Category: Business Daily

A software developer has missed out on a substantial payday after the High Court reversed a Sh1.1 billion compensation for his ideas, which Safaricom partly used to develop two M-Pesa apps.

The High Court on Tuesday overturned the award to Samuel Wanjohi, through Popote Innovations, ruling that the techie lacked a signed contract with Safaricom to deserve the Sh1.1 billion payout.

He received a huge compensation in November last year through an arbitration, which agreed with Mr Wanjohi that Safaricom had dropped Popote from a partnership and used part of its ideas to develop the M-Pesa Super App and M-Pesa Business App. This prompted Safaricom to petition the High Court to nullify the award, arguing it was fictitious and an attempt to benefit from an activity which the company had not invested in.

Safaricom said it never signed a 2018 partnership agreement with Popote for the development of a mobile payment solution dubbed ‘Popote Pay.’

Popote claimed Safaricom had agreed to share revenues from the venture, but later abandoned the project and launched its own products-the ‘M-Pesa Super App’ and ‘M-Pesa Business App’ -without compensation.

Popote, where Mr Wanjohi is the sole director, alleged that the innovation resembled the jointly conceptualised solution.

The arbitrator agreed that M-Pesa Super App and M-Pesa Business App were ‘similar’ to the envisaged Popote Pay project, triggering the Sh1.1 billion payout.

The High Court agreed with Safaricom’s advocate that the arbitrator erred because the partnership was not signed by the telecoms giant and Popote. The judge said the arbitrator’s finding that the M-Pesa apps resembled the Popote Pay project was unsupported by expert or factual evidence.

He added that the financial award was based on speculative financial assumptions and an unsigned agreement, which offends public policy.

‘The court finds that the arbitrator’s award, predicated on an unsigned and inoperative contract, and containing speculative damages unrelated to the evidence, offends the principles of contractual certainty, legality, and fairness, thereby conflicting with the public policy of Kenya,’ said the court.

‘The evidence before this court shows that the alleged partnership agreement was never executed by Safaricom. Nor is there any exchange of correspondence or other written instrument evidencing an intention by Safaricom to submit disputes to arbitration,’ the ruling said.

Popote produced an email addressed to Safaricom that has attached a draft of the agreement.

The court reckoned the email ‘merely acknowledged receipt of the draft agreement but did not signify execution or assent’.

‘Execution by both parties was an express precondition to its effectiveness,’ the court ruled.

‘An award predicated on an unsigned contract and speculative damages offends principles of fairness and contractual certainty.’

Safaricom, however, argued that the partnership agreement was never finalised because it never signed the contract.

The telecoms operator maintained that it had only reimbursed Popote for development costs under a separate settlement agreement in 2020, which extinguished any further obligations.

The arbitrator had awarded Mr Wanjohi Sh39.2 million, a further Sh902.7 million as shared revenue for the M-Pesa applications and costs of the case amounting to Sh2.5 million.

Safaricom said Popote pushed for a payout of Sh46 million per month for 24 months-totalling Sh1.1 billion-based on projected revenue shares.

The court heard that following a change of business strategy, Safaricom decided not to proceed with the project but compensated Popote for its development costs in full as per the settlement agreement executed on September 11, 2020.

That payment, made on October 15, 2020, allegedly extinguished all further obligations.

Safaricom said that it launched its own M-Pesa Consumer and Business Super Applications independently, ‘which Popote wrongly alleged to resemble the jointly conceptualised solution’.

The dispute started after Safaricom launched its M-Pesa Super App and M-Pesa Business App in June 2021, which Popote alleged incorporated features from the jointly developed solution.

‘The respondent (Popote) delivered the customised ‘Popote Pay Solution’ on May 8, 2018, thereby fulfilling its contractual obligations.

The applicant [Safaricom], however, breached the agreement by unilaterally abandoning the launch,’ stated Mr Wanjohi.

He started Popote in 2013 and State records show him as the sole director, with full ownership of the firm placed under a US-registered investment vehicle-Popote Inc.

The Sh1.1 billion payout is equivalent to 2.59 percent of the Sh42.7 billion profit that Safaricom posted in the six months to September.

Its net profit grew from Sh28.11 billion the previous year, and it expects to declare an interim dividend in February.

