Category: Business Daily

Every time I find myself working on an article on film, my thoughts inevitably circle back to Kenya’s film culture.

I find myself asking random questions like, What happened to the people who went through virtual production training last year? Why do so many African stories, especially documentaries, lean so heavily on struggle, resilience and poverty? Is it even possible for funding organisations to support films that simply tell stories that celebrate joy or everyday life?

And are these films even meant for us? Too often, we only hear about them after they’ve won international accolades, and only then do they get screened locally.

That last question was answered, at least partly, by the EAccelerate Regional Screening on January 30, at Prestige Cinema in Nairobi.

It was Documentary Africa’s first public screening event in East Africa, organised in partnership with the East African Screen Collective and DW Akademie. After a few technical issues, Six short films were screened, three documentaries and three fiction pieces.

Let’s talk about them

The Documentaries

Xurmo

The standout of the night was Xurmo, a heartbreaking portrait of Binti Cumar Gacal, a Somali musician who was popular before Somalia’s collapse.

Her story is symbolic of the nation itself. I spent most of the film holding back tears, it’s an incredible story that was effective because of the bareness of it all.

The pacing lets you sit with her reality, the archival footage, the framing holds her presence with dignity. Above all, it’s her decision to stay in Somalia despite fame and the option to leave that makes this story profound.

Now don’t get me wrong, it follows a generic documentary format, though I can’t see any other way of telling this story. What I liked was the discipline with the cinematography and the stylistic choices they made with the look.

sKINs: Addis Abeba

The second documentary, Skins Adeba, was more experimental, nonlinear, poetic and visually daring. At least three times, I thought it had ended, only for it to continue.

That unpredictability worked in its favour. The use of small animated overlays and artistic imagery was refreshing, though the narration felt unnecessary and sometimes pretentious. Still, I appreciated its attempt to bend time and what they were doing with the visuals.

The One with The Tempered Flowers

The third documentary, a Kenya-Tanzania collaboration, tackled issues affecting women, marriage, and fibroids. The concept was generic, conventional, and safe, but with very promising opening scenes. The execution felt uneven. The film tried to merge two themes into one short, and the result was unfocused.

I could see the vision, but it lacked the boldness and confidence of the other works. The intro was compelling, but the rest needed streamlining. It wasn’t experimental enough to justify its groundedness, nor polished enough to carry the weight of its themes.

The Fiction Films

The Fortunate

The first fiction piece, from Ethiopia, was a delightful cinematic surprise. I thought it was a clever look at addiction, but it turned out to be a sharp, funny drama.

The cinematography felt maybe too good for something that was meant to be experimental, the direction confident, and the performances grounded yet compelling. The ending left us hanging, suspenseful, unresolved, yet satisfying.

Little Red Eve

Next came a Ugandan sci-fi short, and this matched what I expected. The restrained use of dialogue was welcome. I’m surprised a story like this was even funded because it’s a sci-fi concept that smartly explores the zombie subgenre.

It had VFX, experimental shots, and a sense of fun that was infectious. It wasn’t perfect, the budgetary constraints were evident and the logic of it all is debatable.

How To Forget Your Name

The final fiction piece was even more ambitious: a futuristic, big-budget-style sci-fi experiment. It had elaborate costumes, bold set pieces, and visual effects that aimed high but fell short.

Some shots looked rough and I couldn’t help but think AI tools could have helped polish certain scenes. Still, I admired the ambition. Even if the concept was somewhat generic, the sheer scale of imagination was exciting. It felt like a glimpse of what African storytelling could become if given the resources to match their imagination.

What worked, what didn’t

The programme was diverse, and that diversity was its strength. But I left with a few concerns. Too many of the documentaries leaned on voiceovers, especially female narration over female-centred stories. Having a specific group’s voice amplified doesn’t automatically make a film profound.

Creative angles and filmmaking discipline are what make a memorable experience, like Xurmo.

We need more female filmmakers, yes, but we also need them to be bold, experimental and inventive. Otherwise, there’s a risk of laziness (generally, not just women), of filmmakers relying on themes that guarantee funding rather than pushing themselves to tell unique, universally resonant stories.

Xurmo worked because it’s focused thematically but broader in concept. It’s profound because the filmmaking discipline lays bare that incredible story.

sKINs had the same problem. The filmmaker has the right to tell their story how they choose, but I kept asking myself: why not stick with the older women already established in the story? I found myself yearning to get more of their stories. At some point, I wished they were the narrators.

