Category: Business Daily

The Court of Appeal has temporarily shielded Ecobank Kenya from paying Sh840 million to the estate of former Cabinet Minister Mbiyu Koinange, pending the determination of its appeal against a High Court order.

In a ruling delivered by a three-bench, the appellate court found that Ecobank’s appeal raised arguable legal questions and that forcing immediate payout risked rendering the appeal futile.

The judges emphasised that releasing the funds could lead to their irreversible dissipation among beneficiaries of the estate, complicating recovery if the bank succeeds in overturning the High Court’s decision.

The dispute stems from 2011 withdrawals made from an estate account at Ecobank holding Sh284 million, which the High Court ruled were illegal. The estate is claiming an extra Sh556.6 million in accrued interest, bringing the total amount to excess of Sh840 million.

The High Court had earlier restricted withdrawals without its approval, but the bank disbursed the funds to lawyers representing beneficiaries in the long-running succession case.

In June 2025, the High Court held that the bank breached its fiduciary duty by failing to verify court orders before releasing the money.

The court ordered the bank to refund the full amount plus interest, a decision Ecobank challenged, arguing it was unfairly penalised for relying on instructions from advocates mandated to operate the account.

Its advocate contended that there were procedural flaws, arguing that the High Court adjudicated negligence and fraud claims summarily within succession proceedings, denying the bank a fair trial.

The advocate also stated that previous rulings by two other High Court judges had directed advocates -not the bank- to account for the funds. The money was part of the Sh1.1 billion proceeds from sale of Koinange’s land known as “Close Burn Estate Runda” in 2010.

It was further claimed that the bank was not aware of the court order dated July 26, 2011 to halt and restrict any dealings with the account.

The bank’s further argument was that complying with the June 2025 order would force the lender to dip into depositors’ funds, risking instability.

Since banks rely on depositor funds to do their business, the court agreed and found that abrupt withdrawals of the amount could destabilise operations of Ecobank.

However, the estate’s administrators insisted Ecobank knowingly violated the court orders. They asked for the money at the centre of the dispute to be deposited in a joint account opened by the advocates for the estate pending determination of the appeal.

‘The High Court judge properly directed himself on all issues on record; that any money deposited with the bank was trust money belonging to the estate, as appears in the Account Opening Forms,’ said the lawyer representing the Koinanges.

He added that the bank was aware that the money deposited was pursuant to a court order, and no withdrawals could be done without court sanction irrespective of the signatories of the account.

In addition, no part of the estate could be distributed without a court order.

Led by Koinange’s widow, Eddah Wanjiru Mbiyu, the administrators offered to secure the High Court decree by depositing title deeds of estate properties worth billions, but the court doubted their liquidity, noting ongoing succession disputes.

The appellate bench ruled that Ecobank’s appeal deserved a full hearing, citing arguable grounds such as whether the High Court overstepped by awarding alleged unpleaded reliefs and mixing succession with tort claims.

The judges also found that disbursing the contested money to the beneficiaries would make recovery “a herculean task” if the appeal succeeds.

‘The applicant (bank) is apprehensive, and rightly so in our view, that if the appeal were to succeed, tracing the said sum amongst the beneficiaries would be a herculean task,’ said the court.

‘Considering the interests of the parties in this application, we find that the balance tilts towards the grant of the stay, since no serious prejudice is likely to be occasioned to the respondent (Koinange’s estate) during the pendency of the intended appeal,’ said the judges.

The stay halts enforcement of the High Court’s order until the appeal is heard. Ecobank is expected to file its substantive appeal within timelines set by the court.

Koinange died on September 3, 1981. He served in President Jomo Kenyatta’s cabinet and briefly in President Daniel Moi’s administration.

We all chase high returns, but what about the costs? Investment fees, commissions, and charges can quietly erode your gains. What’s a reasonable cost of investing-and when do the charges start to hurt your portfolio?