The Kenya business continued to be the main profit driver on the back of M-Pesa, the firm’s largest unit that is on course to generate half of the telecoms operator’s revenues.

Revenue from the mobile financial service, M-Pesa, rose to Sh88.1 billion from Sh77.2 billion previously, reflecting a growth of 14 percent.

Kenya’s retirement benefits sector has grown remarkably over the past decade, from Sh789 billion in 2014 to Sh2.23 trillion in 2024, according to the Retirement Benefits Authority. This represents a 17.5 per cent increase, driven by consistent member contributions and prudent investment performance.

Between 2021 and 2024 alone, pension assets grew by 41 percent, from Sh1.58 trillion to Sh2.23 trillion. Occupational schemes hold nearly two-thirds of the total, while umbrella and individual schemes continue to attract new savers as more Kenyans embrace the importance of planning for retirement.

This steady growth has made the pension industry one of Kenya’s most dependable pillars of economic stability. Yet, its full potential remains largely untapped.

The next phase of growth lies in the informal sector, which employs about 83 percent of the workforce, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Despite their numbers, most workers in this sector, such as micro, small and medium enterprises, boda boda riders, artisans, and small-scale traders, remain excluded from formal pension systems.

Many of these workers earn daily incomes but lack structured ways to save for the future. With innovative, mobile-based micro-pension products, Kenya can extend pension coverage to millions of informal workers who currently depend on uncertain incomes or family support in old age.

This would not only provide financial security for millions but also channel billions of shillings into long-term investments that can power national development.

Many informal workers already save through chamas, cooperatives, and community-based systems, showing financial discipline and trust within their networks. What they often lack is confidence in formal systems and easy access to them. Designing simple, affordable, and transparent pension products can attract millions of new savers.

Pension funds are, by nature, patient capital perfectly suited for financing long-term projects such as infrastructure, affordable housing, and renewable energy.

Investing in these areas not only provides stable returns for members but also supports national priorities like job creation, industrial growth and social development.

Already, there is growing interest among pension funds to diversify beyond traditional government securities and equities.

Roads, energy, and water projects financed through public-private partnerships could offer stable, inflation-protected returns while addressing Kenya’s infrastructure gap.

Similarly, investments in the Affordable Housing Programme could deliver social and financial benefits, meeting the housing needs while generating sustainable returns for retirees.

With strong governance and prudent risk management, Africa’s pension wealth can be turned into productive capital.

Kenya and the continent can finance their own development and build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future.

Globally, pension funds are moving towards investments that balance profit with purpose. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles are increasingly shaping institutional investment strategies. Kenya’s pension sector should follow suit by allocating more funds towards renewable energy, green transport, and climate-smart agriculture.

Technology and sound governance are also shaping the future of pension management. Digital innovation, particularly through mobile money, has simplified contribution collection and member engagement. Continued investment in technology can enhance transparency, reduce costs, and improve service delivery.

Across Africa, the opportunity is even greater. Pension funds across the continent collectively hold over KES 91.7 trillion (USD 700 billion) as of 2023, a vast pool of capital that remains largely underutilised. This is not money to be merely safeguarded; it is capital that can be mobilised for nation-building.

Investing even a fraction of these resources in infrastructure, manufacturing, and green projects can strengthen Africa’s economic sovereignty and accelerate its development agenda.

Digital platforms can simplify registration, automate small contributions, and enhance transparency especially for younger workers such as Gen Z, who tend to view retirement saving as a distant goal. Introducing hybrid products that combine short-term liquidity with long-term savings could help build a saving culture early in life.

The biggest opportunity, however, lies in regional collaboration, pooling pension resources across African borders to finance transformative projects such as power generation, transport corridors, and agro-industrial zones. Such partnerships reduce risk, spread costs, and promote shared prosperity.

Zawadi serves as the head of department for a customer support unit in a busy and large Mombasa logistics company. When she hires new staff, she focuses on one-way support for them but with no formal orientation or structured mentorship process.

Even though her team rushes to help the newcomers on the first day and show them every system, jump in to fix their mistakes, and even handle the difficult client calls on their behalf, after about three months the mood reverses.

Everyone gets bored with handholding the newcomers and instead starts to quietly pull back. The new staff, who never really got a chance to stand on their own two feet, receive a formal process of orientation, resulted in them stopping to ask questions or offering support to even newer employees as they came in.

