Category: Business Daily

A legal dispute has stalled the planned transfer of management of Amboseli National Park from the national government to the Kajiado County administration, amid claims that the move violates the Constitution and endangers a key national asset.

The petition, filed by Joseph Kasau Masaa against Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Kajiado County, and other state agencies, argued that the transfer was rushed, unlawful, and threatened a nationally protected asset held in trust by the state.

The High Court dismissed an attempt by Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney General to strike out the case and instead issued conservatory orders freezing the gazetted handover pending a full hearing.

The court ruled that the dispute raised constitutional questions that could not be dismissed at a preliminary stage.

‘It is not the mere mention of land or environment that ousts the jurisdiction of the High Court,’ the court said while sitting at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division.

Central to the dispute are two Gazette Notices issued in October 2025 and a deed of transfer that sought to shift the park management to Kajiado.

Under the agreement, the county was expected to manage the park while the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) still holds the title. Revenue would be collected via the e-Citizen platform, with a 50/50 split between national and county governments.

The Amboseli Ecosystem Conservation Authority (AECA), a semi-autonomous management authority, is set to take over the management of Amboseli National Reserve once it is transferred back to Kajiado County government.

The county government anticipated millions of shillings in annual revenues, since KWS rakes in at least Sh1.5 billion every year from park collections and related tourism activities.

However, the petitioner contends that Amboseli is public land under Article 62 of the Constitution and that national parks fall under exclusive national government control.

He argued before the court that wildlife and national park management is a national function under the Fourth Schedule and cannot be devolved through executive agreements or gazette notices without parliamentary approval.

The petition further alleges that the National Land Commission was excluded from the process despite its constitutional mandate over public land.

‘The transfer effectively converts a national park into community land without parliamentary sanction, undermining the doctrine of public trust and equitable sharing of resources,’ the petitioner stated.

The court agreed that the alleged omission raised serious legal questions warranting a full trial.

Additionally, the petitioner argued that the transfer undermines environmental protection, the doctrine of public trust, and Kenya’s national and international conservation obligations.

‘The transfer effectively downgrades a national park to a county-managed reserve without compliance with statutory safeguards under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, exposing a globally significant ecosystem to irreversible harm,’ he said.

The government and Kajiado County defended the transfer as lawful, stating that it aimed to address historical injustices faced by the Maasai community and enhance local participation in conservation. They maintained that only management functions, not ownership, were being transferred.

However, Justice Mwamuye ruled that these arguments could not override constitutional safeguards at an interim stage. ‘Statutory mechanisms cannot shield allegedly unconstitutional executive action,’ the judge stated.

The petitioner warned that assigning park revenues to a single county would undermine equitable sharing of national resources and risk irreversible harm to the ecosystem if governance standards weaken.

In granting conservatory orders, the court emphasised that public interest required maintaining the status quo.

‘Keeping the park under existing management causes no prejudice, whereas proceeding with the transfer risks irreversible constitutional harm,’ the ruling stated.

The case will be mentioned on February 4, 2026.

The national government in 2005 proclaimed the transfer of Amboseli back to Kajiado County as provided for in Article 187 of the Constitution. The proclamation was however not acted on until 2004 when President William Ruto ordered its implementation.

A Ruiru-based sacco has obtained court orders allowing it to auction movable assets belonging to the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Kuscco) over unpaid deposits and interest amounting to Sh108.8 million.

The move threatens to further complicate Kuscco’s efforts to stabilise its finances after it emerged that more than Sh13 billion was lost, allegedly through fraud involving some of its former officials and through investments in business lines it was not licensed to undertake, including lending, mortgages and insurance.

The losses, combined with defaults on loans and mortgages it had issued irregularly, had severely strained its liquidity and left it unable to meet obligations to member saccos.

This marks the first known case of a sacco securing legal authority to auction Kuscco’s movable assets, piling pressure on the organisation as it seeks to regain its footing and refund members’ deposits.

Rupsa Sacco, formerly known as PCEA Ruiru Sacco, said it sought the auction orders after Kuscco failed to comply with a ruling by the Co-operative Tribunal directing it to settle the debt, even as it continued paying deposits owed to other saccos.

The sacco said it had exhausted all avenues to recover the funds, including legal redress before the tribunal, which ruled in its favour last year and ordered Kuscco to release the money.

