Category: Business Daily

Six investment vehicles linked to Cytonn have lost a bid to overturn the cancellation of their titles for properties in Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties that were registered under the Official Receiver, leaving the State as the properties custodian.

The Environment and Land Court ruled that the land registrars did not act independently or unlawfully in cancelling the titles and registering the Official Receiver, but were carrying out binding preservation, vesting and implementation orders issued by the Insolvency Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The properties include residential, commercial and mixed-use developments, ranging from luxury villas in Karen to large residential communities in Ruiru, Ruaka, Ridgeways, Kilimani and Athi River.

The decision removes a legal challenge to the Receiver’s registration over the properties, but does not free him to dispose them of because earlier Supreme Court orders stopping enforcement of the vesting orders remain in force pending the appeal.

The ruling concerns projects described as Kilimani, Riverrun, Taraji, The Ridge, Applewood and Mystic Plains.

At the same time, the High Court has suspended a constitutional petition by Goal Advisory Africa, trustee of the regulated Cytonn High Yield Fund representing more than 24,000 investors, pending the Supreme Court’s determination of the properties dispute.

The rulings arose from the liquidation of Cytonn High Yield Solutions (CHYS) LLP and Cytonn Real Estate Project Notes LLP, placed under liquidation in January 2023.

The State began seeking bids for several properties in March 2026 as part of efforts to recover about Sh11 billion owed to more than 3,000 investors. The properties included The Ridge, Taraji Heights, Applewood Villas and three Kilimani parcels.

In the first case, Cytonn Investment Partners Four, Five, Ten, Eleven and Sixteen LLPs and Epazec Company LLP challenged the Chief Land Registrar and land registrars in Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos.

They wanted the court to quash cancellation of their titles and restore their names in the land register.

They argued that the registrars acted without notice, breached the Land Registration Act and violated their property rights and right to fair administrative action.

The applicants told the court that the Chief Land Registrar and other land registrars unlawfully cancelled their titles, registered the Official Receiver as proprietor and issued provisional titles without notice or compliance with Section 33 of the Land Registration Act.

They said some properties had competing titles and that several had been advertised for sale.

The Official Receiver disputed that account, saying the High Court had preserved the properties after finding a connection between investor money and their acquisition.

It said the court later vested the properties in the liquidator and authorised steps to issue provisional titles where original documents were not surrendered. The Court of Appeal upheld those orders on November 21, 2025.

The registrars said they had no independent discretion because they were implementing court orders.

Justice Christine Ochieng agreed, finding that statutory procedures governing provisional titles did not apply where registration was undertaken pursuant to a court order.

‘Judicial review cannot be used to seek to circumvent compliance with a subsisting court order nor as a substitute for appeal. Judicial review is unavailable because there was no independent administrative decision to review or quash,’ the judge said.

In the second case, Goal Advisory Africa asked the High Court to compel the Chief Land Registrar to disclose the documents and process used to issue the provisional titles, but the request was declined.

The trustee said it represented a regulated fund with more than 24,000 investors and held first-ranking creditor interests exceeding Sh267.9 million over the properties.

Justice Patricia Nyaundi declined to compel disclosure, holding that Goal Advisory had not first used the procedure under the Access to Information Act. ‘The applicant has not laid a basis for not proceeding as provided for under the Act,’ she ruled.

The court suspended the petition pending the Supreme Court case and directed that it return on February 3, 2027.

Africa has the potential to develop and advance a specialised agricultural industry, supplying cosmetic extracts to global cosmetic manufacturers. While coffee, tea and flowers have contributed significantly to economic empowerment, the opportunity to cultivate and process botanical ingredients for beauty and personal care deserves added attention.

Often, the easier path is to grow and export raw materials. However, greater economic value could be captured through extraction and processing of ingredients that cosmetic formulators can readily incorporate into their products. The economic difference between exporting raw botanical materials and supplying standardised extracts could be substantial.

The opportunity is already evident in existing trade. In 2024, Kenya exported approximately $6.5 million worth of essential oils under one product category, while South Africa sold about $20.4 million in the same category.

Further, Research published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems also documents how Namibia’s Eudafano Women’s Co-operative has supplied marula oil to international cosmetic companies, including The Body Shop. These figures evidence that African producers are already participating in international botanical ingredient supply chains, with considerable scope to explore further opportunities in local processing and export development.