Some of those staff retreat into their screens and just keep quietly to themselves while others try to prove their worth to the team by saying yes to every request and, in turn, burn out and start looking at online job ads over each lunch hour.

Zawadi notices her staff working late but still taking long to fit in with the office vibe and existing staff. She cannot quite understand why performance and retention do not improve and then remain stable.

Researchers Liangting Zhang, Peter Bamberger, Man Wong, and Ningyu Tang last week published a study where they followed a large group of employees throughout their first year in new job roles.

Interestingly, they discovered that how other staff help acclimate the new employees during that year matters more to success and satisfaction than most managers realise.

They studied both brand new staff hired to join the organisation for the first time as well as existing staff who moved into new positions, either as promotions, or laterally inside the same company.

Over five different survey iterations, the staff were tracked on how much the same staff then onward helped their colleagues. The research then linked those patterns to famous organisational behaviour variables of task performance, social integration, and intention to quit one year after the initial job hire or job move.

The results statistically proved an otherwise obvious point. When someone starts a new job, their helping of others tends to follow a predictable curve. It moves up as they help more and more and then shifts dramatically down and they assist less and less.

At the very start, most new staff do not help others very much because they do not yet know the systems or politics or who to trust. But as weeks and months pass by, the new staff gain confidence, build relationships, and begin to help out their colleagues more.

After several months, however, that upward climb stops as helping levels flatten and often drop as regular core work tasks increase as more expectations are placed on them and people feel stressed with the crushing deadlines of the workplace. The pattern appears for both newly hired staff and internal staff transfers.

However, there exist some subtle differences in staff who move inside the same organisation and those coming in from the outside. Internal transfers usually start at a much higher level of helping.

They already know the culture, the shortcuts, and who inside the firm to call for what. So, they can help others earlier. But their helping curve is also flatter. It rises a little after the transfer, then stabilises, instead of swinging sharply up then down like newcomers.

In contrast, new hires coming into the firm often show a steeper jump. They might help little at first and then surge to push very hard to prove themselves and be seen as good citizens.

The newcomers then later pull back once their probation period ends or once they feel tired or taken for granted.

The type of organisational and departmental leadership and peer culture changes the shape of the newcomer’s helping curve again.

In departments where the boss is seen as genuinely supportive, and where long-serving staff frequently help one another, then both new recruits and internal staff movers show a higher and steadier helping pattern that lasts much longer.

Supportive leaders go above and beyond to model care, create space for people to ask for and offer help, and do not punish staff for spending time helping colleagues when it serves the team’s needs and goals.

Regarding colleagues, those that have a strong team norm of helping out, then those newcomers quickly see that helping is part of being a full and valued team member rather than viewing it as an extra favour for colleagues. In such teams, people keep helping each other at a healthy level rather than spiking up and then crashing down.

Importantly, executives must remember that helping fellow colleagues does not exist merely as a way for newcomers to be supported but it actually has a trickle down affect that then supports the whole team.

When new staff members feel that they can only take from their colleagues and never give anything back, they often feel embarrassed and struggle to feel like part of the team.

But when they are also encouraged and enabled to contribute to others, even in the smallest of ways, they build confidence, reputation, and relationships. All these dramatically improve team and firm performance which in the ends makes the company more money.

There was a time when a bottle of Krest or the Stoney dominated the beverage coolers and drinks shelves in supermarkets. They were the go-to ‘chaser’ on a night out. Their flavours, citrus and ginger, were part of the social offerings at weddings, family picnics and on bar counters.

Today, the shelves look a little different as new bottles of imported tonics, zero-sugar sodas, fruit-infused sparkling waters and craft beverages targeting a more adventurous and health-conscious drinker overshadow Krest and Stoney.

Yet despite the changes and market competition, Coca-Cola insists the two drinks are here to stay.

‘Krest and Stoney are among the brands that Kenyans continue to know and love and remain fully available in the market. These are brands with deep roots and local love, and we are committed to keeping them available,’ the company says.

Stoney carries a gingery punch, which is a fiery favourite with a staunch following among those who love a drink with character. It has a bold aura, the kind that stands toe-to-toe with vodka, whisky and rum.

Krest has a smooth, citrusy taste that is light, tangy, and refreshing. For the longest time, Krest was synonymous with ‘the chaser.’