Lydia Muriuki, Senior Relationship Manager at Standard Investment Bank (SIB), joins us to pull back the curtain on these costs. She unpacks the different types of investment fees, how they impact your returns, and how to keep them in check.

Make Money, a podcast series, hosted by Kepha Muiruri, from Business Daily Africa unravels ways to be financially savvy. Get practical tips and advice on how to increase your income, build wealth, and achieve financial freedom in Kenya. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned investor, we’ve got something for everyone.

Residential property developer Mi Vida Homes plans to raise between Sh15 billion and Sh20 billion from both local and international institutional investors in the first quarter of 2026 in what is earmarked to be Kenya’s first hybrid real estate fund.

A hybrid real estate fund is an investment vehicle that is designed to mobilise capital from investors by combining both an Income and Development Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit).

A Reit is a regulated vehicle that addresses the liquidity risk of real estate by allowing individual investors to pool funds and invest in property that would be otherwise out of reach for them in their individual capacity.

Development Reits focus on financing the acquisition of land, construction and development of properties with the end goal being generation of profit by selling or leasing the complete projects to investors.

Income Reits, on the other hand, allow individual players to invest in already completed and income-generating real estate projects and earn revenue primarily through rental income.

Mi Vida, which had earlier planned issuance of a Sh4 billion Development Reit in 2026, says the change in design and amount of its planned fund is geared toward addressing fast growing market demand for institutionalised real estate development.

The company adds that the just concluded management buyout that has seen the exit of the firm’s founding investor, private equity firm Actis, frees it up to tap into local capital to finance growth.

Mi Vida on October 16 announced its management team had signed an agreement to buy out Actis that had owned the property firm for seven years.

‘Much as it’s a management buyout, Mi Vida remains an institutional developer because it means now we have the capacity and the opportunity to bring onboard other local institutional capital,” Mi Vida CEO Sam Kariuki said.

“Because of the opportunity that we are seeing on the affordable housing side of the market, the plan has always been to raise a fund of some sort. We had planned a Development Reit but now want a hybrid whereby the fund takes on development risk while still holding Income Reit characteristics from a yield perspective.”

In setting up the hybrid real estate fund, Mi Vida will be looking to ride on its credentials having been granted the greenlight by the Capital Markets Authority in 2024 to act as a Reit manager in the market.

The company says the real estate fund will be Kenya shilling denominated and is banking on high double digit returns to woo international investors who would otherwise shy away from local currency exposure in their portfolio.

‘We are already at the early structuring stages of the fund and from the first quarter of 2026 we should be in the market talking to investors which will be local and also potentially international investors,” Mr Kariuki said.

“Even when we will be talking to international investors, they will be required to be comfortable with local currency exposure and as long as the fund yields something in the high teens and early twenties in total return it will meet their hard currency return requirements.”

Mi Vida’s planned hybrid fund will be joining the list of regulated assets that target crowding in more investors into real estate as an asset class. So far, ILAM Fahari I-Reit, Laptrust Imara I-Reit, Acorn I-Reit, and Acorn D-Reit are in the market with majority being listed in the Unquoted Securities Platform of the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

One question we should be asking ourselves as more banks launch their own financial technology or fintech subsidiaries is whether it creates a conflict.

Are the fintechs competitors to banks, or are they partners complementing each other? How are the symbiotic relationships between banks and fintechs being handled?

Yes, these fintechs are crucial because they have allowed digital payments, mobile money, online lending, savings and investment platforms, insurance technology, wealth management (robo-advisers), and even cryptocurrency and blockchain applications, and predict fraud and computer outages.

They are gradually stripping away the inefficiencies of traditional banking systems by using digital tools to lower costs, speed up transactions, and expand access.

In Kenya and Africa at large, this means enabling the unbanked or underbanked population to make payments, access credit, or save through mobile phones.

In an effort to keep up with technology, spur innovation, and tap into fintech’s hypergrowth, banks are now in a race to partner with fintechs.