The skincare industry has experienced significant growth, with botanical extracts increasingly being explored for their potential to address concerns such as hyperpigmentation and support skin barrier function. That said, the economic opportunities for farmers, local processors, laboratory professionals and manufacturers could be substantial.

The greater challenge, however, is how the continent can develop a competitive botanical ingredient industry capable of meeting the standards required by cosmetic formulators in markets such as South Korea, the European Union and the United States.

To achieve and maintain these standards, there must be reliable cultivation, extraction facilities, laboratory testing, traceability systems and consistent quality control. Research published in the South African Journal of Botany demonstrates how African plant resources can supply ingredients for specialised cosmetic applications. The paper reviewed several commercially important African botanical oils, including marula, baobab and Kalahari melon seed oil, highlighting their potential applications in the cosmetics industry.

A review published in Pharmacia further supports the importance of technical expertise in developing specialised cosmetic ingredients. These studies provide a useful starting point for examining the relationship between botanical research, intellectual property and industrial growth.

It would be interesting to explore how Africa can translate its botanical research into commercially viable cosmetic ingredients through stronger collaboration between farmers, scientists and manufacturers. Such an approach could create new opportunities for agricultural exports, local industrial growth and greater participation in the global beauty industry.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) penalties imposed on commercial banks and foreign exchange bureaus rose 57.6 percent to Sh93 million in the year ended June 2026, coinciding with the period when the regulator tightened sanctions for breaches of banking rules.

Latest CBK disclosures show that penalties rose from Sh59 million a year earlier, although they remained below the Sh191 million recorded in 2024. The CBK did not disclose the identity of the banks it fined.

Penalties stood at Sh66 million in 2023 before surging to Sh191 million in 2024. They then fell to Sh59 million in 2025 before the latest rise.

The increased penalties came during the period CBK implemented a new penalty framework that made sanctions more effective and dissuasive.

The Banking (Penalties) Regulations, 2025, set out specific penalties for violations of the Banking Act, with the framework providing for penalties linked to the seriousness of breaches and the financial benefit obtained or loss avoided.

The rules cover a wide range of violations, including breaches of minimum capital and liquidity requirements, excessive lending, failure to disclose loan terms and non-compliance with CBK directions.

The regulations commenced in July last year, with CBK providing for penalties of up to Sh20 million or three times the gross monetary gain made or loss avoided.

‘The amendment ensures penalties are effective, proportionate, dissuasive, aligned with global standards, and entrench a compliance culture in banks,’ the CBK said in its annual report.

In the year ended December 2025, CBK stepped up scrutiny of how lenders price credit following reductions in the Central Bank Rate (CBR). For instance, CBK said in its 2025 annual supervision report that it fined a record 33 commercial banks after inspections found breaches linked to the implementation of its risk-based credit pricing model.

The 33 lenders represented 86.8 percent of the 38 commercial banks inspected, while two other banks faced administrative action. Only three banks were found to be fully compliant with the model.

The inspections followed repeated reductions in the CBR and pressure on lenders to pass lower funding costs to borrowers. CBK had cut the benchmark rate seven times between August 2024 and August 2025, bringing it down from 13 percent to 9.5 percent.

The enforcement push coincided with the rollout of the revised risk based credit pricing model, which uses the Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average (Kesonia) as the common reference rate for variable rate loans.

The banking regulator last year repeatedly pressured banks to lower borrowing costs and match cuts in the benchmark rate while threatening daily fines.

‘Beba! Beba! Beba! Kiambu soo!’ John Njoroge’s voice cuts through the afternoon bustle of Nairobi’s CBD, rising above the roar of engines, blaring horns and hurried footsteps.

Clutching a placard advertising the fare and destination, he calls for passengers headed to Kiambu.

But behind the booming voice is a tired man. He’s been doing this for 18 years.

At 42, Njoroge, fondly known as ‘Macha’ among fellow matatu touts, is beginning to feel the physical demands of a job that requires the energy of a much younger man.

‘I have made up my mind. I will retire at 45. It is not easy to walk away from such a job that I find lucrative. Most people don’t think ndondas (touts) make good money. Some of us earn more than people in corporate jobs. How many jobs do you get paid Sh2,500 ?”

