Category: Business Daily

Crazy Kennar, born Kennedy Odhiambo, has built his reputation as one of Kenya’s sharpest and relatable comedic voices. His skits blend humour with social commentary, and he’s been vocal about his dream of winning an Oscar.

With Iscariot, his debut feature film released on YouTube on November 25, 2025, Kennar takes a bold step from short-form comedy into full-length cinema. The big question is, is this the beginning of that journey toward global recognition in film?

Iscariot is directed, written and produced by Kennar himself. The movie stars Yafesi Musoke and Celestine Gachuhi in the lead roles, with Faith Kibathi, Austin Muigai and Crazy Kennar also part of the cast.

The story follows a deputy principal whose seemingly perfect life unravels when his car gains sentience and begins blackmailing him, demanding a VIP upgrade in exchange for silence. The film mixes dark comedy and thriller elements.

The positives

What stands out first is the concept. A sentient car blackmailing its owner is both absurd and brilliant, and Kennar and his team commit to it fully. You can tell they had a vision and worked toward it.

The structure avoids spoon-feeding the audience, letting payoffs emerge naturally. That choice keeps viewers engaged and rewards attention.

The cinematography, while uneven overall, has moments of real strength. Night scenes inside and outside the car are handled with care, especially one sequence that will have people talking and another with headlights cutting through darkness, which look great. The lighting in these scenes creates atmosphere and tension, adding weight to what is presented on the screen.

The actors do a lot with the material and direction given. They bring energy and personality to their roles. Magdalene played by Celestine Gachuhi, though underwritten, is played with subtlety and presence.

Yafesi Musoke as Peter, the main character is overly dramatic/theatrical, but the story revolves around him and for the most part, he fully captures the essence of a man in conflict with himself.

Side characters, teachers, mechanics, and students add authenticity and make the world feel lived in. A garage scene, for example, feels distinctly Kenyan, capturing the humour and grit of everyday encounters.

The school and home settings are also believable, with costumes and production design grounding the story in reality.

Sound design has flashes of creativity with good music selsction. Certain choices, especially toward the end, have potential to shape mood through audio. Even if not consistently polished, the effort is visible.

I wouldn’t consider this a positive, but the movie is available for free on YouTube. So you have no excuse for not seeing it.

The negatives

For all its ambition, Iscariot struggles with execution. First of all, a very cool name, but the title card, even with the smart wordplay, is amateurish, this also extends to the closing credits.

Typography and design look clean but it’s uninspired, undermining the film’s attempt at professionalism. For a filmmaker aiming at the Oscars, presentation is king, and here it looks like it was put together by a film student.

Plot holes are everywhere. The ending, in particular, introduces a resolution to a problem that was never properly set up, leaving viewers confused. Magdalene’s arc feels like an afterthought, and her role could have added emotional weight if developed further.

The film also wrestles with its own metaphor. The cars are framed like visual metaphors, with the visual state of the cars, but the main car is given the treatment of a diegetic ghost. While it’s a brilliant idea, the inconsistency makes its role unclear for your everyday normal viewer.

Many scenes are theatrical, as if staged for a play rather than a film. Expressions are exaggerated, blocking is stiff, and the overall tone leans toward melodrama. On stage, that might work, on screen, it feels out of place.

Cinematography outside the stronger sequences is amateurish. Shots are framed without much creativity, sometimes even clumsily, like a moment where a character’s head is clipped off in the frame. The film misses opportunities to make the car feel larger-than-life or menacing through camera angles and composition.

Sound, too, lacks polish. While serviceable, it doesn’t have the punch or depth of professional post-production. Certain effects, like footsteps in the hospital, feel unconvincing.

Finally, pacing and editing drag the second act of the film. The second act meanders a lot as the writers try to be clever with slow reveals. Instead of building tension, the story becomes convoluted, and edits sometimes feel jarring. The payoff at the end doesn’t justify the detours.

There are small props issues, like the quality of the placard with the name of the school incredibly poorly done, even compared to what we see on the wall with the mission and vision of the school. The nameplate on the deputy’s desk makes me wonder why they didn’t go for the real wooden plates and other small things that pop up, which make the film feel unpolished and unrefined.

Conclusion

Iscariot is far from an Oscar contender, not yet. It’s rough, uneven, and weighed down by plot holes, theatrical performances, and technical flaws. I love the concept, the idea and the fact that Crazy Kennar is thinking beyond skits, and even if the film is far from perfect, it shows he’s serious about cinema.

There’s nothing quite like freshly-cut stems and fragrant blooming buds when it comes to adding life and colour to a space. Arranged well, they have this uncanny ability to boost the mood for any room and add a unique touch that never goes out of style. But it doesn’t come cheap.

