho County, took over its neighbour Muhoroni Sugar. The only exception is South Nyanza Sugar Company (Sony), which has been leased to Busia Sugar Industry, associated with the family of the late Salim Ahmed Taib Bajaber, the founder of Kitui Flour Mills, which owns Dola Maize Flour.

But it is the leasing of Nzoia Sugar by West Kenya that has captured the attention of the Auditor-General, who described it as “unsupported leasing.”

Mr Rai is not new to controversy regarding the takeover of State assets. In 2016, the Rai Group took over Webuye Paper Mills through a lease agreement. However, critics have noted that the family has not been able to revive the company, which was once the economic backbone of Webuye town. The Rai Group has denied the accusations.

Jaswant and his cousin Sarbjit of Uganda’s Sarrai Group in 2023 found themselves on the receiving end of President William Ruto’s tongue-lashing over their legal battles for the control of Mumias Sugar Company, the ailing sugar milling giant.

“We have told those people (Jaswant and Sarbjit) to move out. Mumias belongs to the people and we shall plan for the revival of the sugar mill afresh,” said the President during his visit to Western Kenya.

“Let them withdraw the court case and move out. I have told them there are only three options left: they either move out, go to jail or embark on the journey to heaven.”

Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has lost a bid to stop the attachment of his property over a Sh983,186 labour court award owed to a former employee.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi dismissed his application seeking to suspend execution of the decree, set aside the 2023 judgment, enjoin the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), and file an appeal out of time.

In a ruling delivered on April 24, the court declined to halt execution of the decree arising from a September 2023 verdict that found the senator liable for unfairly dismissing Zakayo Rotiken.

The court found no merit in the senator’s bid to set aside the judgment, join the PSC to the case and seek leave to appeal out of time.

‘The applicant has not given/demonstrated any good/valid reason and/or shown any reasonable cause as to why the court’s judgment should be set aside,’ the court ruled, dismissing the application with costs and clearing the way for execution to proceed.

Auction threat

Mr Ole Kina filed the application in December 2025 after Betabase Auctioneers served him with a proclamation notice seeking to attach his movable property in execution of the court decree.

He told the court he only became aware of the judgment and ensuing execution process upon receiving the notice, prompting him to seek urgent intervention to halt enforcement, reopen the case and challenge liability, including a bid to bring in the PSC.

Court records show the dispute stems from a claim filed in February 2021 by Mr Rotiken, who accused the senator of unfair termination and non-payment of salary arrears.

In a judgment delivered on September 26, 2023, the court found that Mr Rotiken’s employment had been terminated without valid reason or due process.

Mr Rotiken testified that he was employed by the senator on September 1, 2017 under a written contract at a consolidated monthly salary of Sh45,000 and worked until September 7, 2020.

The court awarded him salary arrears of Sh90,389 together with gratuity calculated at 31 percent of total earnings, and compensation equivalent to two months’ salary amounting to Sh80,946, alongside costs and interest.

The total decretal sum later rose to about Sh983,186 after taxation of costs and accrued interest.

Court rejection

Despite being served with court documents, the senator did not file a response or participate in the proceedings, leading to an ex-parte judgment in favour of the claimant.

Execution proceedings began after the decree remained unsettled, culminating in the proclamation of the senator’s property by auctioneers.

It was only after the proclamation that the senator moved to court seeking urgent orders to stop the auction and reopen the case.

In his application, Mr Ole Kina argued that the dispute arose in the course of official duties at the Narok Senate office and that the PSC should assume responsibility for the claim.

He maintained that there were ‘serious and triable issues’ regarding who bore liability and asked the court to enjoin the commission to the suit.

However, the court rejected the arguments, noting that the PSC had never been a party to the proceedings and could not be introduced after the case had already been concluded.

‘A new party cannot be enjoined to a determined suit,’ the judge said, emphasising that the rights of the parties had already been settled in the 2023 judgment.

The court also faulted the senator for failing to explain why he did not defend the suit despite being properly served.

‘No reason is given as to why the respondent did not enter appearance, did not defend the suit, and did not participate in the proceedings,’ the court observed.