For Macha, the daily income has been more than a wage. He describes it as his retirement package and pension, paid to him in cash every evening.

Over the years, he has channelled part of his earnings into real estate, poultry farming, animal husbandry and, more recently, matatus of his own.

His most significant investment so far is a commercial-residential building that he says he constructed from his earnings as a tout.

The property that cost him a ‘few million’ shillings has 14 units and provides him with monthly rental income of about Sh100,000.

‘My plan is now to expand my property portfolio after retirement. I have already acquired several parcels of land on which I intend to develop more commercial residences. So, as you can tell, even in retirement my hands will still be full,’ he says.

All this, he says, has been the work of Sh1,000 he saves with his Sacco on a daily basis.

‘I have done that for at least 15 years, saving Sh1,000 every day I go to work, and even when a day isn’t that good, I still manage to save Sh700. So, in every five days I save Sh5,000.’

A profitable habit

The saving habit, he says, is something many of his younger colleagues struggle to develop. The matatu business provides an unusual combination of immediate cash and the temptation to spend it immediately. For young touts, he says, knowing they can wake up the following morning and earn again can make saving seem unnecessary.

‘You will not find so many old touts like me. Most are young enough to be my sons. They are at an age where all they think about is partying and having the fine things in life. There is nothing wrong with that; we were once young too. The problem is when they get carried away by the fact that even if they spend all the day’s earnings, they still have tomorrow to make money again.’

The consequence, he says, becomes apparent when the income stops.

‘When most of them lose their jobs, often due to indiscipline, they have nothing. Even those who stay longer, when they finally leave the job, they have nothing to show for themselves.’

Creating income streams

For Macha, saving has also meant creating income streams for his family. Part of that seed capital went into setting up a poultry business for his wife of 22 years.

They have four children and are already grandparents. Their home is in Nakuru, where his wife keeps about 300 indigenous chickens and collects roughly six trays of eggs a day.

The market, he says, is relatively dependable, with hotels and consumers increasingly seeking indigenous and locally produced food.

‘Every time I ask to borrow Sh30,000 or Sh50,000 from her, she doesn’t struggle to get that amount,’ he says with a chuckle.

‘By the way, she was also a major supporter when I was putting up the apartment. I don’t meddle much in her business. Her poultry business is doing great and perhaps when I retire I would love to help her expand it further.’

Planning for retirement

For his retirement, changing the kind of work he does from the super intensive dawn-to-dusk matatu job to more of a farm managerial role sounds ideal. ‘I want to go back home to Nakuru and spend most of my time with my wife.’

His latest investment is in the very industry he intends to leave as a worker. About two weeks ago, Macha bought his second Nissan Shark.

The two vehicles operate on the Mahi Mahiu – Naivasha route, with each depositing Sh2,500 a day into his account after expenses, including fuel.

Unlike his current job, where his income depends on his physical presence, the matatus allow him to earn through employees.

‘I have employed some young touts. Those matatus work every single day. These are energetic kids who don’t think they need to rest, so I let them work,’ he chuckles.

His target is to have five matatus by the time he retires. For this kind of business, he prefers second-hand vehicles, arguing that a new matatu would tie up too much capital.

‘With Sh450,000, you will get a good, well-conditioned Nissan Shark.’ But his bigger plan, Macha says, is to acquire a 33-seater bus, commonly known as a manyanga, and put it on the Mahi Mahiu-Naivasha route.

His experience operating a 33-seater on the Nairobi-Kiambu route has convinced him there is money to be made if the vehicle is properly managed.

‘You need at least Sh7 million for a 33-seater like the one I operate, which I do not own. I plan to have one for myself and line it on the same route because, unlike Nairobi-Kiambu, the route has few minibuses. I want to introduce a manyanga on that road, with good music, well-maintained, pimped and clean because these are the elements that attract clients,’ he says.

His calculations are based on what he has observed first-hand on the Nairobi-Kiambu route. On a good day, he says, the 33-seater can make eight trips with passengers paying Sh100 for the journey.