‘Our only objective is the recovery of our members’ funds,’ said Rupsa Sacco chief executive Julius Mbugua.

‘After exhausting diplomatic engagement, we sought redress from the tribunal and obtained a favourable judgment. Given the legal implications of the matter, we expected the outstanding debt to be accorded appropriate priority by Kuscco.’

Rupsa is seeking Sh108 million, comprising deposits and investments of Sh88.95 million, investment interest of Sh6 million, deposit interest of Sh13.3 million, with the balance accounting for taxed costs and collection fees.

The sacco moved to the tribunal in 2024 after unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw its deposits for more than two years, with Kuscco citing liquidity challenges.

It said Kuscco later paid deposits totalling Sh369.3 million to other member saccos in December 2025 but continued to ignore its claim despite the tribunal ruling.

‘Noting the self-reported change in financial fortunes, and backed by the tribunal’s judgment in our favour, Rupsa Sacco fails to understand why Kuscco has deliberately chosen not to honour our outstanding and legitimate claim,’ the sacco said in a statement.

Kuscco officials confirmed that the organisation paid part of members’ deposits in December after saccos provided proof of their investments and deposits, as required by a government-appointed forensic audit of Kuscco’s accounts by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

‘In the case of Rupsa, they did not respond to the PwC validation exercise, hence the current impasse. But once they comply by responding to the questions PwC asked, we are ready to start paying them,’ said Kuscco general counsel Cecil Miller.

A copy of a letter sent by PwC to member saccos, seen by this publication, shows that the firm requested evidence of investments or deposits in Kuscco, including copies of cheques or bank transfer forms and letters of acknowledgement issued by Kuscco.

Mr Mbugua, however, said he was not aware of any such validation exercise and that Kuscco had never raised it with Rupsa or during tribunal proceedings.

‘If that was the reason they are not paying us, they would have said so [in litigation],’ he said.

The tribunal ruling, issued in April 2025, shows that Kuscco cited liquidity challenges as the sole reason for its failure to refund Rupsa’s deposits. The PwC verification exercise began a month later, in May 2025.

While many people fill their homes with furniture, Michelle Mashauri has sacrificed comfort for plants. In her small apartment in Nairobi’s Ruaka, she owns only a small three-seater couch and a coffee table that serves more as a plant stand.

‘I got rid of big seats so my plants could fit. When I move to a new house, I look at windows first, then furniture,’ she says.

Bloodleaf plants display their dramatic burgundy foliage in her house. Pothos vines fall from the shelf like waterfalls.

The dining space has been completely reimagined. Where a table and chairs might once have stood, there is now a dense plant collection.

An asparagus fern sits on a white shelf. Monsteras thriving, its split leaves creating dramatic shadows. Calatheas show off their intricate patterns.

Her very first plant still sits in the corner of her living room windowsill. ‘It’s a cactus,’ she says, but I call it Pete.’

Pete is named after her nephew. ‘But most of my plants are girls,’ she says, laughing.

One of the most special is a date palm she named Raila. ‘When Raila Odinga passed on, I bought an orange planter and planted a date palm in it. That plant is Raila. I really loved him.”

In her bedroom, Michelle is literally competing for oxygen with plants at night. Another date palm stands just beside the bed, its branches nearly brushing the ceiling.

The kitchen is functional, but on the windowsill sits another collection of succulents. She has 10 plants in her kitchen.

She has about 183 plants, not counting the smaller ones-the tiny succulents clustered on window sills, the propagations suspended in glass bottles of water. Most are tropical varieties that thrive indoors.

She buys them from everywhere: roadside vendors with makeshift nurseries, professional sellers with greenhouses, and sometimes even sneaks cuttings from cafés. ‘If I see it and I love it, I take it home,’ she says. ‘That’s really it.’

What guides her when buying? ‘My eyes. If I fall in love with it, I buy it.’

Her most expensive acquisition was a tree she bought already potted. ‘I trimmed it because it was too long, but with the pot and everything, it cost me about Sh6,800.’

She has no intention of slowing down. ‘I still have too few plants,’ she says, her eyes travelling to the ceiling and floor.

Plant care takes serious time. ‘Watering and cleaning take a whole day,’ Michelle says. She waters once a week, testing the soil with her fingers, watching for drooping or yellowing.

Then comes the cleaning, wiping every single leaf with a damp cloth, removing dust that blocks the tiny pores through which plants breathe.