It further dismissed the request to set aside the judgment while simultaneously seeking leave to appeal, terming it legally untenable.

‘A party cannot ‘appeal’ against a judgment that is set aside,’ the judge ruled.

Lawyers for Mr Rotiken opposed the application, describing it as an abuse of the court process and citing an inordinate delay of more than three years.

The court agreed, finding that the delay had not been justified.

A 12 percent wage increase sounds like relief especially at a time when the cost of living continues to strain households. It feels like something has finally shifted in favour of workers. But relief is not the same as progress.

When government signals higher wages across the economy, the assumption is simple: workers earn more, and therefore live better.

The reality is less straightforward. Wages do not exist in isolation. They sit inside a system shaped by productivity, costs, taxes, and incentives. Change one part without addressing the rest, and the outcome rarely matches the intention.

Employers do not operate in a vacuum. When wage bills rise suddenly, businesses adjust.

Some reduce hiring. Others slow expansion.

Many quietly begin to withdraw the very benefits that make employment tolerable. Overtime is cut. Training budgets shrink. Staff meals, transport allowances, and small welfare provisions disappear. Bonuses become irregular or vanish altogether.

The worker who was meant to benefit from a wage increase often finds that the total value of their employment has not improved. In some cases, it declines.

This is not because employers are indifferent. It is because they are responding to pressure. A business must balance what it pays with what it produces. If output does not rise in tandem with wages, something else gives.

That is the first problem with top-down wage adjustments. They assume that income can be raised without first strengthening the underlying capacity that sustains it.

The second problem is less visible but more consequential. Even where wages increase, the gains are quickly eroded by the structure of taxation and statutory deductions. A worker may see a higher gross salary, but by the time PAYE, levies, and contributions are applied, the net improvement is marginal.

In Kenya today, that erosion is significant. Housing levies, health contributions, and shifting tax brackets mean that part of any wage increase flows back to the government. What appears to be relief on paper becomes a recycling mechanism in practice.

The result is a cycle that feels familiar. Workers are told they are earning more. Employers are paying more. Yet neither side feels meaningfully better off.

This is where the conversation needs to shift.

Kenya’s central economic challenge is not simply low wages. It is the limited capacity of the economy to absorb labour at scale. Too many people are able and willing to work, but too few opportunities exist that can sustain them productively.

Raising wages in that environment does not solve the problem. It makes it worse. When the cost of labour rises without a corresponding increase in productivity, firms become more cautious.

Hiring slows and entry-level opportunities shrink or informal arrangements expand. In the long run, this weakens the very workforce the policy is meant to protect.

If the goal is to improve the welfare of workers, the more durable path lies elsewhere. It begins with investment.

An economy that attracts large-scale, sustained investment creates demand for labour. As firms expand, they compete for workers which pushes wages upward naturally, without the need for directive adjustments. More importantly, it does so in a way that is tied to productivity, making those wages sustainable.

For that to happen, government policy must focus on enabling conditions rather than direct outcomes. Investors respond to clarity, predictability, and cost structures.

They look for affordable and reliable energy, efficient logistics, access to finance, and a regulatory environment that does not shift unpredictably. Where those conditions exist, capital flows. Where capital flows, jobs follow.

There is also a fiscal dimension that cannot be ignored. A broader base of employment expands the tax base. More people working productively means more revenue without the need to increase tax rates. As revenues stabilise, the pressure to rely on borrowing reduces. Debt servicing costs begin to ease, freeing up public resources.

Those resources can then be redirected into infrastructure, healthcare, education, water and other enablers that reinforce growth.

Kenya does not need louder announcements. It needs a more coherent economic strategy, one that begins with job creation, expands opportunity, and allows wages to rise as a result of a stronger, more productive system. That is the path to lasting improvement.

That is the loop Kenya needs to close.

At present, however, the sequence is reversed. Wage increases are announced before the underlying conditions for productivity and investment have been strengthened. Taxes remain high because the base is narrow. Businesses face rising costs. Workers face limited opportunities. The system strains under its own contradictions.

None of this suggests that workers do not deserve better pay. They do, but better pay that is not anchored in productivity and supported by a conducive economic environment is difficult to sustain.