Some operate as standalone or semi-autonomous fintech subsidiaries under their parent banks, a strategy that enables faster innovation outside legacy banking systems while maintaining regulatory compliance and brand connections.

Others do it differently.

A McKinsey report shows that of the top 100 banks by assets and other digitally advanced banks, four out of five have now partnered with at least one fintech company. That is up from 55 percent just two years ago.

For instance, Equity Group launched its fintech subsidiary, Finserve, about seven years ago. Nigeria’s Stanbic IBTC Holdings, in 2022, started a fintech subsidiary called Zest Payments.

Stanbic Kenya had similar plans, but last year it put its fintech subsidiary on hold just months after receiving regulatory approval. Barclays Plc partnered with Flux Systems to give customers itemised receipts on their smartphones, allowing them to see in detail how they spend their money.

Elsewhere, Bank of Kigali perhaps stands out. It operates a distinct fintech subsidiary. Bank of Kigali does solely commercial banking, while BK TecHouse, founded in 2016, serves as a digital enabler, collaborating directly with the bank to develop fintech products.

Digital adoption is no longer a question but a reality. Around 73 percent of the world’s interactions with banks now take place through digital channels, a McKinsey report notes. Therefore, without embracing technological innovation, banks risk fading into irrelevance.

However, the bank-fintech strategic alliance has to be a cautious one. The banks must remain the mothership, and the fintech the speedboat. In a partnership where this is not well understood, the favour will tilt towards the fintech, and these companies will become a significant threat to banks. Reason? Fintechs grow fast because they move quickly, try new ideas, and run simple operations, processes that can slow down once they face the strict rules of traditional banks.

Banks, by contrast, are known to be the opposite. They remain anchored in slow, rigid structures. Without proper separation, they risk being overtaken, or even swallowed, by the very fintechs they seek to control.

In fact, while partnerships between banks and fintechs have increased over the years, full acquisitions remain rare because, as McKinsey notes, ‘integration often slows decision-making and innovation cycles, undermining fintechs’ competitive advantage.’

Therefore, when a bank acquires a fintech, it must make sure that the same resources it has on the speedboat, which is a fintech, it has similar resources in the mothership, which is a bank.

Bank-fintech collaboration isn’t just a strategy; it is survival. But harmonisation, not dominance, must be the guiding principle.

Perhaps the other conversation we should be having is about neobanks, the digital, branchless units to capture the younger, tech-savvy generation that traditional banks often struggle to reach.

A court has dismissed SBM Bank Kenya’s bid to lift a seven-year-old injunction against recovery of a Sh29.3 million debt from a tourists resort in Naivasha, upholding an interim order protecting the luxury hotel’s prime properties from auction.

The debt is part of an unspecified amount of loan advanced to the hotel, Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp Limited, by the bank’s predecessor Chase Bank in 2017.

In a ruling that underscores Kenya’s delicate balance between creditor rights and borrower protections, the High Court dismissed SBM Bank’s application to lift the 2018 injunction, finding the lender failed to prove the hotel operator abused court processes.

“The May 29, 2018 court orders were clear that status quo be maintained pending hearing and determination of this suit. There is no doubt that this suit is yet to be determined since hearing has just commenced,” said the court.

The decision preserves the hotel’s ownership of two Nakuru Municipality properties used as collateral for Chase Bank loans in 2017, leaving the SBM bank grappling with mounting losses since the borrower defaulted.

The court ruled that SBM Bank, which took over Chase Bank Kenya’s assets through receivership after its 2018 collapse, failed to prove that the injunction had outlived its purpose.

The decision extends a legal shield for the hotel.

The dispute started in 2018 when the borrower defaulted and the bank initiated recovery efforts, prompting the company to seek court intervention and protection from forced sale of the collateral.

A status quo order was issued on May 29, 2018, barring the bank from selling the properties pending the suit’s determination.

SBM Bank, which also assumed Chase Bank’s liabilities, accused the borrower of exploiting the injunction to avoid repayment. It alleged that as at February 2024 only Sh14 million of the outstanding Sh43.3 million debt at the time had been settled, leaving a balance of Sh29.3 million.