Live floral arrangements are high-maintenance. They require time, effort, and a pretty penny, which is where the artificial flowers come in: You get all the joy of the real thing but without breaking the bank or your back for that matter.

As we get into the festive season, you might want to consider this alternative, not just for your decor, but also as a gift that will not wilt.

And maybe you’re there thinking, no way, those things are tacky. But the quality standards have gone up in recent years.

There is, for instance, this offering in the market called ‘real-to-touch artificials.’ These, unless you have a very good eye, are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

Capturing the attention of entrepreneurs everywhere, they have managed to transform the global artificial flowers market into a multi-billion dollar industry with projections that only point upwards.

Irene Nkatha, a flower designer who runs Zurie Crafts, is one such entrepreneur. She discovered these permanent botanicals while on the brink of losing a corporate marketing job.

‘I’d seen signs that my company was about to close down and was in the process of trying to figure out my next game plan, when I started observing this online trend where birthday parties were being styled,’ she says. ‘They’d moved away from just being about a simple cake to backdrops, balloons, and all sorts of themed parties.’

Applying research to this observation, she landed first on paper flowers. Armed with an artistic background, a knowledgeable friend, and a strong desire to make it work, she crafted her first flower ever and two weeks later got a baby-shower event.

‘The day after the event, I got a call from the lady in whose honour the baby- shower was thrown and she was almost in tears. Apparently, she’d been looking for someone who could make paper flowers for her baby’s nursery room and we’d gotten the colours exactly right, so she was calling to ask whether she could keep them.’

Bringing this stranger’s dream to life was the thing that stuck with Ms Nkatha and fueled her passion enough to launch her into modern floristry. There, she started off with fresh blooms but eventually, while seeking the convenience of not having to go to the market every so often, she stumbled upon silk flowers.

These, she discovered, were not only beautiful, they also made available a lot of variety and options that were not present in the fresh flowers market in Kenya. This, in terms of both flower types and colours.

‘In Kenya we are known mainly for roses. If I were to arrange a standard fresh flower bouquet today, it would have chrysanthemums (mums), maybe carnations, and some greenery, or baby’s breath. But abroad, for example, they don’t even use mums unless it’s for a funeral. They have flower farms that sell a lot of things that are not accessible to our local market,’ she reveals. ‘But with artificials, whether the flowers are in season or out, you always feel fine.’

Carving a niche for herself, Ms Nkatha now does floral installations for all kinds of spaces – homes, lodges, restaurants, studios, stores, you name it, and she does them on walls, ceilings, signages, as table centerpieces, even on cakes. She also rents out arrangements for all manner of events.

‘Now there is a global trend with artificials because the quality went up but also because of sustainability. People want something that can last,’ she notes.

‘And artificials really work for something like Christmas where you can pack up your garlands or your wreaths and reuse or repurpose them next time. I’m also seeing a lot of them during Diwali, especially flowers like Marigolds which don’t grow here, and during themed holidays like Mother’s Day.’

She also credits the growth to an increased appreciation for aesthetics.

‘There’s a boom in luxury. People are educated and are no longer what our parents were. Now there’s a deeper appreciation for fine things all around the world.’

The artificial flowers trend, according to the flower expert, received a fresh breath of life from the bringing-the-outside-in trend (bringing nature indoors), and from high-end fashion designers like Chanel who adopted and incorporated artificial blooms in their work.

‘All interior design trends are determined by the fashion industry,’ she says. ‘And then there came people like Kim Kardashian using paper flower walls as backdrops for product launches and it became a thing.’

Now her most frequent orders are for ‘backdrop flowers, welcome signages, and centerpieces for the home.’

Ann’s bold leap of faith

Elsewhere, when Ann Wakaimba opened Decor by Aimer just a year ago, she wasn’t sure how the market would respond to her bold leap of faith: premium lifelike artificial flowers priced between Sh15,000 and Sh45,000. But today, the young business is already carving a niche in Nairobi’s design market.

Though they stock an extensive range of decor pieces including vases, books, wall art, clocks, mirrors, furniture and kitchenware (from thermoses to wine glasses), flowers remain Decor by Aimer’s heart, accounting for around 30 percent of the total sales.

‘The flowers were there from the start,’ Ms Wakaimba says. ‘I started with my own tastes but with time, I’ve learned what people love and now I only pick what’s best.’

But why artificial flowers?

‘Being a mother, I realised that I didn’t have the time to take care of fresh flowers, so I ended up picking artificial because they are easy to maintain and don’t spoil,’ she says.