Short-term measures can create the impression of action. They can generate goodwill. But they do not address the structural constraints that shape outcomes over time.

The harder work is less visible. It involves building an economy that can carry higher wages without breaking under them. That means focusing less on announcing increases and more on enabling growth. It means asking not just how much workers earn today, but how many people can earn tomorrow, and under what conditions.

Until that shift happens, wage increases will continue to offer momentary relief while leaving the deeper problems intact.

We have all seen it, a multi-million marketing campaign promising world-class service, only to have that illusion shatter the moment we reach a deli counter or a checkout lane.

The reality of business is that a CEO can dream up a vision and a marketing team can polish a slogan, but the brand’s soul is actually decided on the front lines.

These micro-experiences-the genuine helpfulness of a baker or the speed of a cashier-shape public perception in ways a billboard never could. Indeed, the secret to a thriving retail business isn’t found in a ledger; it is found in the energy of the staff.

When an employee feels invested in, that energy is transferred directly to the customer. When they feel like a replaceable cog in a machine, the customer feels that friction, too.

In today’s market, the ultimate competitive advantage isn’t just how many people you hire-it’s how many choose to stay. This is the hallmark of a “destination employer.” It shifts the workplace dynamic from a mere transaction-taking a job because it’s there-to a long-term career partnership.

When a retailer can retain some of its staff for more than 20 years, they aren’t simply celebrating loyalty; they are leveraging a massive strategic edge.

Long-term staff bring institutional knowledge and a sense of purpose that a new hire, no matter how talented, cannot replicate overnight. They solve problems faster because they’ve seen them before, and they treat the business like owners because they’ve helped build it.

That’s why investing in fair pay and employee well-being is so important. Similarly, investing in employee training is crucial for any business looking to succeed.

Too often, training and development budgets are the first to be slashed during a recession. This is a fundamental mistake. Training isn’t merely about teaching someone how to operate a barcode scanner.

It should also cover soft skills like empathy, active listening and creative problem-solving, to ensure that employees are able to handle complex customer needs efficiently.

When a company invests in an employee’s growth, it says, “We see a future for you here.” This sense of belonging transforms a mundane job into a craft. It builds a moat around your business that no competitor can cross.

In an era where products are easily mimicked and prices are constantly undercut, the human element is the only thing your competitors cannot steal.

If you want to win over the customer, you have to win over the person serving them first. Without a motivated team, everything else-the slogans, the logos, the strategy-is just paperwork.

There is a version of the founder story we rarely tell. Not the one about surviving the lean years, managing cash flow through drought, or holding a team together when the system turns hostile. That version has its own dignity and difficulty. The one we rarely tell begins later. It kicks in when things start working.

It is easy to assume that success is the reward for surviving. That once the early friction eases, revenue steadies and recognition arrives, the hardest work is behind you.

But founders who have lived through that transition know a quieter truth. The shadow that emerges in seasons of success is more insidious than the one that follows failure. It comes without announcement. It wears the same face you have always known. It speaks in your own voice.

Power does not announce itself. It accumulates.

A founder who once made decisions by consensus begins to notice that rooms adjust when they enter. Opinions that were once challenged are now received.

Disagreements that once arrived bluntly now arrive politely, if they arrive at all. The change is gradual, which is what makes it so dangerous. By the time a founder recognises that the people around them have stopped telling them the truth, the distance has become structural.

Ego is not the problem in isolation. Every founder needs a version of it to begin. The belief that your idea is worth pursuing against all evidence, that your vision justifies the sacrifice, that you can build what others said cannot be built.

That conviction is not arrogance. It is the engine. But engines require governors. Without restraint, the same self-belief that powered the launch becomes the blindness that distorts the journey.

The shift is subtle. A founder stops asking whether they are right and starts expecting to be right. Counsel becomes affirmation.

Feedback becomes friction. The inner circle shrinks not by design but by default, as honest voices find themselves slowly edged out by comfortable ones. Loyalty gets redefined. It stops meaning truth-telling and starts meaning agreement.