The case took a twist when Chase Bank collapsed in 2018 and was placed under receivership. SBM Bank later acquired its assets, including the disputed loan, inheriting the legal battle.

Despite a 2022 settlement agreement where the borrower paid the Sh14 million, SBM accused the firm of breaching terms and frustrating recovery by hiding behind the injunction.

In court filings, SBM’s legal officer argued that the status quo order, initially meant to be temporary, had become a “permanent shield” for the borrower. The bank warned that delays risked rendering the secured properties worthless as accrued interest ballooned the debt.

“The plaintiff has enjoyed six years of court protection without clearing the outstanding balance. This is an abuse of equitable remedies. Unless the status quo order is discharged, the outstanding sum would outstrip the value of the property thereby plunging the applicant (SBM Bank) into losses,” SBM’s lawyers submitted.

In defense, the borrower countered that SBM lacked legal standing (locus standi) to seek the injunction’s discharge since it was never formally substituted as Chase Bank’s successor in the suit.

“No amount of averments can make it a party to these proceedings without substitution and amendment,” said the borrower’s advocate, citing the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010.

Arguing that SBM was a stranger to the proceedings, the borrower said a party “cannot assume a dead party’s role without court approval”.

The court partially agreed, allowing SBM’s belated entry as defendant but refusing to alter the injunction. The trial judge emphasized that asset acquisition did not automatically grant SBM rights to alter court orders.

While the ruling deals a financial blow to SBM in its debt recovery efforts, for borrowers it reinforces the judiciary’s reluctance to lift injunctions unless lenders demonstrate concrete abuse.

However, the court directed both parties to expedite the process, signaling the court’s impatience with the seven-year delay.

How to Build a Library was the first film that opened the Nairobi Film Festival, and in my review, I talked about how much I enjoyed it, especially specific segments where the archived colonial period photographs came out. As much as I enjoyed the show overall, those were some of the most memorable moments of that documentary.

A few weeks later, still at the same festival, I got to see another documentary, and funny enough, what I loved about How to Build a Library was turned up to 11 here. The film I’m talking about is Memories of Love Returned.

A photo studio owned by Kibaate

Memories of Love Returned is a 2024 documentary made in Uganda and the US by director, writer, actor, and narrator Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine. Executive producers include Steven Soderbergh and others. The story begins on April 24, 2002, when Ntare’s car breaks down in the small Ugandan town of Mbirizi.

While waiting for repairs, he wanders into a photo studio owned by Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo, a local photographer whose work spanned from the late 1950s until his death in 2006.

That chance encounter becomes a 22-year journey of documenting Kibaate’s massive archive, staging a public exhibition in his hometown, and reconnecting photographed subjects with their long-lost images.

It’s fascinating how this film turns something as ordinary as a photo studio in rural Uganda into a time machine, a window into memories, love, and time.

Yes, it’s a documentary about the power of photography, but it’s really about the human stories that live inside those photographs. The film takes one of the most universal parts of our lives, time, and makes something very special out of it.

Friendship

From the very first 10 minutes, I knew what I was in for. Memories of Love Returned is the kind of documentary that could only be made by a creative person, someone who sees beauty in everyday obscure things.

This is a story about friendship, about two men brought together by a shared curiosity and love for photography. It’s about an unlikely bond formed in the most random way, a broken car leading to a lifelong creative connection.

Kibaate’s story could have easily remained unknown, buried in the countryside of Uganda, but through Ntare’s eyes, it becomes a love letter to photography and to the forgotten artists who quietly shape the visual memory of a small town.

I loved how the documentary explores their relationship, how Ntare takes what Kibaate created and builds something larger around it. He transforms these still images into an experience for the people who once stood in front of Kibaate’s lens. Watching those same people rediscover their youth through restored photos is haunting and beautiful at the same time.

