Category: Business Daily

Kenya is reluctant to tap the remaining Sh129.2 billion ($1 billion) loan from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after falling global interest rates provided cheaper alternatives like Eurobonds.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said it is not prudent to access the costly UAE that Kenya tapped to build a stronger trade pact with the Emirates.

Earlier this year, Kenya reached an agreement with the UAE for a Sh193.8 billion ($1.5 billion) seven-year commercial loan at an 8.25 percent interest rate, but only accessed the first tranche of Sh64.6 billion ($500 million) in April.

Global lending rates have dipped below the 8.25 percent rate on UAE debt, with Kenya in a position to borrow at 8.06 percent via a seven-year Eurobond.

‘When we took the UAE loan of $500 million, Eurobond/market rates were above 10 percent, so we went for the UAE loan, which was at 8.2 percent. Today, the facility is at 8.2 percent, but we’ve got Eurobond rates below that,’ said Mr Mbadi.

‘It does not make sense to go for the UAE loan if Eurobonds are cheaper.’

The loan arrangement was reached at a point when international investors were demanding a steeper return to buy/hold Kenya’s debt as the pronouncement of US tariffs raised jitters around the world.

Kenya’s risk profile in the international markets has improved since the signing of the UAE loan arrangement.

The improved risk profile is the product of early bond buybacks and improved macro-economic factors, which eased investors’ concerns of default.

Eurobond yields peaked at 9.162 percent on Thursday last week for the sovereign bond maturing in 2048, while rates for papers with maturities between 2027 and 2032 were all below 8.2 percent, marking an improved risk perception.

The seven-year UAE loan was negotiated last year at a rate of 8.25 percent as the government widened its external financing options at a time when a four-year funded programme from the International Monetary Fund was nearing its end.

The UAE loan became the first commercial financing arrangement from the Gulf, with the government having previously relied on Eurobonds and syndicated loans, mostly from Western lenders, for commercial debt.

The UAE has had a growing influence in Kenya under the Kenya Kwanza administration, mainly through state-level business ties.

In March 2023, Kenya entered into a direct petroleum importation agreement with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, dubbed the government-to-government oil deal, at the height of a dollar crisis in the country.

The UAE also provided a private jet used by President William Ruto during his four-day State visit to the US in May 2024.

In May 2024, the Gulf State further pledged Sh1.9 billion ($15 million) in aid to Kenya to manage the effects of widespread flooding.

Mr Mbadi said Kenya has no obligation to take up the balance of the $1.5 billion UAE loan despite closer ties with the Emirati country.

‘We are not tied to one specific financing because of an agreement. We will only take it if it makes economic sense.

‘If the World Bank DPO is available, it would be at concessional rates. If we can also get debt for development swaps or Samurai bonds, these would also be better options.’

Kenya’s external financing requirement stands at Sh287.4 billion on a net basis for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with the bulk of the sum expected to be sourced from commercial sources.

In the 2026-27 financial year, this requirement is expected to fall marginally to Sh241.8 billion.

The Treasury has a wide set of external financing options, including financing from the African Development Bank, while it pursues new instruments such as debt-for-food swaps and sustainability-linked bonds.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is in discussions with giant tech companies dealing in virtual assets- including bitcoin, to sell shares to the Kenyan public through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), as part of a market deepening process that would mark the first listing of pure-play virtual asset companies on an African stock market.

The regulator’s talks with the firms from the US and UK come after President William Ruto signed the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act (2025) into law on October 15.

The law establishes a comprehensive legal framework for cryptocurrency regulation, as the country moves to position itself as a digital finance hub in the continent.

A virtual or digital asset is any content or resource stored digitally which has value and can be owned, traded, or managed and includes financial assets like cryptocurrencies and digital tokens that are secured on technologies like blockchain.

CMA’s Chief Executive Wycliffe Shamiah says “about four to five virtual asset companies largely from the US and UK have expressed huge interest to sell shares to local investors through the Nairobi bourse.”

“There are new versions of equities people are discussing based on crypto-currencies. These are new products which we are calling electronic traded products (ETPs) where there is the underlying, a product which is created and it is this product that is listed,’ Mr Shamiah told Business Daily in an interview.