Temptation adds its own layer. It does not always arrive as corruption or obvious compromise. More often it arrives dressed as deserved reward. The lifestyle upgrade that feels proportionate. The association with status that feels earned.

The decision made not because it serves the mission but because it signals success. These moments compound quietly. Each one individually defensible. Together they form a pattern. The founder who once built from purpose now makes choices shaped by perception.

What is happening beneath all of this is a spiritual shift. Purpose, the original fuel, begins to drift. In its place comes something that looks similar from the outside but feels different from within. Validation replaces contribution. Applause replaces alignment.

The founder is still building, still moving, still visible. But the inner compass has turned. They are no longer building toward something. They are performing it.

This is the shadow. Not weakness, not failure, but the invisible cost of power accumulated without the accountability structures to match it. The gap between what a founder projects and what they actually carry quietly widens.

The inner work required here is not soft. It is the hardest work a founder can do, because it demands honesty in the direction that feels least comfortable. Not honesty about the market or the team or the competition.

Honesty about the self. About what is driving the decision sitting on the table right now. About whether the circle of voices has narrowed for good reasons or convenient ones. About whether the mission still lives in the decisions being made, or whether it has become the story told about decisions made for other reasons.

Leaders who navigate this well are not the ones who avoid ego or power. They are the ones who stay in relationship with their own shadow. Who create deliberate structures, honest advisors, regular reflection, hard conversations, that interrupt the drift before it becomes displacement.

Who measure themselves not by how often they are right but by how honestly they remain open to being wrong.

There is no shame in the shadow. It is the natural consequence of building something real in environments that demand more than any single person should carry. But it demands the same rigour the business demands. The founder who builds a company without examining their own interior is constructing on ground they have never tested.

Every legacy carries two stories. The one the market tells, and the one the founder carries privately. What we build is visible.

Who we become in the building is the question no pitch deck addresses, no investor due diligence captures, and no valuation quantifies.

The shadow does not wait for permission.

The inner work is the only answer.

Old Mutual General Insurance says its investment in artificial intelligence (AI) helped save about Sh400 million last year by streamlining routine tasks and flagging fictitious claims, pointing to the increasing adoption of automation in the industry.

The insurer explained that using AI has allowed it to cut paperwork in the claims management process, lowering operational costs and improving fraud detection by analysing patterns in the usually data-heavy claim forms.

‘We are relying on AI to reduce areas of revenue leakages and also detect fraud patterns that were initially difficult to catch. Last year, we saw a saving of almost Sh400 million that is directly attributed to AI tools adjudication,’ said Japheth Ogalloh, managing director of Old Mutual General Insurance in an interview.

‘The savings was a mix of the efficiencies we got in our processes as well as the fraudulent claims that were detected along the value chain. The AI use also improved customer experience and engagement by supporting a quicker claims management process.’

Old Mutual’s AI-related savings came in the year the general insurer cut its insurance service expenses to Sh16.69 billion from Sh16.81 billion spent in the previous year. The reduction bucked the industry trend where many insurers were posting a rise in service expenses as claims and claims servicing costs rose.

AI-powered analytics are able to sift through huge amounts of data to identify anomalies and flag suspicious patterns, helping insurers prevent fraud before losses occur.

Old Mutual General Insurance becomes the latest insurer to disclose the use of AI in claims management in an industry where customers frequently complain of delays in settlements even as players say up to 30 percent of claims are fraudulent and require detailed scrutiny.

Other insurers who have previously disclosed the use of AI in their businesses include Jubilee Holdings, Britam Group, APA and Sanlam Allianz.

Many insurers have been facing a delicate balance between weeding out fictitious claims and setting genuine ones on time to avoid eroding their profitability and driving up costs.

A McKinsey and Company report released last year said the best-in-class insurers on AI adoption are seeing 20 percent to 40 percent reductions in costs for onboarding new customers, along with up to five percent improvements in claims accuracy.

Kenyan insurers have been automating their process to appeal to customers, especially the younger generations that are seeking fully-digital and personalised insurance products.

The Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) said last year AI has helped insurers in automating routine processes, enhancing fraud detection and customer engagement to ensure genuine claims are paid within 30 days.