The rise of new players

Kenya’s drinking culture has evolved; walk into an urban bar today and you’ll notice a new breed of soft beverages lining the fridge. There are premium tonics like Fitch and Leedes, East Imperial and Fever-Tree to locally produced fruit sodas and energy drinks that cater to younger and image-conscious consumers.

In supermarkets, shelves have the zero-sugar options, sparkling waters, and imported mixers, which target the growing middle class. The gin wave, which hit the market a few years ago, also brought in new tonic water varieties, with each claiming to pair perfectly with different botanical spirits.

Bartenders now experiment with infused sodas, flavoured mixers, and homemade ginger tonics. It has become a more sophisticated scene amid all the variety, and people often find themselves returning to try something new.

Coca-Cola says they understand the shift and it is matching up to balance the global innovation with that of local loyalty.

‘There are no plans to replace these locally loved brands. We are proud to continue offering classic favourites like Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Krest and Stoney.’

At Cool Sip drinks depot in Nairobi’s CBD, a small but busy shop that supplies both walk-in customers and nearby pubs, Stephen Mute, the manager, attests that five years ago, Krest, Stoney and Sprite were among the fastest-moving drinks, especially during the weekend.

‘There was a time these drinks would barely last two days in stock, especially around weekends; they were the deliberate chasers, and everyone wanted them.’

How have their sales changed?

‘They still make sales, but it is a bit slower. I used to sell even 15 crates of each over the weekend, but now I can barely move five. Even some of my older customers who swore by Krest now mix things up. They will ask for tonic, or some sparkling water. It’s not that they’ve stopped liking it, it’s just that people want to try something new every so often.’ Mr Mute says.

He adds that the trend is most visible among younger customers, who often walk in asking for a drink they saw trending on social media.

‘But, I can’t stop stocking Krest or Stoney. They move slower, but they move. Someone always comes asking because even these small shops still need the variety in their options. The drink is still other people’s favourite,’ he says.

What people are chasing with now

When it comes to the drinking settings some swear by Fitch and Leedes Pink Tonic, others lean toward Schweppes Dry Ginger Ale or energy drinks like Monster and Predator for a stronger kick.

Mixologists say the evolution is not about replacing the old favourites but expanding the drink palate.

Tony Njoroge, a Nairobi-based mixologist says that consumers today are exploring combinations that go beyond the traditional.

‘Kenyan drinkers have evolved because back then hard vodka meant Krest. Whiskey meant Stoney and that was the standard combination. But now people want variety. They want to try pink tonics, elderflower infusions, even the ginger-lime sparkling water,’ he says.

Tony, who has worked with both international spirit brands and local distributors, says the change is not leaning toward abandoning the classics, it’s expanding the consumer’s taste.

‘I have deep respect for Krest and Stoney, they’re part of our bar heritage. But when you look at how drink culture is changing globally, you see why Kenyans are curious about new options. These new drinks bring out different notes in gin and vodka. They’re lighter, more aromatic and that appeals to modern consumers.’

Still, he insists that the two Coca-Cola icons remain irreplaceable. ‘The drinks still remain given their authentic taste. We also use that same Stoney in a modern cocktail like when making a ginger mojito or spiced spritz,’ he says.

‘We are not replacing Krest or Stoney, we’re complementing them. Kenyan drinkers are ready for both the tradition and the trend,’ he adds.

Kenyans in recent days have reacted with predictable pessimism and suspicion to President William Ruto’s remarks regarding our state of electricity generation.

As a result of years of moratorium on new power purchase agreements pushed by seemingly continuous power sector investigations over the last seven years, and resultant indecision, we find ourselves with peak demand exceeding effective capacity.

Peak demand recently hit 2,411 megawatts while effective peak capacity lags at 2,370 megawatts. Effective capacity at peak considers what would be available to meet our evening peak of 3,200 megawatts installed on the grid.

This includes all our thermal capacity, and still, we will fall short of demand at peak. This directly implies that we are switching off some consumers at peak hours due to insufficient generation.

We additionally find ourselves importing 280 megawatts from Ethiopia and Uganda to supplement local generation. This implies that more than 10 percent of the power we use is imported, without an effective local backup, exposing the country to external shocks.

These two neighbouring economies have growing populations and own ambitions for expanding industrial activity. Our desires for supply will, in time, be overridden by their own needs to grow. Enabling this trade under the Eastern African Power Pool is desirable, but at the same time, Kenya needs to have a failsafe.