‘We have received a lot of interest and we are hoping to list a number. We have had discussions with people who are interested. It could be a platform, it could be a company which has issued their own coin but they want to list their shares. We have seen interest in that, so they (virtual asset companies) are not giving you a first line hit on the virtual assets.’

Mr Shamiah however said he could not disclose the identity of the companies because the discussions are still in their preliminary stages.

The proposed listings will allow investors to invest in companies that deal in virtual assets, replicating the same model used by gold exchange-traded funds-where investors trade in gold indirectly through owning stakes in gold dealing companies.

The big global virtual asset companies fall into categories such as exchanges, asset managers and infrastructure providers.

Key players include Binance Holdings Ltd, Coinbase Global Inc., BitGo Inc, Grayscale Investments LLC and firms like Galaxy Digital and Ripple.

Major companies providing virtual asset trading platforms (also known as cryptocurrency exchanges or VATPs) include Binance Holdings Ltd, Coinbase Global Inc (US) and Kraken (US).

‘For now those who have come to have a discussion are mainly foreign companies.They could be four or five who have shown interest. These companies are saying if you allow us, we will not bring this coin but we will bring our shares so that people are not buying in the coin but they are buying in us (the company),’ says Shamiah.

CMA says listing of these virtual asset companies on the NSE will help local investors to share in their profits without necessarily trading in those assets and thereby minimise their exposure.

‘We have seen quite a lot of interest around there and it is very active. So you have people not investing in bitcoin directly but, they are investing in a company which is very involved with virtual assets and that becomes a regulated product. We have seen interest from, Europe, we have seen interest from the US.

“They are normally linked so that you find they are either listed in Europe and also US or they could be in different jurisdictions but mainly what we have seen they have listed on exchanges in Europe and also in the US,’ says Mr Shamiah.

‘Bitcoin is something which we know people discuss but you see that market has quite a lot of cyclical trends, very unstable and it requires people who can take hit. So there are now companies who are buying into cryptos and then they issue their shares to people so you share the profits and dividends from crypto but you have not invested directly into crypto.

“These are now the plastic products which we have seen listed in most of the other external markets mainly around where we have these virtual assets.”

If successful, the deal could be a major boost to the NSE which is still looking for its first initial public offering from a corporate entity in more than a decade.

CMA says the introduction of the ETPs on the stock market is a diversification of product offerings, which will also reduce reliance on a few big companies that currently dominate trading activities.

NSE Chief Executive Frank Mwiti welcomed the development terming it a “very promising” development driven by Kenya’s new, formal regulatory framework.

‘It presents a modernising opportunity for the NSE, but its success hinges entirely on the effective implementation of the new regulatory framework (prioritise investor protection, managing liquidity dynamics and prioritising investor education) to ensure investors understand the risks and opportunities, fostering sustainable and informed market participation.’

TikTok deleted over 590,000 videos from Kenya in the three months to June for breach of its social media guidelines such as glorification of sexual, violence and hate speech.

In its Quarter 2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report (CGER), the Chinese company said it took down a total of 592,037 videos in the four months, 92.9 percent before they were even viewed.

‘Notably, 92.9 percent of these were removed before they were viewed and 96.3 percent removed within 24 hours of being posted,’ Tiktok said in a statement.

TikTok’s community guidelines prohibit any content that promotes violence, crime, hate speech, harassment, or abuse.

Users are barred from sharing material that ‘promotes violent acts,’ threatens others, or supports hate groups, extremists, or criminal organisations.

The platform also bans content that involves sexual exploitation, human trafficking, or the abuse of children and adults. Harassment, bullying, and doxing are not allowed, and while political commentary is permitted, TikTok removes posts that ‘cross into severe harm.

Content depicting suicide, self-harm, dangerous challenges, or disordered eating is also restricted to protect users’ mental health. The video-sharing platform also forbids explicit sexual material, graphic violence, and animal cruelty. TikTok removes misinformation, especially about elections, public health, and civic processes, and requires clear labelling of AI-generated or heavily edited media.

Similarly, users are not allowed to share plagiarised or unoriginal content, manipulate engagement through fake activity, or promote fraudulent schemes.