‘It takes me about four days to clean the entire house because there are plants in every room,’ she says. Four days. Not four hours-four days.

The hardest part? ‘Pests and cleaning. Sometimes I find insects, and I just scream and call the caretaker.’ Spider mites, aphids, fungus gnats, the tiny invaders.’

‘I’ve lost hundreds of plants over the years,’ she admits. ‘These ones you see are just the strong soldiers.’ One of the hardest losses was a large elephant ear that her parents planted for her.

People often think Michelle is strange. ‘Some think I’m into dark stuff; others think I’m crazy,’ she laughs, saying she has always loved plants, even as a child.

‘During Covid-19, I suddenly had so much time. That’s when I really started collecting plants. I kept adding and adding, and here we are,’ she says.

Caring for plants has taught her one important virtue. ‘Patience,’ Michelle says. ‘And tenderness. You try, you fail, you try again.’

For most ‘plant parents’ living in rental apartments, the challenge is finding the right location that would not be in conflict with the homeowner.

Drilling or installing shelves can eat up the deposit fees or cause problems with landlords.

Michelle had the same fears. ‘I can’t drill or fix things on the wall, so I use movable planters,’ she says.

At one point, the landlord complained about plants outside her veranda. But Michelle was adamant about removing them.

‘I even told them they could give me a notice to vacate. I wasn’t removing my plants.’ The owner eventually visited. ‘She walked in and said, ‘Wow.’ After that, she was okay with my balcony gardening.’

But now, Michelle is worried about one thing: the fear of moving day.

‘They are fragile. Some will break. Some may die,’ says Michelle.

She recalls a time when her plants were temporarily moved to a friend’s house, and many died due to mishandling.

‘That was very painful,’ she says. The thought of moving again haunts her.

Focusing on health and property taxes, the third edition of Own Source Revenue (OSR) Conference is on February 11-12. It comes at a time when OSR is growing strongly.

In the 2024/25 fiscal year, counties collected Sh67.3 billion, the highest amount since the second devolution started. This was 78 percent higher than just two years earlier.

Growth in OSR is good news for counties service delivery in agriculture, health, water, early childhood education, and other critical devolved functions.

Still this is less than 30 percent of the assessed potential, a disappointing outcome. And it is not for lack of trying. Since 2013, there has been many reports, studies and initiatives aimed at optimising own source revenue.

The Commission for Revenue Allocation (CRA)’s Comprehensive Own Source Revenue (OSR) Potential and Tax Gap Study remains topical, and is referenced by many county governments.

CRA recommends that counties form revenue boards. Many have. They have all attempted to automate revenue collection. With a few exceptions, automation has not yielded desired results, because it was done poorly.

There has been an erroneous view that point of sale devices (POSs) represent automation. They don’t.

The devises require a human being to operate. Automation is when you remove human intervention, so that citizens can pay without assistance. With multiple payment channels available, today automation is much easier to achieve.

High revenue performers have one commonality – they have focused on tracking service delivery as the key driver of revenue collection.

This is because county revenues are largely fees for services, property taxes being the exception.

Health services are the best example. If doctors are not attending to patients, there are no consultation fees. If the pharmacies have no medicines to dispense, you cannot expect payments! The same can be said of meat inspection, artificial insemination services, and livestock movement permits among others.

Often, revenue boards find the work very frustrating, with line departments abdicating service delivery, expecting that the business of collecting revenue belongs to the revenue board.

Use of technology and financial structuring will likely feature again in the conference next month. It is clear that high performers are those who are relying heavily on technology.

And it is not just a revenue collection system, but rather, better use of technology across health, human resources and enterprise management.

The counties with strong revenue growth are able to attract resources from the capital markets including leasing, and tenant purchase.

With expenditure needs outstripping the sum of own source revenue and equitable share, leasing is critical for health finance. Imaging and diagnostic equipment are particularly well-suited for leasing, making it practical for counties to push more diagnostic capability to level 3 and 2 facilities.

Bonds have remained elusive. In previous conference, delegates sought lessons from Tanga and Laikipia. The first succeeded, but no one has done it in Kenya.

Structuring is quite important in mobilising additional resources. The Laikipia Infrastructure Bond was financing part of the infrastructure development of smart towns. It was to be repaid with cashflow from single business permits, parking, building plan approvals.