Extreme weather, political or technical events, could imply that Kenya is not able to access the imported power. We would have to ration whatever power would be available at that time, limiting economic and social activities.

Simply put, we need more generation on the Kenyan national power grid. Preferably locally installed.

Coming back to the public scepticism when numbers like 10 gigawatts (GW) and 1.2 trillion are pronounced, I understand, relate to and respect the reaction.

We have been treated to a circus of projected increases in generation in the past, from the 5GW in two years of the NARC era to the 40GW by 2040 of the Jubilee era. All pipe dreams without tangible demand plans or a visible outcome in 2025.

It is a case of once bitten twice shy, thrice sceptical. You see, demand availability is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Increased generation capacity must follow projected demand, and technical teams should take the lead in projecting desired installed capacity. Kenya has a very capable least-cost power planning team that, when presented with firm demand, can project desired generation capacity.

Demand and generation projections should be above board and based on committed projects in generation and industrialisation. The sector had planned for years, considering committed projects under Vision 2030, most of which have not seen the light of day, five years to 2030.

Gross over-generation with the technologies available to us will result in increased costs, while under-generation will stifle economic growth and our capacity to attract investments.

Demand is organically growing at between 100 megawatts and 140 megawatts each year, but that does not mean that we cannot end up with a single industry requiring greater than 500 megawatts.

We can also not afford to have 2GW lying in wait without a plan for the demand. Consumers would bear the huge costs for copious amounts of idle power. This is why demand and generation normally grow hand in hand within a certain margin, with generation leading the way.

Not only should the technicalities of balancing demand and generation be considered, but the process of onboarding new generation needs to be above board.

Every Kenyan understands the desperate need for infrastructure to develop our economy, but not at the altar of opaque processes and lined-up favourites.

These often end up being a raw deal to the economy and are often a prelude to industry-scale pogroms by new regimes looking to smoke out past beneficiaries. We then end up in moratoria that delay much-needed infrastructure. The Adani fiasco must have surely taught us something.

This is part of the angle sceptics of recent pronouncements are operating from, once bitten, twice shy.

We must allow those tasked with projecting demand and supply to do their job and take the lead. We need more generation on the grid.

The power must, however, be procured in above-board approaches open to competition.

The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has announced a two-and-a-half-month ban on the harvesting and trading of locally produced macadamia nuts, citing immature crop development and the need to safeguard Kenya’s premium quality reputation.

The ban, which takes effect on December 1, 2025, and runs until February 15, 2026, will apply to all value-chain actors, including processors, exporters, importers and marketing agents.

In a statement on Tuesday, AFA Director-General Bruno Linyiru said the temporary freeze follows findings from a recent survey indicating that a large portion of the crop is still growing and has not reached full maturity.

‘The Authority has established that a substantial portion of the crop is still undergoing physiological development… The closure period will allow adequate time for the nuts to mature fully and meet export quality standards,’ said Dr Linyiru.

The directive, implemented through the Nuts and Oils Directorate, seeks to align harvesting and processing with natural maturity patterns to maintain high kernel quality, oil content, and shelf life – attributes that have helped position Kenyan macadamia among the world’s most sought-after varieties.

AFA said the measure is also aimed at protecting farmers from post-harvest losses and low farm-gate prices, which typically follow premature harvesting when nuts have low oil content and poor drying characteristics.

Kenya, one of the world’s top macadamia exporters, has in recent years faced fluctuating quality and volatile prices blamed on early picking and unregulated trading by middlemen.

The Authority said it will intensify field inspections across the main growing zones, in Central, Eastern, and Rift Valley regions, to enforce compliance, warning that traders found violating the closure will face legal penalties.

Processors have in the past supported the seasonal closure, arguing that Kenya’s competitiveness in premium nut markets depends on meeting strict moisture and kernel standards demanded by international buyers.

Section 43 of the Agriculture and Food Authority Act, 2013, prohibits the export of raw macadamia except with written approval from the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary.

Last year, processors faced heightened competition from Chinese buyers after the government temporarily lifted the export ban on raw nuts, known as nut-in-shell (NIS), to address a glut that had driven farm-gate prices down from a high of Sh180 per kilogramme to Sh30.