Closing Thoughts

I’m glad the event happened. The big takeaway was that we got to see some of the stories that get funding.

We got to see filmmakers experiment, and I got to see Xurmo. I know I keep going back to this short documentary, but it’s incredible, it’s an incredible story, and I can’t wait for the complete version of Binti Cumar Gacal’s story.

But on the flipside, it also reminded me of the dangers of formula. If funding continues to reward safe narratives, filmmakers may stop trying to be creative, opting instead to align with funding bodies’ narratives rather than telling their stories in their purest form.

Gold prices at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) fell further on Monday as the reversal of a record-breaking rally continued into the new week amid the fall in the value of the precious metal globally.

The gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fell to Sh5, 845 on Monday from Sh6,235 on Friday and a record high of Sh6,600 on Thursday.

This follows a drop in gold and silver prices in the global markets in declines that began around the time reports suggested that US President Donald Trump would nominate former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the central bank.

Mr Warsh historically has been more concerned with higher inflation than slower growth, soothing Wall Street fears that the Fed would succumb to Mr Trump’s push to lower interest rates. Gold extended its fall on Monday to $4,677.17 per ounce after scaling a record high of $5,594.82 on Thursday.

On the NSE, the ETF price is determined by the global gold prices and dollar rate, with the strengthening of the US currency having the effect of increasing the metal’s price.

Investors at the Nairobi bourse can buy the listed 400,000 gold bullion debentures, each equivalent to 0.01 of an ounce of gold or 0.28 grams.

Given the price of the ETF is based on the underlying asset, the prevailing price of gold, this has meant investors in the asset have realised price gains without the need for trading. Its price at the NSE had nearly doubled from Sh3,165 at the start of January last year to Thursday’s peak, rivalling the performance of some of the NSE’s top-returning blue chip equities.

When it was introduced into the Kenyan market in March 2017, the ETF offered investors at the Nairobi bourse local access to gold as an investment asset for the first time, while also providing the market with an alternative to the dollar as a safe haven option in times of turbulence.

Before its introduction, Kenyan investors wishing to participate in the gold market had to either trade in the commodity in its physical form (bullion) or through offshore markets, which came with higher risk and costs.

Holding bullion or other gold assets, such as coins or jewelry, also came with linked barriers like the need for storage (security), a lengthy process of buying and selling and risk of fraud (fake gold).

The NewGold ETF or Absa’s gold-backed exchange-traded fund was first listed on the Johannesburg bourse in 2004 but it has since had secondary listings in other African exchanges, including Botswana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Namibia and Ghana. For months, a gravity-defying rally had pushed gold and silver prices to all-time highs, enticing speculators and sparking fears that investors the world over were losing faith in traditional currencies like the dollar.

Starting Thursday night, the air finally came out, translating to falls in the price of gold ETF at the Nairobi bourse.

After Mr Trump confirmed Mr Warsh’s pick Friday morning, the dollar posted its strongest day in months.

The speed of subsequent declines in precious metals markets stretching from central banks to underground vaults to Wall Street trading desks caught investors off guard.

At the NSE, trading in the gold ETF also picked up as it rallied. About 2, 874 units of the gold ETF were traded in the first week of January before peaking at 73, 765 units last week.

The rally of the precious metal left NSE gold investors with a more than fivefold gain or 420 percent from the ETF’s listing price of Sh1,205.16 per unit in March of 2017. It delivered a return of 22 percent since the start of the year to last week, only trailing gains by the Kenya Airways stock.

The Absa New Gold ETF has lost some of the gains since Friday, with returns falling to 8.2 percent between yesterday and the start of the yearAbsa deems its gold ETF as one of the simplest and least costly for investors, with the units sold fully backed by physical holdings of the metal or gold bullion at a custodian bank- the ICBC Standard Bank.

The demand for the ETF in the wake of its 2017 listing was muted and went for days without a single trade, with owners preferring to hold onto the asset because of its strength in hedging against inflation.

Absa Bank Kenya and the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) can provide additional units to the market should demand surpass the 400,000 listed pieces.

‘The New Gold ETF is not limited in terms of liquidity. Whatever we are holding currently can be increased by simply making an order, which is processed within three to five working days by Absa and the CDSC, ensuring there are as many gold units as demanded,’ Tito Namu, a senior equities dealer at Absa Securities Limited, told the Business Daily in a previous interview.