Still, she wasn’t interested in just ordinary faux flowers. Her shelves are lined with orchids that look freshly cut, tulips whose stems feel convincingly flexible, and roses that carry scented notes and even thorns.

‘At first, people hesitated at the price and would say they’re too expensive, but they have since come to appreciate the realness and uniqueness of the flowers. Those who understand the value are okay with spending a little to get it.’

With quality determining her pricing, Ms Wakaimba is deliberate in sourcing the best. She travels widely – to Turkey, Thailand, Dubai, even London, just to see what the global market is offering, before curating her own collection and placing her order in China, ‘the big market’.

To maintain exclusivity, she rarely ever imports in bulk.

‘Especially for unique flowers, I can bring only 10 pieces per flower and that’s it,’ she says. ‘If you bring say 1,000 pieces, everyone ends up with the same flower and then there is no uniqueness.’

Though she stocks a wide variety including hydrangeas, roses, and even shrubs, her best-sellers include orchids, lilies, and tulips, flowers she describes as being ‘in a class of their own.’

Her main customers are homeowners, particularly those who are looking for statement pieces for side tables, corners, or entryways where fresh flowers would wilt within days. She also sees churches go for the white arrangements to decorate their altars.

The shop sees a peak in sales during the festive seasons, particularly in December, when most people are revamping their houses and making them more beautiful for guests. And though her prices usually remain constant, the decor shop often runs promotional offers, sometimes from as early as November through to Christmas.

Of challenges, Ms Wakaimba cites damages. ‘This is mostly during transportation. They are very delicate, so it makes it very challenging,’ she says. ‘There is a time when I imported six orchids, and when they arrived, they were all broken.’

Still, she takes it all in stride, her philosophy staying firm. ‘When you put your mind to something, just go all in. Learn in the process, but don’t do it half-heartedly. Go fully.’

Pure love for flowers

For Armstrong Ngure Kiarie, the man behind The Flower Guy, an artificial flowers shop in Nairobi’s Stage Market, the appeal of the permanent botanicals lies in their unfading vibrancy, versatility, and their ease to work with.

‘People are lazy. They don’t want to take care of the real ones so they have really come to appreciate the artificial ones,’ he says.

‘With these, there’s no watering, no pruning, no checking up on them, you only have to dust them every now and then. You are also able to find the artificial form of a flower that would be otherwise difficult to get.’

Having started his business in November 2020 out of a pure love for flowers and all things landscape and interior decor, Mr Kiarie speaks of an exponential growth in the artificial market, which tends to peak in the holiday seasons.

‘At a time like now, there are many decorations that are going on. And with a lot of people wanting to take pictures, you find that the need and desire for backdrops, floral arrangements, and the general Christmas decor, has gone up.’

Still, it has not been without its challenges.

‘Pricing is a challenge because while there is a standard market price, some sellers lower their prices to levels that don’t even make sense.’

He has also struggled with coming to terms with copycats in the industry who can quickly turn a unique concept into something commonplace.

From inquiry to sales- driver

Miriam Nyambura Wambugu, owner of Shwan Decor, tapped into the artificial plants and flowers market following a query by a hotel-owning client. Today, while she sells other decor items, her imported plants make for 70 percent of all her sales.

‘My main buyers include resellers, the hotel industry, and salons,’ Ms Wambugu states. ‘And the plants that sell the most are the hedge panels, olive trees, and cherry blossoms.’

Already receiving bulk pre-orders for the festive season, Ms Wambugu is expecting a busy time ahead even as she continues to market her wares mostly online.

When it comes to the prices and affordability, Ms Nkatha suggests that while many people expect the man-made offerings to be cheap, they’re actually not, unless of course, the quality is wanting.

‘They’re expensive at first, but if you’re going to have them for a long time, you will return your money over and over again,’ she assures.

Often asked about which of the two is superior, Ms Nkatha says ‘Life these days is no longer about this or that, it’s about this and that. That said, the artificials borrow everything from fresh flowers and in that respect, the fresh flowers will always take the cake.’

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Competition Commission has warned consumers of misleading discounts, counterfeit goods and online scams as the festive shopping season nears.

The regional competition watchdog said some retailers across the bloc’s 21 member-states, including Kenya, inflate prices only to advertise exaggerated discounts.

Others exploit the shopping frenzy to dump fake, unsafe, expired or nearly expired products on unsuspecting consumers, it warned.

The commission also flagged restrictive return policies that leave customers ‘stuck’ with defective items, as well as an uptick in phishing, fake e-commerce websites and fraudulent online adverts designed to steal personal and financial information.