Local processors were unable to absorb the surplus due to weak demand for processed kernels in key export markets such as the United States.

By easing the restriction, the government sought to open new markets and reduce stockpiles held by farmers.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2025, Kenya had 11,090 hectares under macadamia production in 2024, producing 51,200 tonnes worth Sh4.95 billion.

Kenya’s financial regulators have raised concern over the heavy reliance on a small number of third-party technology service providers by many institutions in the sector, warning that it poses a major financial stability risk.

Banks, insurers, pension schemes, cooperatives, and capital market firms increasingly depend on external providers for services such as mobile applications, artificial intelligence (AI) automation, and fraud detection and prevention.

However, the Joint Financial Sector Regulators Forum cautions that with too many firms relying on the same few providers, the industry is overly exposed, threatening consumer protection and operational resilience.

‘The Forum identified reliance on third-party technology service providers as a major source of risk, especially if a single service provider serves many institutions,’ the group of regulators said in a joint communiqué following a meeting last week.

The forum brings together the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Capital Markets Authority, Insurance Regulatory Authority, Retirement Benefits Authority , Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority, Policyholders Compensation Fun, and Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation.

‘In the event of failure, the operations of many institutions are likely to be compromised, impacting their ability to deliver optimal services,’ the regulators added, noting that they are now prioritising efforts to map concentration risks among third-party providers in the financial sector.

This warning comes amid increased adoption of emerging technologies such as AI and mobile banking, as financial institutions seek to improve customer experience and curb risks like fraud and cybercrime. Since many of the companies in the industry lack the technical or financial capacity to develop such systems in-house, they often outsource these functions to external providers.

A recent CBK survey revealed that all commercial and microfinance banks in Kenya engage third-party technology service providers, with a majority (42 percent) working with at least 10 different providers at once – an indicator of the sector’s deep dependence on outsourced tech services.

The survey also found that 26 percent of banks have more than half of their services supported by external tech firms, while another 26 percent have between 21 and 50 percent of their operations anchored on third-party providers.

Payment aggregation is the most outsourced function, cited by 82 percent of commercial banks, followed by cybersecurity tools (76 percent), anti-money laundering compliance (58 percent), funds transfers (55 percent), credit scoring (37 percent), and lending (24 percent).

While other regulators have not published similar surveys, reports from individual companies suggest they are equally reliant on outsourced technology.

For example, insurers such as APA and Jubilee have already deployed AI systems to mitigate risk and enhance underwriting processes.

Reports that hundreds of youths were turned away during the recent Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment after testing positive for drugs and other substances are disconcerting.

Authorities said other than testing positive for alcohol, the culprits also had traces of bhang, heroin and cocaine in their bloodstream.

While KDF’s move has understandably denied the affected youth the opportunity to become better people, it also offers us an opportunity to ask ourselves what really drives young people to find solace in drug and substance abuse.

Excessive drug use is a result of many underlying issues, including joblessness, trauma, depression, broken homes, mental health problems, and hopelessness. When they can’t find solutions to such problems, many young people turn to alcohol and other drugs for solace.

According to the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), young people between 18 and 24 have the highest prevalence of alcohol and drug use nationwide.

This is the very age bracket we depend on to power the economy, form our workforce, and defend our borders. To safeguard our future, we need to sit back and rethink our approaches to tackling alcohol and drug use among youth.

Recently, Nacada proposed to raise the legal drinking age to 21, citing early initiation to alcohol as a long-term predictor of addiction and other cognitive impairments. It also proposed restrictions in advertising and zoning laws, limiting the proximity of alcohol outlets to schools and churches.

As the debate on whether or not to embed the proposals into our laws continues, one can’t help but have the ‘we’ve been here before’ feeling.

Many may remember the sensational (and visionary) ‘Mututho laws’ of 2010. They attempted to regulate drinking hours and the advertising of alcohol. The enforcement was thorough, and for once in a long time, something seemed to be working. However, the current surge in drinking levels is proof of their short-term success.

While well-meaning, the proposed reforms by Nacada risk repeating the same mistake. Without understanding the motivations or causal factors leading to excessive alcohol and drug use, we are running in circles.

Any successful intervention must begin with dissecting the root causes of addiction or excessive drug use. One way to do this is to align our mitigation measures with the science of addiction.