Financiers will likely raise issues on political risk. Cancellations and frustration of commercial contracts, and delayed payments have been the bane for contractors. This prompted the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority to issue a circular to County Governments and their entities, reminding them that under section 176 of the Procurement Act, it is an offense to delay contractor payments.

Political leaders strive to be seen as hard working.

They launch programmes and projects. Although the way to communicate, launching can be wasteful, and reinforces an obsession with inputs as a way of demonstrating work. Many formal reports, by departments, treasuries focus on the money budgeted or spent. And while a necessary condition, a pile of money is not sufficient for true and lasting benefits to accrue to the citizen.

To obtain impacts, you need flawless implementation, and most importantly, a change in behaviour of the target beneficiaries. To improve maternal health, for example, it is not enough to build maternity facilities at the dispensaries.

You have to persuade the population to use them, by altering health seeking behaviour.

This leads us back to performance management as the basis for growing own source revenue. I have been working in many counties, from Homa Bay to Migori, Wajir, and a commonality of high performers is the regular (often monthly) tracking of service performance tracking, often weekly. Often referred to as Governor’s Revenue Roundtable.

House prices in Nairobi and its environs grew at the fastest pace since 2015, driven by rising demand for standalone units as land prices slowed after developers reduced the need for plots to build apartments following a glut.

A survey conducted by real estate firm HassConsult found that property costs rose 7.7 percent last year compared to 5.2 percent in 2024, marking the highest pace of expansion since 2015, when annual prices increased 9.6 percent.

Asking rental prices contracted by 2.5 percent, having been flat the previous year, offering respite to tenants who have seen a drop in their disposable incomes over the past five years.

In the suburbs such as Muthaiga, Langata and Lavington, the price per acre grew by 5.92 percent to Sh226.8 million, which was slower than the growth of 6.8 percent seen in 2024.

Standalone houses were the key driver for both the property and land markets as demand for new units ran ahead of supply, buoyed by a bulging middle class and an upturn in economic activity.

Detached house prices thus grew at 9.5 percent, ahead of semi-detached units at 5.2 percent and apartments at 2.5 percent.

On average, the price of houses in Nairobi stood at Sh39.6million by the end of December, with a four- to six-bedroom property averaging Sh45.1 million and a one- to three-bedroom property at an average of Sh12.8 million.

‘In the market for houses, Runda remained the strongest outperformer, with sales prices up by 12.8 percent across the year. Lavington, Muthaiga and Ridgeways also experienced strong house price growth, at over 10 percent for the year,’ said Sakina Hassanali, co-CEO at HassConsult, which conducts the property pricing index in Kenya and largely sells homes in the high and middle segments of the market.

Kenya’s private sector ended 2025 on a strong note, the Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed.

The private sector economy maintained solid growth in December, driven by robust customer demand and increased business activity.

The headline PMI stood at 53.7 in December, down from 55.0 in November, indicating a continued expansion in business conditions. Readings above 50.0 denote growth, while those below indicate contraction.

This growth benefited the middle class, who have spending power and are looking at real estate as an investment option and for home ownership.

In December 2025, detached houses accounted for 8.5 percent of the property market, compared to 20.4 percent for semi-detached units and 71.1 percent for apartments.

Rental prices were, however, contracting even as home buyers agreed to shell out more money to secure new standalone units.

The contraction of 2.5 percent in asking rents for the year was largely on account of apartment developers competing on prices in order to secure tenants in a competitive market characterised by a looming oversupply of units in suburbs near the city centre, such as Wetlands, Parklands and Upper Hill.

‘In the apartments market, demand has never stopped expanding, but each area is now finely tuned in the volume of new development it can absorb at a time and very large developments often create a dip in rates as new entrants discount to gain full occupancy,’ said Ms Hassanali.

In the land market, suburbs such as Spring Valley, Karen and Gigiri, which also primarily see detached house developments, led the city in land price growth at 10.4 percent, 10.2 percent and 7.8 percent to Sh307.3 million, Sh76 million and Sh262.4 million, respectively.

Land in areas that combine commercial or office developments with residential properties, however, remains the most expensive in the city, with an acre in Upper Hill costing Sh560.6 million and Westlands Sh502.7 million.

Satellite towns, meanwhile, saw a marked slowdown in price growth, reflecting easing demand for new land holdings by both commercial and private home developers across the city.