While the company did not provide further information on which of the guidelines Kenyan users most violated, the platform has previously been criticised for the proliferation of explicit content on its Live feature.

In 2023, President William Ruto had to engage TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over the need for moderation amid a petition in Parliament seeking the app’s ban in Kenya.

The recently removed videos are part of 189 million removed worldwide during the same quarter, which TikTok said represents 0.7 percent of all content uploaded.

‘In the second quarter of 2025, we took action, including warnings and demonetisation, on 2,321,813 Live sessions and 1,040,356 Live creators for violating our Live monetisation guidelines,’ said the company.

Some 76,991,660 fake accounts were also taken down, along with an additional 25,904,708 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13, the minimum age to use the platform.

Kenyan companies froze employment in October as business activity and sales expanded at the fastest pace since February 2022, amid executives being less optimistic of future expansion.

The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 points in October from 51.9 in September, marking the highest reading since February 2022. A reading above 50 signals improving business conditions.

That makes the current private sector activity the strongest since the world economy battled elevated commodity and shipping costs that followed Russia’s brutal invasion in February 2022, which destablised supply chains.

But about 400 panel of companies drawn from key sectors such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture, wholesale and retail and services kept the payroll unchanged, signalling that the rebound has not yet translated into hiring confidence.

More than 97 percent of surveyed companies reported no growth in staffing levels in October – meaning firms absorbed higher workloads by redeploying existing workers and clearing outstanding orders rather than recruiting.

The moderation came after Kenya’s private sector accelerated hiring at the quickest pace in 28 months in September.

Employment was the only major PMI category that did not show growth momentum in the monthly PMI that also covers output, new orders and future business prospects.

The disconnect between expanding business activity and frozen hiring could be a reflection of residual caution by corporate leaders, after months of difficult trading conditions driven by weak spending on non-essential goods and services, higher indirect taxes such as VAT and fuel levies and anti-government street protests.

‘Kenya’s private sector in October saw both output and new orders up sharply as conditions improved for consumers and firms benefited from softer inflation,’ Christopher Legilisho, economist at Standard Bank, the parent firm for Stanbic Bank, wrote in the PMI report.

‘However, firms were less optimistic about future output conditions. Employment was stable in October for most firms as they maintained their workforce.’

Future activity expectations such as to venture expand product offerings and open branches eased to a four-month low, the report shows, although optimism was among the highest levels seen since early 2023.

About two in 10 panel firms see stronger output over the next 12 months, with the remainder of the companies projecting no material change.

The PMI report indicates companies in October raised output at the fastest pace since December 2021 – before shipping bottlenecks, commodity price volatility and geopolitical uncertainty spread through supply chains around the world, including Kenya which was at the time also battling a biting drought.

The increased output, which was experienced across surveyed sectors, was largely supported by better customer confidence, new products and discounts offered to consumers amid stiff competition among vendors. New orders also rose faster than September, with about a quarter of surveyed firms recording stronger sales as inflationary pressures eased, supporting more aggressive discounting strategies and marketing in an economy where consumers remain highly price-sensitive.

Companies also raised input purchases and replenished inventories for the first time since April, indicating preparations for further demand in the months ahead.

Cost pressures remained muted, with input cost inflation softening to a 13-month low. Purchase prices, staff costs and output charges rose marginally, with some firms offering discounts to support volumes.

The recent unfortunate tragic incident at the Lake Basin Mall in Kisumu is saddening and has stirred deep public emotion and reignited debate over how the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) conducts its tax enforcement.

In a recent commentary, a writer painted a grim picture of the taxman, suggesting that the institution’s approach has bred fear and despair among taxpayers.

While such reflections are understandable in the wake of a tragedy, the discussion must remain measured, factual, and fair.

Despite the many concerns, it is true that KRA is not merely an arm of enforcement, it is equally the engine that fuels public services, infrastructure, and national development.

Let me begin by emphasising that no life should ever be lost because of a tax dispute. Revenue collection must never come at the cost of human dignity.

As a nation, we must always remember that taxation is not merely about collecting money, it is about sustaining trust and enabling the shared progress of our society.