At full capacity, he calculates, the vehicle can collect Sh3,300 per trip, translating to roughly Sh26,400 over eight trips. Fuel takes Sh10,000, while the driver, tout, stage manager and Sacco also have to be paid before the balance of about Sh12,000 is deposited into the owner’s account.

This math convinced him the investment could work.

‘With that knowledge and the fact that there are about 200 matatus on our Nairobi-Kiambu route, I see there is a good opportunity for me to make a killing with a manyanga on that Mahi-Mahiu route that has fewer minibuses.’

Agribusiness

And as December holidays near, Macha says he is waiting to cash in on the black-headed sheep he has been rearing on one of his parcels of land.

‘This will be the main project once I retire. I realised there is high demand for the black-headed sheep. I currently have 10 up for sale, and with the December holidays fast approaching, I won’t accept anything less than Sh20,000 per sheep. That means I am looking at Sh200,000 revenue and over 200 percent profit, because I was buying each at Sh3,000 before maturing them.’

While his farm can comfortably handle as many as 100,000 sheep, Macha prefers to keep his expenses on the low.

‘My target is taking care of just 50 sheep. That way it becomes easier to properly take care of them and mature them for the market. When well taken care of, they give birth twice in a year, so it’s easier to multiply them in smaller numbers and mature them for the market.’

Vacations and holidays

For the class three dropout and third born of 13 siblings, after spending seven years of his younger life on the streets of Nakuru and much of his adult life chasing passengers through Nairobi’s streets, he now wants to spend his twilight years travelling with his wife, expanding their businesses and enjoying the comfort that his savings and investments can provide.

‘Ooh, I love my wife so much. I want to believe I have done something meaningful to secure my future and that of my wife,’ he says. ‘When you get someone who gets you, I say stick by them. I want to enjoy life with my wife, go on vacations and holidays now that we will be having more time.’

The government has cut the pace of construction of new roads by 62 percent over the past four years of the current administration, official data shows, with the length tarmacked staying below pre-2022 levels.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) built 2,584.25km of roads between financial years 2022/23 and 2025/26, compared with 6,813km in the preceding four years.

The State Department for Roads says in a latest budgetary report to the National Treasury that construction increased by 24.75 kilometres, or 3.25 percent, in the year ended June 2026 despite additional financing raised through securitisation of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).

The report shows routine road maintenance improved, with the length of roads covered rising 18.5 percent to 31,105.56km last financial year from 26,255.65km a year earlier.

However, this remained 24 percent below the 40,988km maintained in the financial year ended June 2022.

The State Department for Roads said 2,089.25km were constructed in three years to June 2026, ‘largely facilitated by the securitisation’ of the RMLF.

The department said the financing enabled settlement of pending payment certificates and accelerated implementation of road projects, providing a critical lifeline to stalled works.

The government raised the RMLF from Sh18 to Sh25 per litre of petrol and diesel in July 2024, increasing the revenue pool available for roads.

The State subsequently committed part of those collections to investors, using future fuel levy receipts to raise money for settling historical road-sector obligations through a concept known as securitisation, in which cash flow from underlying assets is used to secure funding by lenders or investors.

In April 2025, Sh7 from every Sh25 collected per litre was securitised to secure Sh175 billion through bank bridge facilities and bonds.

The Cabinet approved a further Sh5 per litre in November 2025, taking the portion committed to investors to Sh12 per litre and enabling the Kenya Roads Board to raise more cash for road construction and maintenance.

The securitisation was designed partly to clear outstanding bills owed to contractors, arrears which had constrained the implementation of road projects across the country.

President William Ruto said in March that the government planned to bring a road maintenance levy fund securitisation bond to the market and list it on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

‘In the course of this year [2026], we will be bringing to the market the road maintenance levy fund securitisation bond, which has enabled us to settle the pending bills crisis that had stalled road projects everywhere in Kenya,’ he said.

‘The RMLF has raised for us Sh175 billion, and we will be bringing it here (to the Nairobi Securities Exchange) so people can trade it as well.’

The planned bond will help refinance part of the estimated Sh175 billion in bank loans used to clear historical road-sector pending bills up to December 2024.

Investors will receive payments from the securitised RMLF, with Sh12 from every Sh25 collected from each litre of petrol and diesel effectively committed to servicing the financing.