Let’s recalibrate our strategy from reactive and restrictive to preventative. Nacada has done a commendable job over the years in curbing drug abuse. However, it’s time its role evolved from a regulator to a facilitator of recovery and healing.

Addiction or excessive substance use does not happen overnight. It has stages which begin with experimentation (often due to curiosity or peer pressure). Then regular or social use. From here, it deepens to risky use and dependence as tolerance increases, and finally to addiction.

The question we should therefore ask is: Will the restrictions on online sales and geographical proximity to alcohol establishments help young people who are in the dependence and addiction stages? Will the new age-limit discourage experimentation? If not, what approach can work best to help our children?

If we ignore this and instead focus on enforcing restrictions, we risk rebellion rather than compliance like happened with cannabis reforms, where overzealous crackdowns led to black market glorification. We may end up winning the battle, but losing the war.

We also need to seal the parenting gaps that lead to alcoholism and drug use. This means having open conversations with our children on substance use and good modelling. Parents can also be taught to recognise the early signs of substance use.

The law should mandate alcohol manufacturers and other beneficiaries to contribute to the treatment of addiction (in addition to efforts by the State through the Social Health Authority initiatives) and fund counselling therapy centres, either through Corporate Social Responsibility activities or licensing levies.

We can also double on proven strategies of old, like sports drives and other co-curricular activities.

President William Ruto’s administration plans to standardise pricing of public infrastructure projects in a sweeping reform to tame inflated contract costs and cut wastage of taxpayer money.

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved what it called a ‘Comprehensive Framework for Infrastructure Projects Pricing’ in a bid to eliminate irregular, inconsistent and expensive processes in the implementation of public projects such as roads, bridges, dams, power plants and electricity transmission lines.

The framework will introduce a data-driven system for determining costs of infrastructure, replacing the current precedent-based approach which the government has used for decades in budgeting for public projects.

The current framework has, however, been heavily criticised for fuelling cost overruns, which have made the cost of building projects in Kenya among the most expensive in Africa.

The new practice borrows heavily from the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore, which apply the First Principles Approach to derive project costs from fundamental input data such as materials, labour, equipment and location-specific conditions.

The Cabinet estimates the new system could cut cost overruns by up to 25 percent, helping to restore discipline in planning and execution of public projects.

‘The framework seeks to eliminate the irregular, inconsistent, and costly practices that have characterised the pricing of government infrastructure projects,’ read a dispatch from the Cabinet after a meeting on Tuesday.

‘It aims to establish a data-driven system for determining infrastructure costs, ensuring accountability and prudent use of public resources.’

The Cabinet said that despite the government spending heavily on infrastructure over the past two decades, Kenya continues to suffer from cost variability, budget overruns and project delays.

These challenges are linked to reliance on outdated pricing formulas and limited market intelligence.

The looming policy shift comes barely two months after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) announced plans to overhaul the formula the agency uses to adjust project prices for inflation, citing ballooning costs that have derailed or stalled major road projects.

The KeNHA said in September it would review the Variation of Price (VOP) formula applied to contracts after uncovering ‘unprecedented escalation of variation of prices’ that had made projects expensive and caused budgetary distress.

VOP, a standard provision in long-term contracts, adjusts a project’s cost to account for fluctuations in input prices such as labour, fuel and construction materials.

But KeNHA’s recent audit found that poor formula design, unbalanced cost weightings, and misapplied indices have led to billions of shillings in unplanned costs.

‘The authority has experienced unprecedented escalation of variation of prices in ongoing development contracts, making projects expensive and giving rise to budgetary challenges,’ KeNHA said.

A Business Daily analysis of the Treasury and Transport ministry data earlier revealed that 26 major infrastructure projects – primarily under KeNHA and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority -overshot their original combined budgets of Sh682.7 billion to Sh703.4 billion, a jump of Sh21 billion.

Among the affected projects are the Kenol-Sagana-Marua highway, Mombasa-Mariakani road, and Horn of Africa corridor, which have all experienced cost jumps linked to compensation delays, poor design documentation, and underestimated feasibility studies.

For instance, the cost of the Sagana-Marua dual carriageway ballooned by nearly 50 percent in just three years, from Sh6.1 billion to Sh9.1 billion, according to a March 2025 audit by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu. The surge was attributed to omissions in the feasibility study and land acquisition delays.