Analysts expected the price of gold to rally despite the wild swings amid geopolitical threats, falling interest rates, and a de-dollarisation.

‘Positive drivers of gold remain in place, in our view. Major central banks and investors continue to search for USD alternatives — a diversification demand that has yet to run its course,’ Standard Chartered Bank says in its 2026 outlook report.

‘In addition, recent data suggests gold’s inverse relationship with bond yields is starting to re-establish itself, adding another tailwind for the precious metal. Finally, our expectation of a weak USD should also add support.’

Data from the World Gold Council shows that central banks’ gold purchases are outpacing historical norms, fuelling the gold bullion demand and price rally.

Mike Eldon, an IT enthusiast turned management consultant, coach and a newspaper columnist, whose trainings touched many in university lecture halls and corporate boardrooms, has died at 80.

Eldon died on January 29, in Nairobi after battling an illness for some time, sparking off widespread tributes for a gentleman widely known for his humour, integrity and zeal for leadership transformation as well as youth mentorship.

‘Mike was sharp as a razor until the very end. The kind of man who walked into a room and made everyone in it feel like they mattered; a true role model of a humanised leader,’ Martin Oduor-Otieno, a former bank executive and chairman and CEO of Leadership Group Limited, a Nairobi-based consulting firm, said in a tribute.

‘Mike, I’m going to miss those conversations, but I will miss the laughter even more,’ he added.

In the last months of his life, Eldon penned humourous and touching testimonials, revealing his battle with an illness, and even wrote a public letter to his grandchildren on how they could ‘lead a happy and fulfilled life’.

In early December 2025, Eldon, in an article in his long-running column in this publication, wittily revealed that health issues were holding him back from ‘action’.

‘Recently, I was captured by another health issue that laid my energy flat, and so I have again been reflecting on how I have been dealing with it and how that, in turn, may help readers here who are also having to face such performance-halting setbacks,’ Eldon said.

‘It’s that very low-energy level which is so frustrating, preventing one from concentrating on whatever one had been doing. It’s even hard to read for more than a little while, and watching the news about (Donald)Trump and his tariffs certainly won’t fill the gap,’ he added.

Eldon narrated how an illness had drained his energy, but he wasn’t giving up on his work.

‘The natural state for me at these times has been to just be, to do nothing. Just to breathe, to sit or to lie down, and to hope that after a while, I’ll find if not the energy then at least a way to defy its absence and do something – like write an article such as this on my laptop,’ Eldon wrote.

‘I challenge and defy my apathy, knowing that even in my lowest of conditions, I still want to be and am active in my mind and to share what I am going through. I can be at my desk for not too long, but leave it feeling I have not completely wasted my day with nothing to say about it, other than that I made it through to the evening. I have evidence of initiative, feeling proud that I have exceeded any reasonable expectation of accomplishment,’ he added.

Earlier in July, Eldon wrote a moving public letter to his grandchildren and titled it ‘To my grandchildren: how you can lead a happy and fulfilled life’.

He said he wrote the letter at the request of his daughter, who wanted some wise counsel for her children.

‘My dear grandchildren, all three of you are delightful young characters. Each of you is different, with your own characters and personalities, your own natural strengths, and areas where you are much less comfortable. You are lucky to have wonderful parents who know how to get the best out of you. And they are lucky that you take advantage of all they have to offer you,’ Eldon wrote.

‘As you make your way through your teenage years, like all teenagers, there’s so much exploring you do. Some of it fills you with anxiety, and setbacks occur. And some fill you with excitement, as your achievements give you the confidence to continue being bold and courageous. Among these, it’s very impressive to see you are with those who have been playing leadership roles,’ he added.

In his letter, Eldon urged his grandchildren to be humble, while enjoying their respective competencies, and also stay curious, asking questions and not just spouting their own views.

Read: Humanised leadership fosters synergy, growth

‘I’m happy my grandchildren have a strong sense of humour and enjoy plenty of laughter. Where there is this lightness, it so reinforces emotional intelligence, making it much easier to work and play together,’ Eldon said.

‘I asked my grandchildren to think about it all, to chat with each other, and to get back to me. The way it worked out was that my daughter read my letter to each of her children separately, and this led to good conversations between them. As I hope it does between you and relevant relatives,’ he further stated.