The funding intervention has coincided with a recovery in road construction, but official figures show that the rebound has yet to restore the pace achieved before the current administration took office.

Before fiscal year 2022/23, the three road agencies were constructing more than 1,500km annually on average, with output peaking at 2,014 km in the year ended June 2019.

Analysis of the latest four-year average shows new roads built fell to 646km annually, from 1,703 km previously, highlighting the impact of the government’s fiscal squeeze on infrastructure projects in the early years of President Ruto’s administration.

President Ruto said in May 2023 that his administration had inherited about Sh900 billion in road-sector commitments from the previous government.

‘We have tried to cut it down; we have tried to cut some of the roads that have not started. But we remain with about Sh680 billion that we have to manage,’ Dr Ruto said at the time.

The resulting fiscal squeeze forced the government to prioritise projects while contractors faced delayed payments, contributing to the sharp contraction in new road construction in fiscal year 2022/23-Dr Ruto’s financial year in office.

Road construction plunged to 495km in the financial year ended 2023 from 1,729km the year before, a 71.4 percent decline as the administration rationalised projects and grappled with inherited commitments from the previous regime.

Road output then edged up to 542km in fiscal year 2023/24 before recovering to 761.25km in that year and 786km in the year ended June.

The recovery, however, remains modest compared with the previous pace, with road construction last financial year still 54.5 percent below the 1,729km delivered in the year that ended June 2022.

The World Bank Group has revised Kenya’s 2026 growth outlook upwards to 4.6 percent from 4.4 percent previously, signalling resilience in domestic output amid shocks from the Middle East conflict.

The multilateral lender had previously trimmed its growth outlook for Kenya from 5.3 percent to 4.4 percent in June, after initially projecting 4.9 percent in April, at the onset of the Israel -US war on Iran, with its immediate impact including higher oil prices and a squeeze in inflows like diaspora remittances.

The World Bank has attributed the slight expected improvement in economic output to high-frequency data which show resilience in long-term growth prospects amid near-term shocks. The upward revision of Kenya’s growth aligns with projections on an overall lift in output across the Sub-Saharan African region in the World Bank’s latest economic update published on Tuesday.

‘The softening in private sector activity in August, reflected persistent supply constraints, elevated input costs and tight cash flow conditions, which constrained firms’ ability to translate stronger demand into higher output,’ the World Bank said in its assessment of the monthly Stanbic Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report.

‘Nevertheless, employment continued to expand, and business confidence reached a three-and-a-half-year high, suggesting that underlying demand remains resilient despite near-term operational and cost pressures.’

The Kenyan economy opened to a strong first quarter ended March 2026, before absorbing the impact of the Middle East war which started on February 28, with growth accelerating to 5.3 percent from four percent in the comparable first quarter of 2025.

The expansion was supported by stronger domestic demand, easing financial conditions, robust tourism activity and a recovery in industrial production.

The economy has, however, seen more downside risks since March, including a pickup in inflation from elevated global oil prices, a wider current account deficit from a spike in fuel imports and a slowdown in diaspora remittances. The headwinds saw significant revisions to the country’s economic output forecast this year by authorities, including the National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

The CBK cut its economic growth forecast for 2026 by 0.4 percentage points to 4.9 percent, down from 5.3 percent previously, citing the implications of the war. The apex bank projected that the manufacturing and ICT sectors would bear the brunt of the US-Israel war on Iran. The National Treasury, for its part, trimmed its 2026 growth projection from an earlier 5.3 per-cent to a flat five percent.

The World Bank expects Kenya to be slightly cushioned from setbacks like the slowdown in diaspora remittances given the relatively smaller share of these inflows as a percentage of GDP.

‘While Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria account for some of the largest remittance receipts from the Gulf in absolute terms, the macroeconomic impact of a disruption would be greatest in smaller and more fragile economies such as the Gambia, South Sudan, Somalia, the Comoros and Lesotho, where remittances constitute a significant share of GDP and an important source of household income, foreign exchange and external financing,’ the World Bank added.

The Kenyan economy grew at a slower rate of 4.6 percent in 2025 from 4.7 percent a year earlier on lower-than-expected output from the agriculture sector, which represents one-fifth of gross domestic product.