Photography has a way of reminding us that life is fleeting. It’s all fading, all slipping away, youth, health, even memory. But photographs let us hold on to small pockets of time.

The film makes you sit with that idea, that bittersweet truth that nothing lasts forever, and that maybe that’s what makes it all worth remembering.

Authenticity

What makes Memories of Love Returned so authentic is how it refuses to sensationalise or dramatise what it captures. Everything feels real, and raw, very funny at times. I mean Kibaate was a very colourful character.

You see it in the old footage and photos, the changing aspect ratios, the grainy images and locations that transport you back decades. There’s no filter between you and the story. The editing style feels intentional but never showy. It just lets the story breathe.

Ntare also allows himself to get personal. He opens up about his family, his struggles, and his creative drive, making you feel the story through his own evolution as both filmmaker and human being.

You see him grow through time, stumble through hardship, and still find joy in creation.

The sound design and music choices are very good. At first, the music feels like your standard African documentary score, what you might expect from an outsider’s idea of African rhythm.

But as the story deepens, the music evolves. It becomes part of the emotional journey, carrying us through different eras. Combined with the sound design, it makes the transitions between past and present seamless and often emotional.

Visually, the documentary is stunning. You move from the sweeping landscapes of Uganda to more grounded, intimate shots of ordinary life. Those wide, open spaces contrast beautifully with the tight, concrete frames when at one moment we cut to the West. I thought it was a clever visual metaphor, freedom versus confinement.

The use of aerial shots and close-ups works beautifully with the theme. The structure also mirrors how memory works , you move through time, sometimes clearly, sometimes suddenly, but always tied down to meaning. One moment you’re in the 1990s, the next you’re watching someone from one of those photos reflect on who they’ve become.

And some scenes, when an old photograph is placed beside its subject decades later, are some of the film’s most powerful moments. Seeing time written on their faces hits differently. It’s emotional, not in a manipulative way, but in a deeply human one.

Gripes

Now, while I loved most of it, there were things that didn’t sit as well. The documentary sometimes takes on too many themes at once, family, legacy, loss, identity, even politics , and in trying to give space to all of them, it occasionally loses focus.

There’s also a brief section touching on LGBTQ representation in old photographs that feels disconnected from the main thread. Unlike everything else that was given present context, during this section they just show pictures of men and women together in a shot and loosely imply their sexuality with no present context.

These people could have easily been platonic friends. It’s not that the subject isn’t important; it just isn’t integrated smoothly into the central story about Kibaate, his family, and the restoration of his archive. It feels tacked on, an afterthought, like something that has to be there to align with a narrative or get funding. You could cut out that section and it would have zero implication on the story.

I also thought the small bits on politics were unnecessary considering the strength of what they already had.

There are also lingering questions that the documentary doesn’t quite answer. What happened to the studio? What about Kibaate’s family? The ending, while beautiful and very creative, feels more like a pause than a finish line.

I also thought more time should have been dedicated to the image restoration process for photography enthusiast.

Conclusion

Still, none of that takes away from how deeply moving the experience is. Memories of Love Returned is a film about time, friendship, and creative purpose. It’s about how a simple act, a photograph, can echo through decades, bringing joy to people in the most unexpected ways. It’s haunting in its truth but joyful in its rediscovery.

Through Ntare’s creative vision and Kibaate’s timeless work, this documentary becomes a heartfelt celebration of memory and art. It’s raw, sincere, and full of heart. If you ever come across it, take the time to watch. It’s one of those films that quietly stays with you.

Illicit trade not only possess health and environmental challenges to consumers but also denies the government the much needed revenue for financing its budget.

In some cases, restricted or prohibited goods are smuggled through the borders; such goods may consist of banned drugs or narcotics, weapons or even dangerous chemicals that can be misused for manufacture of chemical/biological weapons.

With increasing global threats in public health, safety and security caused by illicit trade, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has also enhanced its capacity to detect such goods through investments in modern scanning and laboratory technology.