‘The three-year surge in satellite town land prices, which peaked in the third quarter of 2024 at 12.58 percent, slowed rapidly, returning to normal levels for the decade at 6.21 percent at the end of 2025,’ said Ms Hassanali.

Demand for land in the outlying towns has largely been driven by middle-class buyers looking for affordable plots to put up their homes, and commercial developers putting up apartments and other facilities to serve the middle-class market.

These areas have a lower cost of land per acre compared to suburbs closer to the city, where the high price puts the property out of reach for middle-class home builders.

Prices in the towns are also influenced by the availability of amenities such as schools, malls and hospitals, which are a key factor when one considers the overall cost of settling in an area. Friendlier zoning laws also allow for the subdivision of land in the towns into smaller units of up to an eighth of an acre, putting land ownership within reach of more middle-class Kenyans.

In the towns, Juja and Kiserian reported the highest price growth in the year at 13.6 percent and 12.4 percent to Sh26.3 million and Sh13.5 million per acre, respectively, while Kiambu and Ruaka were the worst performers with a contraction of 1.5 percent to Sh48.8 million and a growth of 0.7 percent to Sh111.9 million, respectively.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has faulted the office of the vice-chancellor of the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) for unlawfully ordering deductions of alleged salary overpayments to a senior lecturer, totalling Sh4.1 million, without an explanation or a hearing.

While reinforcing protections for workers against unexplained and unilateral payroll actions, the court ruled that recovery of alleged overpayments must follow due process, including giving the employee notice and a hearing before deductions are effected.

The court held that the Vice Chancellor’s directive violated constitutional and statutory safeguards when the recovery order of the amount was made in regards to Professor Lawrence Otweyo Migire Gumbe’s salary without following due process.

TUK is presently headed by Vice Chancellor Benedict M. Mutua.

The court stated that the decision to recover the money was reached unilaterally and communicated abruptly through a letter dated January 5, 2024, issued by the vice chancellor.

The letter did not explain how the figure was arrived at or how the deductions would be implemented, prompting Prof Gumbe to seek the Labour Court’s intervention.

‘The respondent had already taken the decision to recover the said money without giving the petitioner any opportunity to be heard,’ the judge ruled, underscoring that recovery efforts must be transparent, justified, and preceded by a fair hearing.

Prof Gumbe, who had served the university for 15 years, said the threatened deductions breached his rights to fair labour practices and fair administrative action.

The university defended its action, arguing it was seeking to recover public funds allegedly paid to the professor for periods when he did not render teaching services. It maintained that the recovery notice was lawful and based on internal records.

After the letter was issued, Prof Gumbe moved to court. In April 2024, the court issued interim orders barring TUK from making any deductions.

The institution complied and later argued that the dispute had become moot since no money was ultimately recovered.

However, the court rejected this defense and found that the university’s later compliance did not erase the initial infringement of the lecturer’s rights.

It held that legal compliance after litigation did not cure the initial breach. By the time the petition was filed, no fairness had been accorded, the court ruled.

‘From the outset, the respondent acted unlawfully by not granting the petitioner a hearing. The decision was only revoked upon the petitioner filing this petition,’ the court said, terming the university’s move as unconstitutional and procedurally unfair.

The judge held that Prof Gumbe’s rights under Articles 41 and 47 of the Constitution had been breached, noting that fairness must precede administrative decisions affecting an employee’s livelihood.

‘It is apparent in these circumstances that the rights of the petitioner were breached,’ the court ruled, adding that the recovery decision was only halted after litigation had commenced.

While the university argued that no actual loss had occurred because deductions were never made, the court stated that Constitutional violations can still attract remedies even where harm is prevented through judicial intervention.

It awarded Prof Gumbe Sh500,000 in damages for violation of his rights, along with the costs of the petition.

The court emphasised that employers cannot retroactively justify flawed decisions by later compliance. ‘The decision was only revoked upon the petitioner filing this petition,’ the judgment noted.

On January 26 every year, the world observes the International Day of Clean Energy, established by the United Nations General Assembly to drive clean energy solutions that care for the planet and empower people.

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The day reflects growing global awareness of energy’s role in mitigating climate change, rising inequality, and economic instability. While fossil fuels have powered industrial growth for over a century, they have also driven greenhouse gas emissions to unsustainable levels.