Born on March 17, 1945, Eldon grew up in the United Kingdom and was an economics graduate of University College London and a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School. He entered the IT field in 1967, arriving in Kenya in 1977 to become general manager of multinational computer companies in Kenya, International Computer Limited ICL, Wang and IBM.

He was a pioneer in the development of the use of IT in Kenya and was deeply involved with the development of Kenya’s first national ICT policy.

Eldon reinvented himself as a management consultant close to two decades ago and worked with a wide range of clients, including national and county governments, public and private sector organisations, family businesses, NGOs, the World Bank and GIZ.

He was an adjunct faculty member at Strathmore Business School, a Senior Leadership Adviser to the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); and an adjunct faculty member in the development and delivery of the transformative leadership programme for the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications in their joint initiative with the Harvard Kennedy School.

He was also a Global Partner of the World Bank’s Collaborative Leadership for Development initiative, where he ran workshops on leadership in Kenya and beyond, as well as being an executive coach.

Further, Eldon had been chairman of the Council of KCA University, chairman of the Council of the Kenya Institute of Management and was a founding director and later vice-chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, where he served as a member of the advisory council and of the nominating committee.

Eldon was a founder member of The Management Consultants Association of Kenya and also been a director of the Kenya Education Management Institute and of the African Institute for Policy Development.

He was a founder, chairman, and lead consultant of The DEPOT (The Dan Eldon Place Of Tomorrow), a management consultancy that focuses on leadership, strategy, change management, culture strengthening, performance management, and coaching.

He was also the chairman of Occidental Insurance and an independent director of Davis and Shirtliff, where he chaired its Board Audit Risk and Compliance Committee. He was a co-founder of the Institute for Responsible Leadership, which was launched in London in October 2019.

Eldon is survived by his widow, Evelyn Mungai, and children Dan and Amy, Eric and Wachuka as well as many grandchildren.

Public agencies face penalties for failing to deduct a new levy when paying suppliers and contractors, exposing taxpayers to losses that could run into millions of shillings.

This follows revelations that several State agencies have not remitted the Public Procurement Capacity Building Levy to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) despite paying contractors hundreds of millions of shillings during the year ending June 2025.

The National Treasury introduced the levy in late 2023, requiring all agencies procuring goods and services to withhold 0.03 percent of the contract price for remission to the PPRA.

This would see up to Sh750 million worth of cash previously pocketed by suppliers and contractors handed to the PPRA, ostensibly to implement capacity-building initiatives for procurement officers.

Recent audits, however, show that a number of entities have failed to act on the law, with insiders at the PPRA disclosing that the procurement watchdog has had challenges collecting the levy.

In separate reports for the year ending June 2025, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu flags four public universities for failing to remit the levy to PPRA despite paying contractors hundreds of millions of shillings.

‘During the year under review, the university spent Sh307,363,656 on the acquisition of goods, works and services. It was, however, noted that the management did not deduct and remit the capacity building levy to PPRA as required by Public Procurement Capacity Building Levy Order, 2023,’ Ms Gathungu said about Garissa University.

Based on the Sh307 million payment to contractors, the university was expected to remit Sh92,209 to the PPRA, being 0.03 percent of the payments.

The public auditor also flagged Turkana University College for failing to deduct and remit Sh42,381 to the PPRA for the Sh141.27 million payments to contractors and suppliers during the year, breaching the law.

In Meru University, Ms Gathungu observed that while the institution entered into contracts, it could not prove that it complied with the capacity building levy order of 2023, thus breaching the law.

Chuka University was also flagged for failing to remit Sh3,868 for the levy to PPRA.

The Public Procurement Capacity Building Levy Order, 2023 requires that the levy be charged on all procurement contracts signed between the supplier and a procuring entity, at the rate of 0.03 percent of the value of the signed contract.

‘The purpose of the Levy shall be to provide funds for the development of capacity through training, technical support, and mentoring of the persons involved in the public procurement and asset disposal system in order to facilitate achievement of value for money in public procurement and enhance quality of public service,’ the law says.

Entities are required to deduct the levy from the contract value at the time of making payments for contracts and remit it to the PPRA not later than the 20th day of the following month.

During the year ending June 2025, the PPRA was expected to collect over Sh200 million in the capacity building levy from contracts related to development projects alone.

This was after national and county governments implemented development projects valued at Sh669.56 billion in the year.