The lobby said several insurers have introduced AI-powered chatbots that provide instant responses to customer queries. Insurers are also integrating machine learning and AI into actuarial modelling and fraud detection.

The fee for accessing eCitizen services will double to Sh100 in changes that will see the charge based on cost of service and look set to make thousands of government services costlier.

Kenyans will now pay Sh100 as ‘convenience fee’ for all services costing over Sh100,000 while those priced between Sh10,000-Sh99,999 will attract a fee of Sh70. Currently, the charge is a flat rate of Sh50.

Doubling of the fee will add to the cost of accessing at least 30,000 government services on eCitizen but hand a windfall to the government in its quest for more revenue collections.

The push to double the fee is part of regulations that the State is banking on to anchor the convenience charge in law, a year after the High Court declared the fee illegal.

‘There shall be a convenience fee charged for some service offered by a national or county government entity onboarded in the System,’ Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi says in the Public Finance Management (E-Citizen System Management) Regulations, 2026.

‘The convenience fee shall not be charged for any services in the System that are offered free of charge.’

The lowest convenience fee will be Sh5 for services costing between Sh100 to Sh499 while all those costing less than Sh99 will be free.

Some of the services that cost more than Sh500 on eCitizen include business registrations, passport applications, amendments to birth and death certificates and re-registration of birth.

Increased fee will increase the cost of eCitizen services but hand a windfall to the three companies behind the platform.

An audit report shows that the shadowy firms behind the eCitizen platform raked in Sh1.45 billion in the year ended June 2024.

The platform is run by a consortium of three companies with one offering technical support and onboarding services while the other aggregates payments and handles incoming payments to the State. The third company handles communications such as bulk SMSs.

The three firms are Pesaflow Limited, Webmasters Kenya and Olivetree Limited.

The government took full ownerships of eCitizen in 2023 but has a contract with the three firms to maintain of the platform in return for a fee , estimated at between Sh100 million- Sh200 million a month.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu raised concerns over the influence that the three have on eCitizen, adding that lack of a backup for the system is a significant threat.

President William Ruto recently said that at least 30,000 government services are now offered via eCitizen with daily collections at Sh2 billion.

Dr Ruto has on several occasions lauded the eCitizen saying that it has removed bottlenecks that hampered access to thousands of government services. But Kenyans have decried the convenience fee, especially when the charge is almost as high as the service being offered.

The regulations, currently before the public for scrutiny come a year after the High Court declared the Sh50 convenience fee as illegal, discriminatory, amounted to a double charge and one that was adopted without public participation.

The government subsequently filed a petition at the Court of Appeal but lost it in November last year, triggering the latest push to anchor the fee in regulations.

The State had argued that that Kenyans risked missing out on thousands of government services unless the High Court was reversed, adding that the convenience fee caters for maintenance and contractual obligations.

Mr Mbadi says that all national and county government entity offering services via the eCitizen will cease to operate any revenue bank accounts for collection of the funds.

Businessman Muhoho Kenyatta is the top individual shareholder in NCBA Group with 227.3 million shares currently valued in the market at Sh20 billion, making it the largest disclosed personal fortune on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The bank disclosed in a May 4 circular to shareholders that Muhoho, part of the business dynasty of Kenya’s founding President Jomo Kenyatta, holds the NCBA shares directly and indirectly through investment vehicles.

This is the first time the full extent of Muhoho’s interest in NCBA has been revealed, with the disclosure made in connection with Nedbank Group’s offer to acquire a controlling 66 percent stake in the Kenyan bank.

He joined the board of NCBA as a non-executive director on December 1, 2025 amid the buyout talks with Nedbank.

His status as a director of the bank has seen his beneficial interest in the firm disclosed alongside that of other board members.

Muhoho’s interest of 227.3 million shares in NCBA indicates that the wider Kenyatta family could have a larger stake in the firm, where the majority of the shares are held under multiple investment vehicles.

These investment vehicles date back to the era of Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and NIC Group – the banks that operated independently for decades before merging in September 2019 to create NCBA Group.

The Kenyatta family has long been associated with Enke Investments, which holds 217.4 million shares in NCBA equivalent to a 13.2 percent stake.