Across the world, tax authorities face the delicate balance of collecting revenue without stifling enterprise. Kenya is no exception. The KRA operates under the law, guided by policies that have been debated, legislated, and approved through public processes. Its mandate is not self-imposed; it is a national responsibility.

Taxes fund the roads we drive on, the schools that educate our children, and the hospitals that serve millions of Kenyans. Without revenue, there can be no sustainable development. To demonise KRA wholesale is to overlook the essential role it plays in keeping the wheels of government turning.

Though not yet where it supposed to be, we must agree that, over the years, the KRA has been transforming from a rigid collector into a service-oriented organisation.

The introduction of the iTax system, eTIMS, and voluntary disclosure programmes has made compliance easier and more transparent.

Thousands of taxpayers now file and pay taxes from the comfort of their phones, a far cry from the bureaucratic systems of the past.

The authority has also increased its engagement with stakeholders, from citizen assemblies to professional bodies and business associations, in an effort to make tax policy more responsive. These are not the actions of an institution bent on ‘desolation,’ but of one trying to balance its duty with compassion.

Though trying, the Kisumu incident was deeply unfortunate, and until investigations are concluded, it would be premature to draw conclusions about the whole sad occurrence.

Linking the tragedy directly to institutional policy risks oversimplifying a complex issue.

The taxman works under immense pressure to meet national targets and keep the country running. To cast them as villains ignores the dedication of the authority to sustain the economy of this country.

For Kenya to achieve true economic independence, taxation must be seen as a shared civic duty, not a punishment. Compliance and fairness must go hand in hand. While taxpayers fulfill their obligations, the KRA should continue to refine its systems to make compliance seamless and humane.

Constructive dialogue, not condemnation, is what will move Kenya forward. The KRA has shown willingness to listen and adapt; now citizens, too, must play their part by coming out strongly to engage the tax agency.

At the heart of this debate lies a simple truth: no nation can prosper without an effective tax system. Criticism has its place, but it should be tempered with recognition of progress and an understanding of the complexities of public finance.

Rather than framing the KRA as an enemy of the people, we should see it as a partner in national growth, one that is learning, evolving, and striving to serve better. Reform is not achieved overnight, but it begins with dialogue grounded in balance.

The bid to start competitive importation of cooking gas has derailed after a parliamentary committee rejected regulations that would allow the State to introduce an open tender system (OTS) for the commodity.

The National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation says the Petroleum (Operation of Common Petroleum Facilities) Regulations, 2025 were tabled in Parliament outside the stipulated time. It added that there was no public participation in formulating the laws.

The regulations would allow for the designation of private cooking gas handling terminals as common-user facilities. The energy regulator would then set tariffs for the handling and storing of LPG, and also set retail and wholesale prices of cooking gas.

Under the OTS model, the tender to ship petroleum products is awarded to the bidder who quotes the lowest price, ensuring that importation of the cheapest but quality fuel.

‘The committee recommends that the House annuls in entirety the following regulations for the following reasons; the legal notices were published on May 10, 2025 and transmitted to the clerk of the National Assembly on July 11, 2025 being outside the seven sitting days timeline contemplated under section 11(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act,’ the committee says in the report.

‘Failure to demonstrate public participation in compliance with Article 10, Article 118 of the Constitution and Section 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act.’

The government is relying on the regulations to permit the import of cooking gas via the OTS, which could enable it to control the retail price of the commodity, as it does with petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Currently, cooking gas is imported privately using two terminals, which has made it impossible for the State to intervene and control prices as it does for petrol, diesel and kerosene.

The Petroleum (Operation of Common Petroleum Facilities) Regulations, 2025 are one of ten new regulations that the committee wants revoked.

Early last month, Daniel Kiptoo, the Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), said that the new laws would anchor the shift to OTS importation of cooking gas.

Cooking gas dealers have failed to lower the price of the commodity in line with tax breaks introduced by the government, prompting the latest push to switch to the OTS.

Other regulations that the parliamentary committee rejected sought to allow the sale of cooking gas in tokens, which could enable more low-income households to afford the commodity for cooking.

Parliament is expected to debate and consider the committee’s recommendation to reject the ten regulations. Members of Parliament have traditionally agreed with proposals from House committees.