Transitioning to clean energy has emerged as the clearest path to climate safety and economic resilience.

In Kenya, Ketraco’s mandate to plan, design, build, and operate high-voltage transmission infrastructure places it at the intersection of climate ambition and everyday life.

Through power evacuation, grid expansion, reinforcement, and interconnection, the company ensures clean energy flows efficiently to consumers, supporting Kenya’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

During this year’s International Day of Clean Energy, that mandate takes shape with the completion and energisation of the 132kV Kitui-Wote Transmission Line, a project that demonstrates how global climate commitments translate into local impact. This line is a bi-directional system, offering alternative power supply paths that significantly improve reliability across Eastern Kenya.

To understand its significance, consider how power flows through this network. Originally, Ketraco constructed the Kindaruma-Mwingi-Garissa line, enabling Mwingi to receive hydropower from Kindaruma and solar power from the 50-megawatt Garissa Solar Plant.

At the other end, Sultan Hamud draws power from Juja Substation, part of the Dandora-Juja-Rabai line, which carries a mix of hydropower from Masinga, Kindaruma, and Kamburu dams, and geothermal energy from Olkaria.

The energisation of the Kitui-Wote section now fully interconnects the systems. Wote and Sultan Hamud can draw alternative supply from Garissa and Kindaruma via Mwingi and Kitui, while Mwingi and Kitui draw from Sultan Hamud’s hydro-geothermal mix.

This creates a stronger, more resilient grid with improved voltage stability, fewer outages, and better power quality.

The energisation of the Kitui-Wote Transmission Line on the International Day of Clean Energy is both symbolic and substantial.

It demonstrates that clean energy transitions succeed through deliberate investment in infrastructure that connects people to power.

As experience has shown, clean energy is transformative only when reliably delivered, with transmission lines enabling a greener, fairer, and more prosperous future for all.

The International Renewable Energy Agency has reported that expanding rural electricity access improves living standards and accelerates economic growth. In Kenya, this is now visible along the Kitui-Wote Transmission Line, a project that captures the real value of clean energy.

For counties such as Kitui and Makueni, whose economies are rooted in agriculture and small enterprise, reliable electricity is the foundation for value addition and income growth. Stable power enables storage and processing, reducing post-harvest losses and raising farmer returns.

A similar transformation is unfolding in livestock, dairy, and apiculture. Kitui’s famous honey, produced in Mwingi and Kitui, can be processed and branded at scale with reliable power, positioning the region as a honey hub. In dairy, electricity enables milk chilling, processing into yoghurt and cheese, and loss-free transport.

Beyond agriculture, the benefits extend across society.

Health facilities, from referral hospitals to rural dispensaries, rely on uninterrupted power for diagnostics, refrigeration, records, and emergency care. Stable electricity improves healthcare, saves lives, and attracts skilled professionals. Schools, vocational centres, and ICT hubs supported by Ketraco’s fibre-optic lines are going to be better equipped to prepare youth for a modern economy.

Business is also accelerating in Kitui and Makueni. Jua Kali artisans, mechanics and fruit vendors can now operate longer hours, protect their stock, and expand operations.

At the system level, the impact is even greater. Kitui currently consumes about 6 megawatts, while Wote uses about 5 megawatts. The newly energised line initially delivers 20 megawatts and has the capacity to carry 80 megawatts, securing decades of growth. This line is futuristic with substations that provide for staged expansion through the addition of transformers as demand grows.

Across its projects, Ketraco’s approach reflects the compound effect, as Darren Hardy calls it.

The company pursues small, disciplined investments repeated across regions, creating national transformation. Like the U.S. interstate highways once did for trade and mobility, Kenya’s transmission grid is knitting counties together into a single economic space powered by clean energy.

The writer is Ag. MD and CEO of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (Ketraco).

Big ticket international contractors, mainly Chinese-owned firms, rejected a push by the government for a waiver of interest charges on the Sh650billion debt for road projects, although their local counterparts agreed to the request and forfeited Sh7.5 billion.

Martin Agumbi, the acting Director-General of the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) on Monday disclosed that pending bills drew interest charges of slightly more than Sh10.7billion with the government approaching more than 270 contractors to forfeit 70 percent of the amount in a return-to-work formula in which those who accepted the offer have since received a combined Sh123 billion as part-payment of the debt that accrued between 2005 and December 2024.