Previous disclosures indicated that Muhoho directly owned 12.7 million shares worth Sh1.1 billion.

The family of former Central Bank of Kenya governor, Philip Ndegwa, owns First Chartered Securities, which controls 246.1 million shares representing a 14.94 percent stake in the bank.

Some individual family members have separate personal investments in the bank, augmenting their total interest in the firm.

NCBA director Andrew Ndegwa holds 77.6 million shares in the lender valued at Sh6.83 billion, placing his dividend earnings at Sh551.3 million.

His brother James Ndegwa, who chairs the bank’s board, has 76.6 million shares worth Sh6.74 billion and on which he will be paid a dividend of Sh543.9 million.

Muhoho’s interest in NCBA -which will see him earn a dividend of Sh1.6 billion for the year ended December 2025- dwarfs other disclosed NSE fortunes, including banking stakes held by other billionaires.

Equity Group’s chief executive, James Mwangi, has 127.8 million shares in the bank worth Sh9.6 billion and which will earn him a dividend of Sh734.9 million.

I and M Group director Suresh Shah holds 174.9 million shares in the bank worth Sh8.6 billion, a move that will see him receive a dividend of Sh656 million.

The Kenyattas are considered one of Africa’s wealthiest families, with their vast business interests spanning transport, insurance, hotels, farming, land ownership and the media industry in Kenya.

Other investments are Brookside Dairy, high-end Peponi School and the upmarket and chic hotel chain, Heritage Hotels East Africa.

The family is also linked to Media Max Company, which owns K24 TV, Kameme Radio and The People Daily newspaper.

The deal with Nedbank is expected to immediately diversify the fortunes of Muhoho and his fellow top shareholders of NCBA.

Nedbank has made a cash-and-stock offer to NCBA shareholders, with those accepting its deal converting most of their holdings into shares of the South African firm, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

‘In addition, the board recognises the strategic benefits for NCBA Shareholders associated with Nedbank’s listing on the JSE. The accepting shareholders who will receive Nedbank shares are likely to benefit from the JSE’s strong liquidity, deep market diversity and robust regulatory environment, all of which enhance investment flexibility and long-term value potential,’ NCBA’s board said in the circular.

The board noted that the JSE is one of the most liquid exchanges in the emerging markets, enabling investors to enter and exit positions efficiently while reducing transaction-related frictions.

‘Its breadth of sectors and instruments allows for natural portfolio diversification, and banking stocks in particular offer exposure to a well-capitalised, resilient financial system supported by disciplined regulation and consistent dividend-paying histories,’ the board said.

NCBA itself will help to diversify Nedbank’s business, which currently comprises operations in six Southern Africa markets. The Kenyan banking multinational is a strong player in the East African market, where its digital credit services reach millions of customers.

‘Together, these features make Nedbank, a JSE-listed banking entity, an attractive option for investors seeking both liquidity and balanced, long-term growth potential,’ NCBA’s board added.

NCBA shareholders can tender 66 percent of their holdings to Nedbank. Out of this pool of shares, 80 percent of the units will be converted into Nedbank shares at a rate of 4.02994 shares for every 100 shares.

The Nedbank shares are priced at 250 rand (Sh1,928.5) using the deal’s exchange rate.

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

Those whose holdings are not large enough to secure them at least 200 Nedbank shares will receive only a cash price of Sh105 per share for the stocks they will have tendered.

Nedbank says it will spend a maximum of Sh31.6 billion in the cash component, while the number of shares it will issue in the deal is capped at 43.8 million. The transaction is valued at a total of 13.9 billion South African rand (Sh109.3 billion at current exchange rates).

NCBA will remain listed on the NSE, with minority investors holding a 34 percent stake.

The use of trial-and-error to guess login credentials such as usernames and passwords to steal sensitive data or cash surged to 46.38 million attacks in Kenya in the three months to March, as the country shifts to cloud-based services.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) said cases of persistent guessing of login credentials or encryption keys until the correct combination is found, technically called brute-force cyberattacks, increased 8.4 percent to 42.8 million recorded in the previous quarter.