Old Mutual has scored a win after the Court of Appeal stopped insolvency proceedings brought against the insurance firm by businessman Joel Kibe.

The appellate court further suspended an order issued by the High Court directing the insurance firm to deposit Sh500 million from the intended sale of Old Mutual Tower in Upper Hill, Nairobi in an escrow account.

The court noted that the company’s business is very sensitive and may be disrupted by any negative publicity and in case there were to be a run on the firm, the success of the intended appeal would not be cured by an award of damages.

‘In our view, the grounds pointed above are not idle grounds but constitute arguable issues for the purposes of this kind of application,’ said the court.

The court said once investors bolted from the company, they were likely to look elsewhere and would be reluctant to plough back their resources into an entity with negative publicity.

‘We direct that pending the hearing and determination of the applicant’s intended appeal against the ruling of Mongare J, dated February 28, 2025…there be a stay of further proceedings therein,’ said the court.

Mr Kibe sued the company seeking to compel it to buy his 1.544 million shares, together with interest of 18 percent.

The tycoon also filed the petition seeking protection for what he termed as ‘oppressive conduct’ by the majority shareholders. He is seeking, among other remedies, liquidation of the company under Section 424 and 425 of the Insolvency Act.

The insurance firm opposed the case and challenged Mr Kibe’s authority to file the case. Old Mutual submitted that if the proceedings are not stopped and the petition proceeds, the possibility of the investors withdrawing their funds from the company in a hurry cannot discounted.

The company further said the continued hearing of the petition was likely to pose grave and far-reaching consequences on its survival in a highly regulated financial market, financial standing and reputation.

According to the company, the move was likely to trigger panic and unjustified alarm in the market among its investors. The business, it was contended, depends on its reputation and confidence of its customers in it and that the presentation of the petition is hostile to the survival and growth of the insurer.

The company said it had posted its financial performance reflecting that the net profit has grown by 835 percent from the loss of Sh114 million in 2023 to Sh838 million in 2024, hence the court should allow the firm to continue on the positive trajectory for the benefit of its investors.

The firm told the court that Mr Kibe was free to sell his shares in the same manner he bought them, but instead of seeking to sell his shares, he is only keen in winding up the company.

Mr Kibe, who says he invested a total of Sh245.6 million in Old Mutual’s predecessor, UAP Holdings ltd, opposed the case arguing that he and other minority shareholders were denied the opportunity to sell their shares.

He claimed thaat the directors of the company have sold or are in the process of selling all the company’s assets including Old Mutual Tower and its Tanzanian subsidiary.

The tycoon added that the company has not rendered accounts for the mass sales of the company’s assets and the proceeds, which he claimed were being diverted to foreign accounts.

The High Court had in February allowed the insurance firm to sell UAP Old Mutual Tower, in Upper Hill on condition that it deposits Sh500 million in an escrow account, in the event that tycoon Kibe, wins his battle with the firm.

The insurance firm had disclosed that it intended to sell the building for Sh5.5 billlion and use the proceeds to offset loans and other obligations.

The government will identify alternative routes for motorists who do not wish to pay toll fees for the planned Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit and Nairobi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha highways.

In a statement, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) said motorists will not be forced to pay for the two roads – including the 175-kilometre Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit (A8) section and the 56-kilometre Nairobi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha (A8 South) link.

‘The Authority shall map out available alternative roads from Rironi to Mau-Summit where feasible, for consideration and use by the public, who may opt not to pay and use this Project,’ said Acting Director-General Luka Kimeli.

‘It is, however, imperative to note that the usage of the toll road shall be cheaper, as there shall be resultant savings in travel times, vehicle operating costs and safety,’ Mr Kimeli added, assuring the public that the agency would be transparent and accountable throughout the implementation of the project.

Kenha said the mapped alternatives will be published to the public so motorists can plan journeys without using the toll road.

The preferred contractor for the Mau Summit Highway – a consortium of China Road and Bridge Corporation and the National Social Security Fund – expects to earn an operating profit of about $2.63 billion (Sh339.8 billion) over the 30-year concession by charging motorists a minimum toll of Sh8 per kilometre.