The levy collections would rise, taking into account other procurement purchases undertaken during the year as part of the government’s recurrent expenditure, which was more than the development spend.

East African Breweries Plc (EABL) is integrating International Financial Reporting Standards for Sustainability (IFRS S1 and S2) into its reporting framework as it plans to go to market with a sustainability-linked debt facility in the medium to long-term.

A sustainability-linked bond refers to a debt instrument issued by an organisation with the proceeds dedicated purely to meeting defined green or environmentally friendly objectives that are in line with growing efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

IFRS S1 and S2 are financial reporting standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which compel organisations to disclose material sustainability-related risks that are likely to impact their operations.

Whereas IFRS S1 is specific to environmental, social, and governance-related disclosures, IFRS S2 is specific to climate-related risks and their likely impact on the operations of an organisation.

The listed alcoholic beverage manufacturer says that, whereas it had considered issuance of a sustainability-linked bond in its October 2025 return to market, the time it would take to structure the facility presented a challenge and compelled it to opt for the traditional issuance.

In October 2025, EABL Plc raised Sh16.76 billion through its latest corporate bond, registering a subscription rate of 154.0 percent for the five-year note that is priced at 11.8 percent.

‘It is quite challenging on the manufacturing side to land a sustainability-linked facility. Doing it is easy, but it’s making sure the measures are met, and you have to lay down a whole infrastructure. We looked at it, we knew it was an option, but it would have taken a lot more time, and the timing of striking a deal is just as important as the deal itself,’ EABL’s Chief Finance Officer and Head of Strategy, Risper Genga Ohaga, said.

‘So, when we have IFRS S1 and S2 integrated from a manufacturing point of view, it will be very easy to issue a sustainability-linked facility,’ she added.

Among the company’s credentials on the sustainability and lower carbon footprint front is EABL’s rollout of three biomass plants, two at Kenya Breweries Ltd and one at Uganda Breweries Ltd, in 2022. EABL said it is currently undertaking a gaps assessment to evaluate the extent to which operations align with the requirements of IFRS S1 and S2, including greenhouse gas emissions.

‘I think there will come a time when that will be hugely attractive. We are doing a lot of work in implementing S1 and S2, and when those are in place, from a manufacturing point of view. It is indeed an option, but you have to be sure that you have the governance, the controls, and the infrastructure that you need to be able to support that issuance. In the latest issuance, which happened in October 2025, we were weighing timing versus perfection, and in the end just opted to go with the conventional bond,’ said Ms Ohaga.

Seven public universities are struggling to collect more than Sh3 billion in unpaid school fees from current and former students, new disclosures show, signalling their huge exposure even as they face financial difficulties.

The universities are reported to be owed Sh3.17 billion by students, exposing them to potential losses since some of the defaulters have already graduated.

Reports by the Auditor-General reveal that by the end of June 2025, the University of Eldoret was owed Sh890.9 million – the highest amount of unpaid school fees among the seven public institutions.

‘Further review of the records revealed that out of the student debtors’ balance of Sh890,879,661, an amount of Sh222,645,414 had been outstanding for a period of more than one year. Management did not explain the measures being taken to recover the long outstanding receivables from the affected student debtors,’ Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said.

Ms Gathungu observed that debts owed to the university increased by more than half a billion shillings, or 172 percent, during the year ending June 2025, casting doubt on the institution’s ability to recover them.

During the year, the university management made provisions of Sh17.8 million, underlining concerns that part of the unpaid fees could turn into bad debt.

Policy breaches

A separate audit of Maasai Mara University shows that students owed the institution Sh596 million by the end of June last year, contrary to its fees payment policy, which requires all students to clear fees at the beginning of the semester, ‘and any student who shall not have settled all fees by that period shall automatically defer the semester.’

‘However, review of the supporting documents provided for audit review indicates that the students, despite having fee balances, were allowed to graduate, attend classes, and sit for end-of-trimester exams,’ the public auditor revealed.

While it is unclear how many students were allowed to graduate with fee balances and how much they owed individually, auditors noted a clear risk that the balances may not be recovered.

Besides unpaid school fees, Maasai Mara University also had issues with unallocated Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) funds and bursaries from various public entities amounting to Sh12.26 million.

‘These balances were received from various National Government Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDFs), counties, and the national government but were not posted into the students’ accounts and therefore remain unallocated in the records and not being put into proper use as initially intended,’ Ms Gathungu said.