Similarly, the cost of the Kenol-Sagana section rose by Sh3 billion after budget cuts by the Treasury slowed payments to landowners.

The KeNHA has since initiated a pricing audit covering seven flagship projects, including the Eldoret Bypass, Mombasa-Mtwapa-Kilifi road, and Isiolo-Mandera corridor, with a view to determining reasonable variation thresholds and preventing future overruns.

The authority will also benchmark against projects funded by development partners such as the World Bank, European Union, Exim Bank, KfW, and JICA, which typically maintain stricter cost-control mechanisms.

Grain handling company Bulkstream has opposed an application by a Ugandan importer who has sued it seeking release of its 1,514 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat unconditionally.

Bulkstream says that it entered into a bailment agreement with Pan Afric Commodities to which, as a bailee, it retains a legal lien of the wheat over accrued and unpaid handling and storage charges, which at September 30 stood at $1.1 million.

Legal lien is right to hold someone else’s property until the debt owed is paid.

Bulkstream, the only bulk grain handling facility in the country, is associated with Mombasa-based businessman Mohamed Jaffer.

In an affidavit filed in court, Bulkstream says that once a case with regard to the cargo was terminated at the Court of Appeal, it was its expectation the importer would approach them to settle the accrued storage charges.

‘The bailment agreement that stipulates payment of handling, storage and related charges has never been revoked,’ the affidavit reads.

As such, Bulkstream says it still retains the right of lien over the goods until full payment.

Pan Afric Commodities says that Bulkstream’s assertion that the dispute is founded on the accrued amount and contract of bailment is contrary to their (Bulkstream) representation to them that they cannot release the cargo due to receivership proceedings in Uganda.

Through an affidavit of Abdelateef Mohamed, Pan Afric Commodities says Bulkstream is attempting to bring irrelevant and inconsequential facts to illegally detain its cargo.

Pan Afric Commodities says it purchased approximately 2,837 tonnes of wheat which was shipped to the port of Mombasa under a charter party agreement and was subject of Bill of Lading which was issued on September 21 2018.

The court directed the case to be mentioned on February 4, 2026.

The company and its two directors Mohammed Hamid and Abdelateef Mohamed say that the wheat which was shipped in bulk form was handled by Bulkstream (formerly Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd) pursuant to instructions issued to it.

In their application at the High Court in Mombasa, the applicants say that out of the total amount purchased, some of the cargo remained in storage until Pan Afric Commodities paid the requisite import taxes and customs duties to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

‘Upon clearance of customs duties with URA, Bulkstream generated discharge invoices and advised the applicants on the outstanding storage charge that would need to be cleared prior to the release of the cargo which at May 2020 stood at US Dollars 286,379.38 (Sh36.9 million),’ the application states in part.

According to the applicants, they developed a comprehensive payment plan to settle the outstanding charges.

They also claim that as they were making arrangements to make the payment, Bulkstream informed them that they could not release the goods as they had received instructions from a Receiver Manager declaring that Pan Afric Commodities was under receivership.

The applicants say that they were also informed that the cargo was purportedly under the control of the Receiver Manager and should only be released to him.

‘The Receiver Manager has not complied with express provisions of the law touching on cross-border insolvency proceedings as stipulated in the Insolvency Act and therefore the cargo is not subject to his jurisdiction,’ part of the case documents state.

The applicants argue that Mr Hamid and Mohamed being directors of the company have exchanged several correspondences with the respondent (Bulkstream) advising them that they are illegally holding the cargo since it is not under the jurisdiction of the Receiver Manager thus it should be released to Pan Afric Commodities under the provisions of the Bill of Lading.

‘In addition the Receiver Manager has attempted to have the cargo released to him using falsified customs documents which have been detected by the respondent yet they have still declined to release the cargo to the first applicant who is the legal owner and lawfully entitled to it under the Bill of Lading,’ case documents state in part.

The applicants claim that they continue to incur heavy and substantial losses in form of accumulating storage charges, declining quality of the wheat and loss of profit since it cannot sell the wheat due to the illegal detention of the cargo by Bulkstream.

Pan Afric Commodities is also seeking for an order that it is not liable to pay storage fees for the period after January 28 2021 when Bulkstream communicated to them that the goods cannot be released because they are under the jurisdiction of a Receiver Manager.