The World Bank further expects inflation to quicken, averaging 5.5 percent in 2026 from an earlier projection of five percent, reflecting the pickup in consumer prices from higher global oil prices.

The budget deficit is also expected to expand to 6.1 percent of GDP from an earlier 5.6 percent projection, while debt is seen reaching 71.1 percent of GDP from an earlier 70.3 percent outlook.

The government is struggling to turn its affordable housing programme into cash to fund the next phase of accelerated construction, with completed homes filling faster than revenue generated from sales and upfront deposits.

The Affordable Housing Board collected Sh212.342 million from sold units in the year to June, against a Sh15.25 billion target, achieving only 1.4 percent of projected revenue.

The Sh15.04 billion shortfall raises questions about the State’s plans to increasingly use proceeds from completed houses to finance new projects in coming years, rather than relying mainly on the housing levy taxed from workers’ monthly earnings.

‘Target [was] not met; most units were sold on TPS [monthly Tenant Purchase Scheme or rent-to-own payments] as opposed to the projected cash sales,’ the State Department for Housing and Urban Development wrote in a budgetary report to the National Treasury.

Rent-to-own models allow tenants to occupy a home and build equity through monthly payments. The report shows a sharp contrast between weak cash collections and strong take-up of completed units. This is after occupancy of completed affordable housing reached 94 percent, beating the government’s 90 percent target for the year ended June.

Figures suggest the immediate challenge is not simply whether households want the homes, but how quickly the government can turn that demand into cash to recycle into construction.

The State had completed and handed over 1,836 affordable houses by June, while another 1,380 units were substantially complete at 98 percent, according to the report published by the National Treasury.

A further 103,251 units were under construction, although they were 35 percent complete on average, while another 65,649 units were still under procurement.

President William Ruto’s administration has nevertheless been planning for a dramatic expansion of spending on State-backed housing from the year starting July 2027, with sales proceeds expected to become an increasingly important source of funding. Budget projections, approved in early June by the National Assembly, show spending on affordable, social and institutional housing, together with related infrastructure, is expected to rise to Sh360.1 billion in the 2027/28 fiscal year.

That would represent a 227.3 percent increase from the Sh110 billion budget projected for the current financial year ending June 2027.

Affordable housing alone is projected to account for Sh201.1 billion in the year starting July 2027, nearly four times the Sh50.7 billion allocation projected for the current year.

That allocation to housing and related infrastructure will be the government’s largest development spending area, overtaking roads, whose allocation is projected at Sh197.93 billion.

The planned jump in spending is based partly on expectations that completed houses will begin generating enough revenue to support fresh construction.

Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga said the government’s projections were based on higher receipts from both housing sales and the levy.

‘The Sh360 billion projection includes funds expected to be realised from projected housing sales and increased levy collections,’ Mr Hinga said in May.

The latest revenue figures, however, show the scale of the task facing the programme if housing sales are to become a major financing stream.

The government had expected Sh15.25 billion in sales during 2025/26 but collected only Sh212.342 million, with the department saying most transactions shifted from anticipated cash purchases to tenant purchase schemes.

Under the tenant-purchase or ‘rent-to-own’ payment model, households pay for their homes over time, allowing occupants to move into completed units without making the full purchase price upfront.

That model can broaden access to houses, but it also means the AHB receives payments over a longer period rather than the large immediate receipts assumed under cash sales.

Underperformance in revenue collections from the houses means the project faces a potential mismatch between the timing of expenditure and revenue, as the Housing department seeks to build thousands of units today while relying on future payments from households to replenish funds.

This is critical given the scale of construction still required. Out of the programme’s 217,654-unit target, a marginal 1,836 units had been completed and handed over by the end of June.

The department said the annual construction target was also missed because of ‘delays in the procurement process’, with overall progress reaching 22.8 percent against a 30 percent target.

Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has been ordered to re-employ a former general manager after the Employment and Labour Relations Court found his dismissal over alleged poor performance unlawful and unfair.

The court found that KPC failed to demonstrate a valid reason to terminate Derek Wangaki Okova, who was dismissed in December 2025 despite performance appraisals rating him between ‘Good’ and ‘Very Good’.

The court said it was contradictory for KPC to describe Mr Okova as a poor performer while its own records showed that he had been recognised and rewarded for his performance.