Nyeri-based Dedan Kimathi University recorded school fees arrears of Sh584.2 million, with records showing that 21.4 percent of the unpaid fees date back to 2010, exposing weaknesses in the institution’s collection system.

The university’s debt management policy requires all fees to be paid in full before the start of the semester, or in instalments.

‘In the circumstances, the university’s failure to implement the debt management policy may lead to losses to the Institution and can adversely affect cash flow and the ability to fund ongoing operations,’ the public auditor warned.

Mounting pressure

Unpaid school fees at Chuka University hit Sh482.9 million by the end of June 2025, with more than three-quarters of the debt, amounting to Sh380.3 million, accumulated in just one year.

At Turkana University College, student debtors had a balance of Sh161.85 million by the end of June last year, accounting for 88 percent of the institution’s total debts.

‘The student debtors increased by Sh84,089,886 or 108 percent from Sh77,764,434 reported in the previous financial year,’ Ms Gathungu said.

The public auditor noted that the number of student debtors has been growing steadily at the institution over the years, warning that the trend could plunge the university into financial distress if not addressed.

Tharaka University also recorded delays by some students in paying school fees, with unpaid amounts reaching Sh136.76 million, although the university allowed them to sit examinations.

At Machakos University, management blamed delayed fee collection for a 134 percent rise in debts owed to the institution, bringing the total to Sh558 million.

The university management explained that the increase in debtors was mainly driven by ‘fees collection from the student-centred model of funding.’

‘As at 30 June, 2025, Sh135,234,394 was due from the Universities Fund for scholarship and Sh178,689,223 from Helb for loans relating to the students-centred funding model,’ Ms Gathungu said.

The university said it had been unable to lock out students with fee balances due to a conservatory order issued in August 2024, which prohibits public universities from denying admission or learning to students who fail to pay fees under the new higher education funding model.

Refund claims

Audits did not provide an account of unpaid school fees at Garissa University, but noted that students with outstanding balances were allowed to register for subsequent semesters before clearing arrears.

‘This led to the accumulation of students’ fees debts contrary to the fees policy that requires students to have cleared their fees balance before the start of the semester.’

As universities are faulted for lacking effective measures to collect fees, some students have also struggled to recover excess amounts paid, with audits revealing that two institutions owe former students Sh145 million.

Dedan Kimathi University is holding Sh47.5 million paid by former students between 2007 and 2020, despite the students having graduated long ago.

Maasai Mara University also owes former students Sh97.8 million in fee prepayments, including Sh53.9 million dating back to between 2009 and 2020 that had not been refunded.

‘This was contrary to the University’s fees payment policy, 2018, which stipulated the process of refunding school fees and states that refunds due to overpayment will be paid in full (100 percent) to the sponsor after completion of studies and clearance from the University,’ the public auditor observed.

Today, as the world marks World Wetlands Day, attention turns to the vital role wetlands play in sustaining life, culture, and livelihoods. Marked this year under the theme ‘Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage,’ the day resonates strongly in Kenya, where national celebrations are taking place in Isiolo County.

These observances underscore the fact that wetlands are not only ecological systems but also cultural landscapes shaped by generations of community stewardship. In Kenya, wetland protection is anchored in both statutory governance and indigenous knowledge.

The National Environment Management Authority, mandated to oversee environmental protection, wetland conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources, works alongside organisations such as Wetlands International to safeguard these ecosystems.

However, long before formal environmental laws existed, communities had developed rules, taboos, and spiritual practices that ensured wetlands were respected and sustained.

Travel along Kenya’s rivers and you realise that they tell a different story, one you miss if you only travel by its highways. Wherever water gathers, culture gathers with it. In western Kenya, the wetlands of Lake Victoria, fed by the Yala, Nyando, and Nzoia rivers, hold deep spiritual meaning for the Luo community.

Fisherfolk seek ancestral guidance before major fishing seasons, while sacred papyrus zones remain untouched. Selective harvesting of reeds reinforces cultural discipline and ecological balance while sustaining livelihoods.

In the Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha’s wetlands are woven into the traditions of the Maasai, Kikuyu, and Luo communities.

Elders perform rituals for health, fertility, and protection in designated papyrus swamps and islands, practices that regulate access and prevent ecological degradation. Along the Tana River Delta, Pokomo and Orma communities conduct planting and harvest rituals within mangrove forests, protecting fish breeding grounds and maintaining biodiversity.