The availability of a free alternative has been a contentious issue since the project was conceived nearly nine years ago during the Jubilee administration, which initially awarded the contract to French contractors.

Successive officials have highlighted the benefits of the upgraded highways as an incentive for motorists to pay.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir in July argued that the economic and emotional costs of long traffic jams on single carriageways are often greater than the cost of a toll.

‘Will it be cheaper for you to get to Nakuru in the current traffic snarl-up, or will it be cheaper to pay Sh700 or Sh600 to reach Nakuru in two or three hours instead of four?’ he asked.

Kenha, however, did not provide name of the alternative routes that non-paying motorists may use.

The absence of a designated free corridor alongside the planned Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit toll road has been a major sticking point, contributing to years of delays and to the ousting of the French contractors originally awarded the project.

The investment envelope for the project includes $1.49 billion (Sh193.4 billion) of capital expenditure and $753.8 million (Sh97.6 billion) of life-cycle costs covering operations, routine maintenance and periodic rehabilitation.

The financing is 75 percent debt and 25 percent equity – about $1.11 billion (Sh144 billion) in debt and $371 million (Sh48 billion) in equity.

At the heart of the model is a base toll of Sh8 per kilometre for passenger cars in the first operational year, with tolls escalating by one percent annually. Higher tariffs are set for heavier vehicle classes.

The concession runs for 30 years, with two years of construction followed by operations for the remaining period before hand-back.

The plan proposes Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) and a toll back-office to reduce leakage, speed transactions and enable reconciliation and enforcement.

When Tosheka Textiles first set up in 2004, it was not structured as a commercial outfit. At the time, the venture was working as a community-based organisation teaching women in Makueni how to spin yarn from raw cotton grown in the area.

The intention then was to create skills, empower rural households, and demonstrate to the community that even low volumes of cotton could have value once processed.

Over time, they shifted into a fully-fledged textile business, producing premium fabrics and customised fashion pieces.

Today, Tosheka Textiles, co-founded by Nyokabi Mwangi and her aunt Lucy Lau Bigham, has shifted focus to modernising production systems, growing a business-to-business client base, and scaling sustainable fabric production capacity.

‘As we progressed, we realised we needed to professionalise the business,’ says Ms Nyokabi, who now serves as the production’s Associate Director.

‘Back then it was community driven. People brought whatever they could and contributed labour. But for textiles to be viable, you have to standardise. You have to pay for items at production stage. You have to create consistent supply. That transition wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.’

The shift into commercial production fully took shape in 2011. The founders decided that instead of waiting for women to produce fabrics then attempt to market later, Tosheka would buy fibre and pay the women directly for spinning.

This, Ms Nyokabi says, guaranteed income at point of production, raised quality expectations, and set the business onto a more formal contract and delivery footing.

‘When we commercialised, we had to define quality and create clear specifications. This was a big lesson. A lot of businesses collapses because the product is not consistent. In this business, what the market pays for is not the story, it’s the quality,’ she explains.

Tosheka produces both fabric by the metre as well as finished premium garments. Clients bring their own designs or choose from Tosheka’s catalogue, with most of the customers being designers, boutique fashion houses, decor and interior players, as well as high-end lodges and hotels.

However, despite Kenya being a cotton-growing country, one of the constraints the business has faced is the scarcity of enough skilled weavers who can produce high standard textile output. Ms Nyokabi says the pool is still very limited, even after years of community skill investment.

‘That is still one of our biggest constraints. The artisan base is not yet large enough. We have trained many, but to replace the older, traditionally skilled artisans is a huge challenge,’ she says.

‘This is a skill that needs protecting. Young people need to see weaving as a dignified career. If we lose the skill pipeline, the industry declines.’

As part of diversifying the production range and elevating the value proposition of their fabric, Tosheka also does silk, a move Ms Nyokabi describes as a breakthrough in their evolution.

‘Silk was a turning point. It opened up the ability to serve a different level of product demand; luxury, high-end, premium design work,’ she says. ‘It allowed us to target a stronger market segment that values natural fibre, longevity and unique textures.’