‘For the foregoing reasons, the court finds that termination of the petitioner’s employment by the respondent was substantively unjustifiable and thus unfair within the meaning of Section 45 of the Employment Act,’ the court said in a decision issued on October 2, 2026.

The judge ordered KPC to re-engage Mr Okova within 21 days and directed the company to give him work comparable to that in which he was employed before his dismissal.

The court noted that employees rated ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’ were eligible for incentive awards equivalent to 100 and 80 per cent of one month’s basic salary, respectively, and Mr Okova fell within that category.

Mr Okova was appointed general manager, Pipeline Operations and Maintenance, for a five year term beginning February 27, 2024. His contract was due to run until 2029.

He moved to court after his employment was terminated on December 10, 2025, arguing that KPC had violated its Human Resource Policy and Procedures Manual and his constitutional rights.

KPC opposed the case, maintaining that Mr Okova had consistently performed poorly despite being given feedback, supervision and opportunities to improve.

The anchor shareholders of Quickmart can sell up to 800 million shares or 40 percent of their remaining stake without restriction, following the retailer’s initial public offering (IPO) after the markets regulator agreed to a lock-up rule that only covers part of their holding.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) requires controlling shareholders to hold on to their stake for at least two years after listing, to reassure prospective investors that insiders are not looking for a quick exit or dumping struggling companies on the public.

Disclosures by Quickmart in its IPO information memorandum show that the selling shareholders will be required to hold on to at least 60 percent of their shares for the next two years.

Quickmart’s current owners comprise Mauritius-registered private equity fund Adenia Partners, the founders of Quickmart and Tumaini supermarkets and Chief Executive Officer Peter Kang’iri.

They are currently offloading two billion shares in the IPO, equivalent to a 50 percent stake, at a price of Sh7.50 a unit. Their shares are held through an investment vehicle known as Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited (SRKL).

‘The selling shareholder (SRKL) has agreed that, for a period of 24 months from the listing date, it will not, without the prior written consent of the lead placing agent, co-placing agent and the issuer and the approval of the CMA, directly or indirectly sell or transfer ordinary shares representing 60 percent of the total remaining ordinary shares envisaged to be held by it immediately after listing date,’ reads the information memorandum in part.

“The balance of such remaining ordinary shares not subject to the lock-up undertaking,” the document added.

The partial lock-up means that they can sell an additional 800 million shares in the next two years should they wish to do so. The less restrictive lock-up requirement mirrors that imposed on the Family Bank founder Titus Muya and his associates when the lender listed by introduction in June.

The CMA granted Mr Muya and his associates leeway to dilute their shareholding of 35.6 percent in order to allow them to meet the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regulatory cap of 25 percent without flouting listing rules.

In this year’s other IPO of Kenya Pipeline Company in March, the National Treasury was locked into holding its remaining 35 percent stake for at least 24 months after disposing a 65 percent stake to the public for Sh106 billion.

The Quickmart sale, which opened this week and runs until October 30, is targeting Sh15 billion and values the company at Sh30 billion.

Going into the listing, Adenia holds a 50.79 percent stake in SRKL, the family of Quickmart founder the late John Kinuthia 31.83 percent, the founders of Tumaini Supermarket 12.02 percent and Mr Kang’iri 5.36 percent.

Presuming the offer is fully subscribed, Adenia’s stake will drop to 25.4 percent, with the stakes of the Quickmart and Tumaini founders falling to 15.9 percent and 6.01 percent respectively. Meanwhile, Mr Kang’iri’s holding will halve to 2.68 percent.

Although PE funds usually have an investment cycle of between seven and 10 years, Adenia has said that it remains committed to staying on board and supporting Quickmart’s management through its next growth phase.

The fund acquired its stake in the retailer between 2018 and 2019, after buying majority stakes in Quickmart (51 percent) and Tumaini (55 percent) and then merging the entities under the Quickmart brand in 2020.

The only exceptions to the 60 percent lock-up of their shares post-listing include transfers of shares to affiliates and related Adenia funds, disposals required by law, acceptances of a general offer, permitted encumbrances, and transactions approved by the placing agents the CMA or the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) -the World Bank’s private investment arm- has also been exempted from any lock-up restrictions after coming in as the offer’s cornerstone investor, subject to approval by its board of directors.