‘We saved Sh7.5 billion as a result of the agreement that we struck with road contractors to waive 70 percent of the interest on the delayed payments, and it was significant in reducing the burden,’ the KRB official told the Business Daily in an interview.

‘We had 580 delayed projects, and of all these, only 10 percent of the contractors did not sign this return-to -work agreement; a majority of them are Chinese. We are still negotiating with them,’ he added.

Mr Agumbi did not disclose the names of the international firms, adding that the government is hopeful of striking an agreement.

Under the return-to-work agreement, contractors received 40 percent of their dues in return for forfeiting 70 percent of the interest on the dues. A further 40 percent was paid within three months, easing a cash crunch that had hit the contractors.

The Exchequer received over Sh73 billion between April and June of 2025, enabling it to kick-start debt settlement and resumption of works.

A thinning fiscal space, largely due to huge loan repayments, has increasingly made it difficult for the Exchequer to free up funds for other items like clearing debt owed to road contractors.

The struggles forced the government to securitise part of the Roads Maintenance Levy (RML) of Sh25 from every litre of diesel and petrol and use it to get commercial loans.

The government securitised Sh7 from the RML in 2024 and a further Sh5 from July last year, bringing the total to Sh12, which has been securitised to raise the billions needed to pay contractors.

Trade Development Bank is the lead arranger for the deals, which will see the State forfeit part of the RML collections to settle the loans.

Mr Agumbi added that the State is borrowing a further Sh120 billion this year to raise money and pay contractors whose works have been cleared from December 2024. This loan is backed by the Sh5 from the RML.

The first tranche of Sh60 billion is expected before June this year, with the remainder set for the financial year starting July 2025.

‘We are using the Sh5 per litre that we securitised last year to raise Sh120 billion, out of these we expect to get Sh60 billion in the current financial year, and this will settle the new certificates that have been issued from last year,’ Mr Agumbi said.

For years, pool tables were fixtures found mostly in bars. Now, a growing number of Kenyans are setting aside space in their homes for pool tables. Reason? It is a functional accessory for bonding with family and friends, and it makes empty spaces useful.

Architects and interior designers working on large homes say clients are increasingly asking them to allocate or curate dedicated spaces for full-size pool tables, while sellers report a rise in customised orders tailored to private residences.

David Kang’ara, the owner of TikiTaka Pool Tables, has been in the business for about 15 years and has witnessed steady growth.

‘I started seeing a gradual increase in demand from home owners over the last five years,’ he says.

He now sells to customers in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru, and outside Kenya. ‘A few years ago, only Nairobi residents were buying pool tables,’ he says. ‘Now we have supplied tables to South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania.’

He started seeing individual buyers about five years ago, which he attributes to a desire for private, shared entertainment. ‘Most of them say they want to play with their children or family friends,’ Mr Kang’ara says. ‘Many are not comfortable going to clubs, so they prefer having the pool table at home.’

‘Some people see the pool table as a masterpiece,’ Mr Kang’ara says, citing a client in Malindi who spent about Sh600,000 on a customised table. ‘To him, it was a piece of art.’

Unexpected customers

Pricing depends largely on materials and customisation. ‘Mahogany wood is more expensive, while MDF is cheaper,’ Mr Kang’ara says, adding that home pool tables typically cost between Sh90,000 and Sh500,000.

Churches have also emerged as unexpected customers, alongside clients seeking hire or lease options.

Elsewhere, Mulu Nzulu, a pool table maker at Smart Pool Tables in Nairobi, says his business has grown steadily since he started in 2005. ‘We have ones that start from Sh75,000 to upwards of Sh150,000, depending on the materials. A few are made from marble, so as the customer, you decide which one you want made for you.’

Mr Nzulu entered the pool table business after spotting a market gap. ‘It’s a very viable business in terms of the profits we make.’

Smart Pool Tables now operates four branches in Nairobi and beyond. ‘In a day, we can sell, for instance, here in Nairobi, maybe five pool tables – and that’s usually on the lowest sale days,’ Mr Nzulu says. ‘On a monthly basis, we can sell around 120 pool tables.’

He notes that new branches in Eldoret, Nakuru, and Embu have already contributed to growth, with orders increasing shortly after opening.

Young people remain the main customers, Mr Nzulu says, but older buyers, families, and even women are increasingly purchasing tables for their homes.