In this regard, KRA has a fully-equipped ISO 17025 certified Inspection and Testing Centre (I and TC) that handles a wide range of testing for customs and excise, environmental protection, and public safety.

When detected and intercepted, goods suspected to be restricted or prohibited undergo chemical analysis to ascertain their true identity and chemical composition within the shortest turnaround time possible.

The I and TC is a fully accredited testing laboratory mandated to conduct scientific examination in support of revenue and enforcement functions for the Authority.

The key areas of expertise typically revolve around various scientific and technical fields in tariff classifications of trade goods and to ensure compliance with national regulations and international trade standards, especially compliance with multilateral conventions (Montreal, Stockholm, Basel, Rotterdam, Minamata and Chemical Weapons Convention) by providing annual reports to national authorities.

The centre conducts chemical tests on various goods such as industrial chemicals, food products and raw material to establish their composition for the purpose of customs and tax compliance and regulations.

The centre specialises in food, alcohol and drug testing, material and product testing, for example, metals, polymers, oils, textiles and fertilisers.

The centre continually researches new testing methods and innovations to keep up with global scientific advancements and improve testing accuracy and efficiency.

KRA’s I and TC has therefore been instrumental in protection of public health, safety and security by identifying potential risks, hazards or threats associated with such goods, it also supports revenue collection by examining the properties, components and market value of the goods to determine their customs value. This also ensures fair and transparent trade practices.

Are you married? Do you and your spouse have a family company? Does the company have assets?

Probably you’ve never considered this, but, what do you think should be your share in the company, considering all your contribution, all the factors that help it to run? Should it be a 50:50 split, 80:20, or something different?

That “fair” shareholding you just imagined – does it match what’s written on those official company documents at the company’s registry?

Let’s go further. Assume things go bad (and everything crossed, they won’t!), and you have to split assets.

Would those official papers reflect the real story of who built what? More importantly – and this is the part that keeps lawyers awake at night – could you actually prove your contribution in court? And when I say contribution, does it only mean the money you put in?

Think about this: if your company owns that beautiful ‘home’ in Runda or that thriving hardware shop in town, who really owns it? The law says it belongs to the company, not you or your spouse. So, if you split, can a judge reach into the company and pull out assets to grant them to one of you?

These aren’t just philosophical questionse. They are the realities that are hitting Kenyan courtrooms every day, and the answers have been evolving over the years until this September when the Court of Appeal strongly stated the position.

Think of Joe and Rose. They built their logistics company together over 15 years. Rose raised three children and managed the business books at night after tucking the children in. Joe was Mr. Business – suits, meetings, trips. When things went south, Joe told Rose the company was “separate” from their marriage. After all, his name was on 90 percent of the shares.

Two years later, following the GKW v RNK ruling by the Court of Appeal this September, Rose walks away with half. Not 10 percent. Half of the company.

In that case, the Court of Appeal basically said: “We’ll examine who built it. You go with what you contributed.” For decades, some spouses would mysteriously transfer the family home to “Investments Limited” right before divorce proceedings.

Or suddenly, the brother-in-law would somehow own half the company shares. For years, the courts, held back by the rule that companies are separate legal entities, watched as spouses got played.

Not anymore, the law has evolved. Judges can now drag companies into divorce proceedings, especially these “family companies” that somehow own all the family assets. They call it “piercing the corporate veil” – fancy legal talk for “we see what you did there.”

Kenya’s Matrimonial Property Act defines what’s a contribution into matrimonial property. Contribution doesn’t mean money only. Both financial and non-financial contributions count.

The law says that making breakfast at 4 am so your spouse can catch that Mombasa flight for a business deal is contribution. Managing the home or watching children while your spouse manages the business is also contribution. That emotional support during the tough startup years when the business wasn’t making enough money? Contribution.

But critically, it’s not an automatic 50:50 split. The Supreme Court made that clear a few years back. Each case gets weighed on its own scale: actual contribution determines the share. Length of marriage, size of the estate, actual involvement – it all matters. In one case, the stay-at-home spouse got 20 percent. In another, 40 percent. Everything is in the details.