Currently, 70 percent of Tosheka’s clients are local while 30 percent is export. In the next two years, Mr Nyokabi is targeting a 50/50 balance, especially as the business expands capacity to serve more bespoke designers and more specialised interior clients.

In the run to this target, Tosheka is now focused on getting new machinery for increased production.

‘We want to modernise while protecting heritage. If we lose the craft, we lose what makes this special. We cannot replace artisanal feel with industrial mass production. People who buy our fabric buy the uniqueness and the texture,’ she says.

While the sustainability tag is an advantage, it also raises the cost curve. Tosheka selects premium natural fibre inputs, and Ms Nyokabi says this means the company spends more on raw materials compared to other mass production garment or fast-fashion aligned players.

‘Our cost base is high because we invest in quality. It affects our pricing. It affects our margins. But premium textile buyers understand what they are paying for,’ she says.

Running the business with a co-founder who also doubles up a family member has also shaped how the two make decisions, pace growth and share operational roles. Ms Nyokabi describes herself and Ms Bigham as extremely complementary in execution style.

‘We have different working approaches but we are very aligned in purpose. That balance is what has kept the company stable,’ she says.

‘Partnership is one of the most important things in business. It has to be built on trust but also on realistic expectations and shared clarity.’

A Kenyan based in the UK has moved to court seeking to quash the Privatisation Act, 2025, arguing that it is inconsistent with the Constitution.

Eliud Karanja Matindi says in a petition before the High Court that the entire Act is illegal as it was enacted in violation of the Constitution.

He further argues the law was passed without the involvement of the Senate.

The court has directed him to serve Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor and Parliament with the petition documents, within three days.

The case will be mentioned on November 17, for directions.

Mr Matindi says the purpose or effects of the Act is to privatise public entities by transferring, other than to a public entity, the assets and or liabilities of a public entity including the shares in a public entity.

‘To the extent the Act provides for privatisation of public entities that hold public land as defined by Article 62 of the Constitution, it is the petitioner’s case that the whole Act is unconstitutional,’ he says.

He cites several public entities, including Kenya Pipeline Company, Mt Elgon Lodge Ltd in Kitale, Golf Hotel (Kakamega), and Kabarnet Hotel in Baringo County.

Once public land is privatised, Mr Matindi says, it can no longer be held, used and managed in a manner that is equitable, efficient, productive and sustainable for the people of Kenya collectively.

‘It also cannot be equitably accessed by persons other than the new, private owners,’ he notes, adding that public land belongs to the people of Kenya, collectively, and cannot be privatised without violating Article 61(1).

Mr Matindi says the privatisation of public land would, as provided by Article 64 of the Constitution, lead to its conversion to private land, held either under freehold or leasehold tenures.

He argues that there is no suggestion that land currently held by public entities to be privatised, would be converted into community land under Article 63 of the Constitution.

He adds that the Act is silent on which of these two holding tenures will apply to public land targeted for privatisation.

‘This lack of clarity on such a critical aspect of matters to be dealt with under the Act, violates the national values and principles of governance under Article 10(2) of the Constitution, including the rule of law, democracy and participation of the people, good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability,’ he says.

It is his argument that the conversion of public land to private, as contemplated by the Act, including on freehold tenure, is a threat to Article 201(c and d) of the Constitution.

The UK-based Kenyan says the privatisation would mean the burdens and benefits the public currently derives from holding public land, including by the public entities earmarked for privatisation, will no longer be available for equitable sharing between present and future generations.

Instead, he notes, present generation will convert previously owned resource (public land) to benefit only a small section of its own, depriving future generations the opportunity to equally, and equitably enjoy those benefits.

Mr Matindi further says that it is notable that, as provided by sections 6 and 54 of the Act, money raised from privatisations shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund if it is from the sale of a direct national government shareholding.

He says it is a matter of public record and notoriety that a significant percentage of revenue being currently collected by the government is being used to pay the national debt.

Mr Matindi argues that it is therefore inevitable that proceeds from privatisations will actually be used toward paying the national debt, rather than any investments for the benefit of present and future generations.

‘In addition, should future generations wish to convert the privatised land back to public, they will have to pay compensation to the private owners, a threat to the duty to use public money in a responsible and prudent way,’ he adds.