Category: Business Daily

NCBA Group valuation at the Nairobi bourse has increased by Sh22.65 billion in three days, amid news that the lender is the acquisition target of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group.

The lender closed on Thursday valued at Sh137.16 billion compared with Sh114.5 billion on Monday -before the news which Standard Bank has neither confirmed or denied. The multinational said it cannot comment on ‘market speculation.’

President William Ruto is leading Kenyans in paying their final respects to the late Raila Odinga, as the opposition leader lies in state in Nairobi ahead of his funeral service on Friday and burial on Sunday.

Airfares on the Nairobi-Kisumu route have surged sharply ahead of the burial of former prime minister Raila Odinga, with most flights fully booked through the weekend as mourners and political delegations prepare to travel to Nyanza for the final ceremonies.

A spot check by the Business Daily shows that one-way ticket prices on major carriers now range between Sh18,000 and Sh23,000, nearly double the usual Sh8,000 to Sh10,000 charged on the route.

On a chilly morning of October 15, 2007, opposition leader Raila Odinga hastily organised a visit to the Nairobi bourse.

The firebrand politician was not seeking to buy shares, but rather to calm the market after his earlier comments about the bourse being used for money laundering had spooked investors.

On October 25, Nairobi’s One-Off Art Gallery will unveil Kind Human, a solo exhibition by self-taught artist Naomi Van Rampelberg.

The show brings together a striking collection of works that reveal Naomi’s distinctive and emotionally charged artistic style – one that feels at once personal and universal.

Operations at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were paralysed on Thursday after hundreds of mourners and supporters of deceased opposition chief Raila Odinga gained access to restricted areas ahead of the arrival of the former Prime Minister’s body, prompting aviation authorities to order a temporary shutdown.

The decision is expected to result in flight delays. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) confirmed that it had suspended all operations at the airport to allow security teams to restore order and ensure the safety of passengers, crew and airport personnel.

In a statement on Thursday, KCAA Director General Emile Arao said the precautionary closure was necessary following what he termed an “ongoing security situation” triggered by the arrival of the late opposition leader’s remains.

‘A large number of mourners gained access to restricted areas, prompting a precautionary closure to allow security teams to restore order and ensure safety,’ said Mr Arao in a mid-morning notice.

‘Members of the public and travelers are advised to remain calm and avoid the airport area until further notice. Normal operations will resume once the airport is declared secure in the next two hours,’ he added.

The aviation sector regulator further said it had issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), notifying airlines of the temporary suspension as emergency teams worked to clear unauthorised persons from the airside sections of the airport.

Mr Odinga’s remains were flown in from India earlier Thursday morning under tight security ahead of a planned transfer to Kisumu on Saturday for public viewing and burial in Bondo, Siaya County, on Sunday.

The government has declared a period of national mourning in honour of the veteran politician, whose death earlier on Wednesday has drawn widespread grief and tributes from across the world.

The brief closure of Kenya’s busiest aviation hub highlights the scale of public emotion surrounding Mr Odinga’s death and the logistical pressure it has placed on national transport systems.

JKIA, which handles an average of 20,000 passengers daily and over seven million annually, serves as the country’s primary gateway for both international and domestic travel.

The late opposition leader, who served as Kenya’s second Prime Minister between 2008 and 2013 and was a five-time presidential candidate, will be laid to rest at his ancestral home in Bondo on Sunday.

Collins Omondi Okello, a self-taught artist, always loved sketching faces, but he never imagined his pencil would one day draw him into the national spotlight. Even less did he imagine going from earning Sh500 for his early artworks to selling a single painting for Sh2 million.

The turning point was his striking pencil portrait of Raila Odinga, a piece that ultimately led to a chance to meet the former Prime Minister.

More farmers continue ditching the State’s Hustler Fund and digital lending alternatives such as Fuliza in favour of banks and savings and credit cooperatives (saccos) to finance agricultural activities, a new Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) survey shows, encouraged by lower interest charges.

The survey showed that the proportion of farmers who tapped credit from the Hustler Fund dropped to a low of nine percent last month.

Global logistics firm DHL Group is planning a pound 300 million (Sh44.9 billion) investment in its African operations, part of which will see the Germany-headquartered firm put up a new head office for its Kenyan unit in Nairobi.

The company announced the new investment in Johannesburg, South Africa during the launch of its latest logistics tracker report, which showed that Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the fastest growth in trade value in the first half of the year, ahead of the Americas and the Caribbean, driven by exports.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has offered a significant amnesty on port storage charges for long-stay containers as the import season begins, with more than 50 vessels set to dock in the next 14 days.

The Mombasa port manager has offered an 80 percent waiver on the accrued storage fees as one of the strategies to ease pressure on the port.

The KPA, in a notice to clients, outlined the terms for domestic and transit cargo, which is valid until November 6. Any cargo not cleared under the amnesty will be transferred to Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD).

‘This measure is expected to improve port efficiency by clearing up space currently occupied by aged cargo.

‘We intend to expedite the clearance of cargo by offering 80 percent amnesty on accrued storage fees,’ said KPA Managing Director William Ruto in an October 15, 2025, notice.

KPA said the waiver applies to long-stay containers that have been at the Mombasa port for more than 21 days from the date of the notice, and those affected cargo owners must lodge a waiver application to be considered for the reduction. While offering the amnesty, the KPA, however, warned that all long-stay transit containers that are not cleared within the notice period will be transferred to the Naivasha ICD.

‘This transfer will be at the owner’s cost. Furthermore, these containers shall attract normal storage charges from the date the container landed in Mombasa,’ Mr Ruto.

The announcement is issued at a time when the port is expected to handle a total of 50 vessels, with 34 accounting for container ships in the next 14 days.

According to the KPA port vessel schedule, Mombasa port will receive 11 conventional cargo vessels, four car carriers, and two oil tankers, with the influx benefiting the second commercial port, Lamu, which will handle seven container vessels during the period.

Read: Mombasa port container traffic hits a record in 2024

Shippers Council of Eastern Africa CEO Agayo Ogambi asked KPA to ensure services continue as scheduled during festivities to maintain efficiency, as October to December are peak importing months, as retailers replenish inventories and stock up for the holiday season.

KPA said it is undertaking a port cleaning exercise to free up yard areas and to maximise the use of all spaces to enhance safe and efficient operations and service delivery.

In the long term, KPA is expanding its container terminals with the old Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) already being demolished to expand berth 19.

The old KOT was decommissioned after the completion of a new facility, which has a capacity to handle four vessels.

KPA management is also working with CFS owners to expand their facilities to handle more cargo, which has remained the same for two decades despite increasing cargo flow.

‘Apart from port expansion, we are working with other stakeholders, including CFSs, to expand their facilities to accommodate increasing cargo throughput in the country,’ Mr Ruto said.

Last year, the port handled about 2.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (Teus) with a projection to reach 2.4 teus by the end of this year from 1.4 million in 2012.