On the coast, mangroves in Gazi Bay are preserved through taboos and spiritual customs that recognise their role as nurseries for marine life and buffers against storms.

Further north, wetlands along the Mara and Ewaso Ng’iro rivers are governed by customary laws that restrict grazing, fishing, and harvesting in sacred areas. In Isiolo, Borana and Somali elders safeguard seasonal wetlands through prayer ceremonies seeking rain, livestock protection, and communal harmony.

Even the ephemeral Lorian Swamp in northern Kenya is protected through ancestral practices that preserve vital water points during drought.

From Dunga Swamp near Kisumu to wetlands used in initiation rites in Siaya and Bungoma, these ecosystems remain central to culture, identity, and survival. As Kenya marks World Wetlands Day today in Isiolo, the message is clear: Wetlands are a living heritage.

Protecting them is both an environmental duty and a cultural responsibility, ensuring indigenous knowledge continues to guide sustainable livelihoods for generations to come.

For banks globally, the journey toward sustainability has been influenced by two main factors. First, sustainability is used to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, and second, a unique responsibility borne by banks and other players in the financial services industry focuses on addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

Therefore, for banks, sustainability and business are not mutually exclusive goals but rather complementary towards building an enduring business.

In addressing these dual objectives, banks recognise the need to apply sustainability to catalyse innovation, green finance and renewable energy transition across economies.

Executing and delivering results on these objectives requires a robust understanding and integration of climate-related financial risk management practices into existing risk frameworks.

However, banks face unique challenges when integrating climate-related financial risks.

These challenges range from developing the required competencies and skills for these complex analyses to determining the appropriate level of investment suited to each bank context, to reflecting the impact of long-dated climate risks on short-term decision-making and the lack of data.

To overcome these unique challenges, banks should consider the following. One important but often overlooked aspect is ensuring that climate-related financial risks are integrated into existing risk management processes and frameworks.

It results in a more robust and comprehensive risk management practice at the bank, enabling the identification of climate-related financial risk exposures and their impacts over a specific time horizon.

Climate scenario analysis is an important tool that provides banks with insights to take proactive steps to mitigate losses and develop tailored responses.

Banks need to be proportional in their investment in this area, as this should be motivated by the demand for pertinent analysis that feeds into the decision-making process, rather than as an end in itself.

For example, some banks began with qualitative analysis and have gradually incorporated quantitative analysis as their information requirements evolved with maturity. Banks should also ensure that climate-related financial risks align with an institution’s overall strategy.

There should be clarity on the targets applied to measure progress on climate-related opportunities and risks. Finally, for accountability, banks should ensure that roles and responsibilities are defined at the board and management levels.

Banks should also invest in capacity-building and training to empower their teams to fulfil their responsibilities.

Kenyan-born athlete Stephen Cherono, who switched to Qatari citizenship in 2003 and changed his name to Saif Saeed Shaheen, angered a judge by attempting to disown the identity he used during his previous bankruptcy filing.

Cherono-who holds the 3,000-metre steeplechase world record-responded to a preliminary objection in a land case by claiming he was a ‘stranger to the bankruptcy proceedings filed against him’ in a Kisumu court in 2015.

This came as his appeal was opposed by Daniel Ladama Ruto on the grounds that, as a bankrupt, he lacked the legal capacity to file a case-a matter that Environment and Land Court Judge Charles Kimutai eventually ruled in Cherono’s favour, but delivered a stern rebuke for his perceived dishonesty by denying him the costs of his application.

Justice Kimutai noted that although Ruto’s preliminary objection had failed, Mr Cherono did not approach the court with ‘clean hands.’

‘It has become very evident that the Respondent (Cherono) knowingly lied to this court on the issue of his identity, and denied being the Petitioner/Applicant in Kisumu High Court Bankruptcy Cause No. 5 of 2015,’ said Justice Kimutai.

‘This court is appalled at the ease with which the Respondent took to lying and feeding this court with falsehoods with regard to his identity while under oath, and this practice must be frowned upon,’ said the judge while refusing to grant him the costs of the application and the preliminary objection due to his dishonesty.

In 2002, the athlete changed his name to Shaheen after switching allegiance to Qatar, with the oil-rich Gulf State luring him with an irresistible package that included a guaranteed stipend of $1,000 (Sh128,970) a month for life.