These cases are increasingly targeting critical information infrastructure such as cloud service providers and government systems, the watchdog said. The latest figure marks the highest number of brute attacks Kenya has ever recorded in a single quarter and brings the total such threats detected over the past year to more than 128.8 million.

Attackers are primarily targeting database servers and user authentication systems, exploiting weak credentials, unpatched systems, and misconfigured remote access services.

The criminals then steal personal or financial information from databases and emails, deploy malware or ransomware, and hijack systems for further attacks.

‘Over the period, attackers increasingly targeted IoT (internet of things) devices and remotely accessible systems through exposed Telnet ports, misconfigured RDP services and vulnerable libssh versions,’ the CA said in its latest cybersecurity report.

The spike in the attacks comes as the overall number of cyber threat events declined by 26.15 per cent compared to the October-December 2025 period, suggesting a shift by criminals to more focused and persistent attack methods.

It also comes as Kenya positions itself as a regional technology hub and adopts a ‘cloud-first’ strategy for the delivery of public services.

Hackers stole a record Sh1.59 billion from Kenyan banks in 2024 in an attack that highlights the risk of cyber heists in the wake of heavy investment in tech and mobile banking.

Cyberthieves stole Sh810.68 million last, from Sh182.41 million a year earlier, through mobile banking -representing a jump of 344 percent.

The disclosure shows that the theft of customer deposits has grown fourfold from Sh412 million in 2023 due to fraudulent wire-transfer requests.

CBK data showed card fraud cost customers Sh263.29 million, being 16.9 times the Sh15.59 million lost in the prior year.

Computer fraud, which includes as hacking into systems to steal data, saw bank customers lose Sh203.39 million, a 2.7 times jump from the preceding year, while fraud through identity theft grew six times to Sh199.08 million.

The review period saw online banking fraud rise to Sh111.83 million from Sh106.2 million, while internet scams cost lenders Sh6.07 million up from Sh797,7000 in the prior year.

Cloud infrastructure offers virtual integration of hardware and software components such as servers, storage, networking, and management tools, to deliver cloud computing services over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing, replacing the need for on-premises data centres.

Kenya’s Cloud Policy requires public institutions to prioritise cloud services over traditional systems. Local businesses, especially SMEs and technology startups, have also been adopting cloud computing.

Cloud infrastructure has traditionally been provided by global tech giants such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and Google. Some businesses, however, have opted for locally hosted IT infrastructure due to competitive pricing, lower network latency, and access to locally based technical support.

But experts say the growing reliance on interconnected systems, alongside increased adoption of remote working in companies and government offices, is expanding the attack surface for cyber criminals, particularly in sectors handling sensitive data.

Cybercriminals use the initial entry into an organisation’s system to steal credentials, pivot within the network for higher privileges, and sometimes cause financial fraud. Privilege escalation involves increasing access rights within a network, moving from a standard user to a high-level administrator, or accessing peer-level accounts.

‘These attacks were largely enabled by compromised credentials, lack of multifactor authentication and expanded remote working, with the objective of gaining unauthorised remote access and escalating privileges,’ the communications watchdog said.

Some of the high-profile cyberattacks recorded in the country include last November, when dozens of Kenyan government websites, including the State House, Immigration Department, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, were defaced with extremist messages.

In July 2023, the State’s eCitizen platform was taken over by cybercriminals, which saw access to more than 5,000 government services from ministries, county governments and agencies paralysed.

The government in both cases said no data was lost during the attacks.

According to the CA, the broader cyber threat landscape is driven by inadequate system patching, low user awareness of phishing and social engineering tactics, and the rising use of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools by malicious actors.

Most people are drawn to a planter based on its colour, shape, and whether it looks right in the space they have in mind.

Magdalyne Kataa, a pot and plant seller based in Ruiru, says that such instinct is fine, but it is only half of the decision-making process and often the less important half.

‘The other half has nothing to do with aesthetics. It’s about root space, drainage, the material used, and whether the pot is suitable for the conditions in which the plant will actually live in,’ she says.

“Get these wrong, and you’ll end up with a struggling plant in a beautiful pot.”