How does one prepare for this before marriage? Clarity of what you own, and if need be, an agreement.

Nobody wants to talk money and ownership before marriage. It feels like you’re planning for failure. But if you’re bringing a business into marriage or planning to start one, document as much as you can, and consider a prenuptial agreement.

Any prenup must be fair though. Courts will tear up any agreement that looks like one person got conned. For instance, sign it a reasonably long time away before the wedding, otherwise it may look like coercion.

What about during marriage?

If you are building or investing in something together, put both names on it. It is the safest route to protecting both of you.

Have meetings, and also keep records. Who put in capital? Who sacrificed their career to raise children? Who spent weekends at the office? Transparency strengthens.

And please, stop with the asset shuffling. The company shares in your mother’s name? Company formed last month that mysteriously owns your matrimonial home? Courts see through all that. In one court case, the husband transferred company properties to relatives and employees, but the court ruled that half of them belonged to his wife.

Courts are especially suspicious of timing. Assets moving around just before or during divorce proceedings are a big red flag.

What happens when things fall apart?

To be clear, the best matrimonial property division is the one that never happens. But if despite all effort things are going the divorce way, consider doing the following.

As much as is practical, keep the company or the business going, otherwise there might be nothing left to split. You may need to involve third parties for this.

Get your company valued promptly. Not by your cousin who “knows business”, but by a professional who will ensure to include a list and value of all the company’s assets and liabilities.

Document your contributions, both money and the non-financial. The school trips that freed your spouse to attend business meetings.

The family dinners where you entertained investors and clients. The career you paused. Write it all down.

Understand the math: generally, current company value minus pre-marriage value equals matrimonial portion. Your contribution percentage of that equals your share. Seemingly simple formula, but in reality quite complex, and interspersed with strong feelings.

Dependent on the actual circumstances, you get either shares, cash, or equivalent value from other assets.

Just one more thing: how does this affect all of us?

Your business partners’ divorces can affect your company. If your partner splits and their spouse gets shares, well, you might have a new business partner you never chose. Smart businesses have, for instance, shareholder agreements covering this.

Also, estate planning might just get complicated: your will saying “all shares to my brother” doesn’t mean much if your spouse has legitimate matrimonial property claims. Update those succession plans.

If you are in a family business with siblings, their marital issues are now your business issues. That company your parents started might get carved up in ways no one ever imagined.

To sum it up, the days of “what’s in my name is mine alone” are gone. The economic partnership of marriage is now legal reality – two in one, as the pastor might have said. That partnership might lead to unequal shares but it exists.

The Court of Appeal’s decision isn’t about encouraging divorce. It’s about acknowledging reality while you are still married, and living it.

The lesson is that courts will go beyond traditional company law to ensure justice. So, that spouse who gave up their career? Their contribution is real. Document it. Value it. Respect it. Not because you are planning to split, but because recognising contribution strengthens the family and your investments.

Importantly, if it ever gets to this level, consider mediation before litigation. Courts are where marriages and businesses go to die expensively. Mediation is where they end with dignity intact and bank accounts less damaged.

Maasai Mara University has been faulted by the Employment and Labour Relations Court for failing to lift the suspension of a former driver, despite being cleared of allegations of corruption.

The court said it was unfair for the employer to keep Hassan Abdi Noor in limbo for more than five years.

Mr Noor was suspended together with former Vice Chancellor Mary Walingo and others over allegations of corruption at the university.

The suspension followed an alleged expose by a local TV station, and the court heard that Mr Noor was initially suspended on August 28, 2020, without pay.

However, the move was later revised for him to get half salary and other benefits, pending the determination of the criminal case.

Their charges were later quashed by the High Court, but the former driver was yet to be reinstated and directed by the High Court, forcing him to challenge the suspension.