This is more than six times the Sh20,000 an average informal worker takes home in a month, and twice the median income of Sh58,611 per month for formal wage employees, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

‘Yes, I have moved for the money,’ he confirmed after winning his heat in the 3,000-metre steeplechase qualifiers at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.

Lured by the largesse promised by Qatar against the backdrop of tough economic times in Kenya, some athletes did not hesitate to migrate to the Gulf state.

Albert Kipkurui Chepkurui, now Ahmad Hassan Abdullah, is another Kenyan-born distance runner who also switched his allegiance to Qatar in 2003.

Bahrain is the other Gulf States that has benefited from this migration of desperate athletes, as the country struggles with poor management and meagre rewards.

Athletes have also been known to switch sides to European and American countries.

In 2004, while playing for the Qatari club Al-Arabi, football star Denis Oliech was reportedly offered between Sh200 million and Sh890 million to switch his citizenship to Qatari.

Qatari officials are said to have put him in a room with a phone and given him just one hour to decide his future.

However, the former Harambee Stars captain is said to have famously declined the offer, stating: ‘I love my country and would not take anything to change my identity.’

The migration of athletes for financial gain caught the attention of the country’s top leadership, with then-President Mwai Kibaki, when meeting the country’s top athletes in 2009 before they left for the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, urging them to resist the temptation of disavowing their country for money.

‘Let us resist the temptation to change our citizenship for financial gains,’ the then President told them, reminding the athletes that Kenya is where their talent was nurtured and should remain.

However, it appears that Cherono’s fortunes did not remain steady, with the athlete facing several court cases, including allegations of neglecting his wife and children.

He is also involved in another land ownership dispute in the Environment and Land Court at Eldoret, where he sued Mr Kenneth Kiptum Kandie over property in Uasin Gishu.

The case revolved around conflicting claims to land and alleged irregular registration, with the court being asked to extend the time for filing an appeal against an earlier decision in a related matter.

The High Court in Kisumu on February 25, 2015 declared Cherono bankrupt, meaning his liabilities exceeded his assets.

According to the respondent in the present case, being declared bankrupt meant that Cherono had no legal capacity to lodge the appeal on his own, and that the same should instead have been done by the official receiver.

However, the court came to Cherono’s aid by stating that only creditors were barred, but not debtors.

The expenditure on advertising within the betting and gaming sector dropped by a sharp 89 percent in the quarter to September 2025, hit by stricter regulations from the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) earlier in June, aimed at promoting responsible gambling and protecting minors.

Fresh data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) show that the total sector advertising fell to Sh131 million, down from Sh1.2 billion recorded in the preceding quarter. Television and radio received Sh80 million and Sh51 million, respectively.

The decline followed a regulatory directive in June that imposed firmer guidelines requiring adverts to obtain prior approval from both the BCLB and the Kenya Film Classification Board.

The directive further prohibited the use of celebrities, influencers and content creators to promote betting activities, directing that all advertising content be vetted before broadcast or publication.

The new rules were aimed at ensuring gambling adverts do not embellish betting or present it as a risk-free activity to the public.

In July last year, a joint committee of the Senate and National Assembly proposed increasing the security deposit payable by betting firms for online gambling by 400 times to Sh100 million, up from the current Sh250,000, as part of the Gambling Control Bill 2023.

The substantial security was intended to protect deposits of punters in the event a company goes under, besides guaranteeing payment of winning bets.

Some 226 licensed betting firms were operating in the financial year ended June 2025, more than double the number that was in the market three years ago, underscoring the gambling appeal of the Kenyan market.

CA data shows that during the quarter to last September, the office equipment and supplies sector advertising expenditure grew at the fastest pace of 537 percent to Sh255 million, up from Sh40 million the prior quarter.

This was followed by tourism and entertainment, whose advertising expenditure grew 128 percent to Sh1.8 billion, followed by communications and transport sectors whose spend rose 124 percent to Sh2.2 billion and 122 percent to Sh1.2 billion, respectively.

Other sectors that recorded significant increments in spending during the period are publishing and education (97 percent), food (48 percent), and property and building (43 percent).

‘Overall industry spending increased by 15 percent during the quarter. The industry’s total spending increased from Sh15 billion to Sh18 billion,’ wrote the CA.

‘The predominant allocation of advertising spending is directed towards free-to-air TV, highlighting its central role in the advertising landscape. This emphasis on free-to-air TV underscores its effectiveness in reaching a wide and diverse audience.’