Samuel Kungu, a pot seller based in Karen, agrees. He explains that a hanging pot that looks great on a Nairobi apartment balcony would be unsuitable for a large garden, while a wide ceramic bowl that is perfect for a slow-growing succulent would not be suitable for a fast-growing palm.

‘The moment you try to find one universal answer, you are already asking the wrong question,’ says Samuel.

So, what should you consider when picking a planter? Size is the most important factor for plant health. Magdalyne explains that roots need enough room to expand as the plant grows.

‘If you put a plant in a very small pot, it will prevent it from growing,’ she says.

The plant stalls not because there is anything wrong with the soil or the light, but because the root system has nowhere left to go. And if a plant is placed in a pot that is too large for it, the excess, wet soil will cause rotting.

Magdalyne’s rule of thumb is to match the depth and width of the pot to the plant’s growth pattern, rather than its current size.

‘Deep containers suit plants with long taproots, such as trees and tomatoes, or anything growing aggressively downward. Shallow, wider containers suit plants that spread horizontally, such as herbs, succulents, and ground-cover varieties,’ she says.

The material your planter is made of shapes the growing conditions inside it, often in ways that are invisible until something goes wrong.

‘Plastic is lightweight, affordable, and retains moisture well, making it a practical choice for plants that need consistent watering, as well as for anyone who moves their pots around frequently,’ Samuel says.

Clay and terracotta are porous, meaning water evaporates through the walls as well as the soil surface. This is ideal for plants that prefer to dry out between waterings, such as succulents, cacti, and most Mediterranean herbs. However, for moisture-loving plants, Samuel says it means watering far more frequently than planned.

‘Ceramic is well-suited to indoor plants in stable environments, but it is heavy and often expensive, and the glaze reduces breathability compared to unglazed clay. Its weight also makes it impractical for balconies or situations where it might need to be moved,’ says Samuel.

As for metal planters, they have a clean, modern look but can be problematic in an overly hot environment.

‘Metal conducts temperature efficiently, so a metal pot in direct afternoon sunlight will heat the soil to a temperature that can damage the roots. If you want to use a metal pot, keep it in the shade or use it indoors,’ advises Magdalyne.

Wood insulates roots well against temperature swings and brings natural warmth to a garden or balcony.

‘The vulnerability is moisture-untreated wood rots, particularly in high-rainfall conditions. Treated or lined wooden planters can last a long time, but they do require maintenance,’ she adds.

Fibreglass is a relatively new product on the Kenyan market.

‘Unlike clay, it gives you a lot of flexibility,’ says Magdalyne.

‘For anyone who wants both functionality and design freedom, fibreglass currently occupies the strongest position of any available material.’

Drainage

Your planter must drain.

“A pot without drainage holes creates a reservoir of stagnant water at the base of the soil that roots cannot escape. The roots sit in stagnant water, so oxygen cannot reach them, and they begin to rot.”

Magdalyne advises checking for drainage holes before buying.

For indoor plants, place each draining pot on a saucer and empty it regularly.

Match your planter to your space

Magdalyne notes that balcony-hanging pots have become one of her fastest-selling products. Troughs, long rectangular planters that hold two or three plants side by side, let you add variety without placing pots everywhere.

In a suburban home with a garden, think big, says Samuel.

‘Large statement pots anchor outdoor spaces and allow for plants that cannot live in small containers, such as trees, tall grasses, and dense shrubs,’ he explains.

Magdalyne often recommends lemon cypress in tall fiberglass pots for walkways and driveways.

However, a common mistake is overcrowding, which affects all living situations. A wall of pots overcrowded into a corner may look lush in photographs, but it struggles in reality.

‘Plants compete for light and air. Fewer pots, placed where conditions genuinely suit the plants inside them, will always outperform a crowded collection,’ says Magdalyne.

If you want a green space that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance, it’s better to have fewer large pots with slow-growing, drought-tolerant varieties than many small pots that demand regular attention.

‘Some clients will tell you, ‘I rarely stay at home, so I need something that requires minimal care,'” says Magdalyne. Matching the plant and pot to this reality is as important as any other factor.