Global practice usually restricts Cornerstone investors who commit to buying shares before an IPO opens restricted from selling for a fixed period after listing, although this is usually shorter than two years. This bet on the retail sector will see the IFC acquire 258.67 million shares in Quickmart, representing about 13 percent of the offer shares, and an ultimate stake of 6.5 percent in the company.

‘Any IFC purchase of offer shares would be made on the same terms and conditions as all other investors in the offer,’ said Quickmart in the information memorandum.

‘Notwithstanding IFC’s interest in the proposed investment, IFC may sell its shareholding at any time in the future.’

In the case of Family Bank, Mr Muya and his associates were granted a concession by CBK to hold a combined stake of up to 31.9 percent, meaning that a sale of a 3.7 percent stake would be necessary in order to comply with the concession before later moving to full compliance of a 25 percent holding.

They tried to dilute their stake in the bank previously by sitting out capital raising ventures such as the private placement conducted in 2025.

At the time of listing, Mr Muya’s direct stake in the bank was disclosed at 4.42 percent. Daykio Plantations, a real estate company owned 91 percent by Mr Muya and nine percent by the Estate of Leah Wanjiru, held a 9.53 percent stake in the lender.

Other members of his family, including the Estates of Rachael Njeri Muya and Leah Wanjiru Muya, held a combined stake of 19.5 percent. A further 2.22 percent is held by Kenya Orient Life Assurance and its sister company Kenya Orient Insurance, which are also associated with the bank’s founder.

In a public notice dated September 4, 2026, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) told all businesses using TIMS and eTIMS to keep accurate and up-to-date stock records.

The records must account for goods purchased or received, sold, transferred, returned, adjusted or otherwise disposed of. KRA says this will improve the accuracy of tax returns and reporting.

The aim is sound. Stock is where sales, purchases and costs meet, and a system that links the three can expose under-declared income and inflated expenses. For a trader, it works neatly: what comes in as a unit goes out as the same unit.

Manufacturers are different. A manufacturer buys one thing and sells another. Raw material goes into a process, some is lost to wastage and evaporation, some sit as work in progress, and what leaves the factory is a different product, often in a different unit. No invoice records that transformation. The invoice shows the input coming in and the finished good going out.

Take a simple example. A business buys 100 kilogrammes of raw material. Under normal conditions, 92 kilogrammes become finished product and eight are lost as expected wastage.

The books are right. A system that expects stock to match purchases and sales, with no model for yield, may see eight kilogrammes unaccounted for. Multiply that across thousands of transactions and the system flags an ordinary production variance as a discrepancy.

That matters because flags invite questions. An unexplained stock variance can quickly become a tax question, including whether sales have gone unrecorded. Manufacturers already know how hard it is to argue otherwise after the fact, when production returns have been mistaken for new stock.

Even well-run factories do not produce identical yields every month. Machine efficiency, raw material quality and seasonality all move the numbers. A fixed standard cannot be the final word on what counts as acceptable.

KRA indicated that consultative forums with the business community would commence in September to hear implementation challenges and recommendations. As the framework continues to take shape, manufacturers should use the consultation process to make specific asks.

There are four.

First, recognise manufacturers separately. The functionality should allow for bills of materials, so that inputs are linked to outputs through standard yields, and not assume one item in and the same item out.

Second, build in tolerance. Wastage and yield variance within a reasonable band should not be flagged. The band should be set with industry input and reviewed as processes change.

Third, give taxpayers a clear way to adjust and explain. If stock is adjusted for wastage, damage or rework, the system should record the reason and keep a trail, so the explanation exists when KRA asks.

Fourth, publish a timeline. Businesses need time to adjust their systems and processes before enforcement. Many stock systems were not built to feed eTIMS, and integration takes time and money.

None of this is an argument against stock controls. Better data helps honest taxpayers as much as it helps the revenue authority. But a system designed around the shop floor of a trader will misread the factory floor, and the cost of that misreading will fall on the businesses that make things, employ people and pay tax.

Manufacturers should take KRA at its word and speak now, while the framework can still be shaped around how factories actually operate.