‘Most families that come to our shop say they want the pool tables at their homes, especially as a form of entertainment and just for fun. Others see it as a décor unit in their homes. When they have friends or family unions, they can chill and play pool instead of going to a club or pub.’

Home buyers often request customised tables rather than off-the-shelf commercial versions.

‘For home use, they usually prefer wooden tables rather than marble, because marble ones are heavier, around 150kg, and harder to fit in a home.’

Mr Nzulu expects the business to continue growing. ‘I envision more growth. For instance, we recently opened a branch in Eldoret and got 13 new orders since then. Our branches in Nakuru and Embu are also doing well,’ he says.

Redefining leisure

Mary Joan Muthoni, the founder and lead interior designer at Eppico Interiors, says she has seen a noticeable shift in how home owners think about leisure and entertainment at home.

‘There has been a clear increase in home owners asking for spaces that can accommodate pool tables,’ she tells BDLife. ‘Many people are now prioritising lifestyle and entertainment within their homes. Pool tables are increasingly being included as part of creating relaxed, social environments where families and guests can spend time together.’

If you want to create a room for a pool table, Ms Muthoni says, ‘A pool table needs enough clearance on all sides for comfortable play, not just space for the table itself,’ she says. ‘The room should feel open, with proper lighting, adequate ceiling height, and smooth circulation. When these elements are considered, the table blends naturally into the space rather than overwhelming it.’

‘When well selected, they add character and functionality to large living rooms or patios while still maintaining a refined, high-end look that complements the rest of the interior,’ she adds.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has opened the sale of the February Treasury bond, with investors keeping an eye on yields ahead of a potential rate cut in next month’s monetary policy committee meeting.

The sale, which closes on February 11, has seen the government reopen a 15-year paper first issued in 2019, and a 25-year bond that was initially auctioned in 2018, with a combined target of raising Sh50 billion.

The 15-year bond has a period to maturity of 8.4 years and pays an annual interest (coupon) of 12.34 percent, while the 25-year bond carries a coupon of 13.4 percent and remaining tenor of 17.3 years.

Besides the MPC rate decision on February 10, investors will be keeping an eye on the government’s signal on its borrowing plans for the second half of the fiscal year, where an upward revision in the target could provoke demands for higher interest rates despite the CBK’s monetary easing stance.

‘Yield triggers may include this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, the February MPC meeting, external financing pipeline conversion, and a supplementary fiscal budget,’ said analysts at NCBA Investment Bank in a fixed income note published on Monday.

The last MPC meeting in December saw the CBK lower the base rate by 0.25 percentage points to nine percent, this being the ninth successive rate cut since August 2024 when the rate stood at 13 percent.

Externally, the US Fed made a third straight benchmark rate cut of 0.25 percentage points to a range of 3.5 percent and 3.75 percent in its mid-December meeting. Analysts at JP Morgan Global Research however expect the US central bank to hold the rate steady this year despite pressure from the White House to make further cuts, citing recent stabilisation in the country’s unemployment rate.

The domestic rate cuts have pushed investors to go for bonds that have relatively high yields in the primary market, regardless of tenor.

Previously, long term securities such as the reopened 25-year paper were the preserve of institutional investors such as pension funds, while banks and retain investors waited for shorter dated papers.

Bonds are now paying a significant rate premium on Treasury bills, whose yields stood between 7.7 percent and 9.2 percent after last week’s auction, incentivising investors to go for the longer papers.

The race to lock in the higher paying securities has thus opened a window for the government to lengthen its domestic debt maturity profile without compromising the performance of primary bond sales.

In the last six months, the CBK has reopened a succession of 15-year, 20-year and 25-year bonds that were floated between 2018 and 2022, towards this goal of cutting short term refinancing pressure.

The February pair has also been reopened recently. The 15-year bond was last offered to investors in November 2025, raising Sh20.18 billion from bids of Sh33.1 billion.

It was sold alongside a reopened 25-year bond from 2022, which netted Sh34.57 billion from offers worth Sh82.14 billion.

The 25-year bond was meanwhile reopened most recently in July 2025, alongside a 20-year paper whose initial issuance date was 2018.

It raised Sh36 billion from offers of Sh43.8 billion, while the 20-year bond netted Sh30.6 billion from bids of Sh33 billion.