‘The respondent (Maasai Mara University) is to pay general damages equivalent to 10 months’ salary, which will cover the constitutional violation,’ said the court.

The court, however, rejected an application for his reinstatement, saying he has been out of his job since August 2020, and it was far-fetched to return him to his former job.

Mr Noor told the court that he took the job as a driver in June 2009 at the university then known as Narok University College.

After completing his probation, he was confirmed as a full employee on May 31, 2010.

He said he worked diligently and to the best of his abilities, without facing any disciplinary actions for misconduct or breach of duty.

Mr Noor said he was promoted to the rank of senior driver, earning a basic salary of Sh123,492 and a house allowance of Sh55,286, together with allowances and benefits.

In September 2019, a local TV station aired an expose implicating senior officials of misappropriation of funds.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations later filed proceedings against him and others before the anti-corruption court in Nakuru.

Mr Noor said he was suspended by the university council on August 28, 2020, without pay pending the hearing and determination of the criminal charges.

He said the last time he received his full salary was in August 2020, and since then, all subsequent payments have been significantly reduced.

In March last year, the High Court in Nakuru quashed the criminal proceedings and prohibited the police from probing them on the alleged scandal.

But since then, Mr Noor said the council has failed and refused to take any action regarding his suspension, leaving him in a state of uncertainty and unfairly depriving him of work and earnings, despite the matter having been resolved.

He sought to be paid his withheld salary amounting to Sh2.5 million and reinstatement.

Mr Noor said he has suffered financial, mental, and psychological strain due to the unfair and unreasonable refusal to reinstate him to employment with full salary.

East African Breweries Plc (EABL) will refinance its Sh11 billion corporate bond at a lower interest rate of 11.8 percent, a move that will reduce its finance costs by Sh49.5 million per annum.

The company’s bond, with a fixed interest rate of 12.25 percent, was due to mature on October 29, 2026, but the brewer decided to redeem it early at the end of this month.

On Monday, the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm offered a five-year bond of a similar amount at an interest rate of 11.8 percent, the proceeds of which are expected to be received on November 18, 2025.

This means that the existing bond will be repaid using short-term credit facilities, with the bond proceeds to be received less than three weeks later.

‘The early redemption of the 2021 bond is being funded through a combination of existing financial arrangements and short-term bridge financing, in line with our disciplined approach to managing debt and liquidity,’ EABL’s chief financial officer Risper Ohaga told Business Daily earlier this month.

EABL has been incurring an annual interest expense of Sh1.34 billion per annum on the existing bond, but this is set to fall to Sh1.29 billion, assuming it raises the entire amount from the new bond offer.

The brewer recently received approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to raise up to Sh20 billion from the debt market, with the Sh11 billion marking the first phase of the fundraising programme.

Besides marginally reducing EABL’s finance costs, the refinancing of the corporate bond will extend the company’s debt profile and boost liquidity.

With a year to go until redemption, the existing bond would have been reclassified to a current (short-term) liability, reducing the company’s liquidity score. The CMA requires EABL to maintain a current ratio – the proportion of short-term assets to short-term liabilities – of more than one. The ratio, which stood at 1.11 times in the year ended June 2025, indicates the company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations.

In the bond disclosures, EABL states that the funds to be raised will be used for general business purposes and to repay other borrowings.

The proceeds of the issue of the notes (after paying all expenses of the issue) will be used . for the group’s general corporate purposes and by the company to repay certain borrowings taken in the ordinary course of business,’ the brewer said.

Besides refinancing the corporate bond at a lower cost, EABL is also benefiting from a drop in the cost of borrowing from banks. Most of its bank loans have interest rates tethered to returns on short-term government securities and which have declined substantially over the past year.

EABL has multiple bank loans whose interest rate is charged at the prevailing 182-day treasury bill rate plus a premium starting from 1.5 percent.

The interest on the short-term security stood at 7.865 percent in last week’s auction, pulling the cost of some of EABL’s bank loans below 10 percent.