Comesa is urging shoppers to verify product quality by reading descriptions and safety labels carefully, and to buy only from trusted retailers or official websites to avoid falling prey to deceptive practices.

‘Compare prices across multiple platforms to confirm authenticity of the advertised discounts, compare prices on display with the offered discounts and actual prices charged at the counter,’ the commission’s director of consumer welfare and advocacy, Steven Kamukama, said in a statement.

Consumers are also advised to be wary of counterfeit goods sold at extremely low prices.

Retailers behind misleading or exploitative festive season tactics violate Articles 27 and 28 of the Comesa Competition Regulations, which prohibit false or deceptive representations and unconscionable conduct toward consumers.

‘Any person who has been affected by any of the above conduct, or who has observed such conduct being carried out in the common market, should report the matter to the commission by contacting the undersigned or to the national authorities responsible for consumer protection,’ Mr Kamukama said.

Comesa’s competition watchdog works with national consumer protection agencies and organisations such as the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) and the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) to safeguard consumers from unfair business practices.

The Commission can receive complaints from individuals, organisations, or national authorities, and may also open investigations on its own initiative based on market surveillance.

Under the regional bloc’s competition regulations, businesses are prohibited from making false or misleading claims when promoting or supplying goods and services.

This includes misrepresenting the quality, value, origin, composition, price, or condition of products, as well as falsely claiming that items are new or endorsed by particular individuals or organisations.

Companies are also barred from suggesting that certain customers have agreed to a purchase when they have not, or implying that goods or services carry benefits, sponsorships or guarantees that do not exist.

‘. making a false or misleading representation concerning the availability of facilities for the repair of goods or of spare parts for goods,’ the regulations state. Any misleading claim about contractual terms, warranties, rights or remedies is similarly prohibited.

If a business is found to have breached the regulations, the watchdog can order the termination of harmful conduct, direct it to cease and remedy the effects of its actions, and require compensation for affected consumers.

The commission can also impose fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s annual turnover generated within the Comesa market.

Kenya’s electoral history is one that has been marked by both triumphs and turbulence. While the country has made significant strides in entrenching democratic governance, its elections have often been overshadowed by disputes, credibility issues and at times, post-election instability.

As the nation looks towards the 2027 General Elections, it is imperative that every tool available to strengthen transparency and integrity be deployed.

Among these tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands out as a frontier technology with immense potential to address the perennial challenges that have afflicted our electoral processes.

Artificial Intelligence is best understood as the ability of machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as analysing data, identifying patterns, making predictions, and even engaging in natural language processing.

Its utility in elections lies not in replacing human decision-making, but in augmenting the capacity of institutions such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to deliver a process that is efficient, transparent, and credible. The deployment of AI in the Kenyan electoral context can be considered across several dimensions.

A credible election begins with a credible register of voters. Past elections have been plagued by allegations of ‘ghost voters,’ duplicate registrations, and questions over the accuracy of the roll. AI-driven biometric systems can enhance the integrity of voter registration by detecting anomalies, identifying duplicate entries, and continuously monitoring the register against civil registry databases.

Machine learning algorithms can flag suspicious registrations in real time, thereby enabling the IEBC to clean the roll more efficiently and with greater accuracy.

The IEBC should, therefore, invest in biometric platforms that integrate with existing civil registries, ensuring that the voter roll is continuously updated and subjected to independent verification.

A second area of focus lies in the digital ecosystem, where disinformation and hate speech have in past elections been weaponised to inflame ethnic tensions and distort public discourse. AI-powered tools can be deployed to monitor social media platforms, flag coordinated disinformation campaigns and detect instances of hate speech across multiple languages and dialects.

The logistical complexity of a general election in Kenya cannot be overstated. Ballot materials must be procured, distributed, and secured across 47 counties and over 40,000 polling stations. AI can be applied in optimising these supply chains, predicting bottlenecks, and monitoring the movement of sensitive electoral materials.

Similarly, AI-powered predictive analytics can be utilised in security deployment by identifying potential hotspots of tension based on historical data, demographic information, and real-time monitoring of incidents.

The IEBC should therefore consider adopting AI-powered logistics management systems that provide real-time visibility of the electoral supply chain, while working closely with security agencies to deploy resources to areas of greatest risk before tensions escalate.

The transmission and tallying of results remain the most contentious phases of Kenya’s electoral process. Here, AI can play a vital role in anomaly detection. Algorithms can be trained to identify irregular voting patterns, such as statistically improbable turnouts, sudden surges in results transmission, or discrepancies between polling station data and constituency tallies.

Such systems would not replace human verification but would serve as a powerful audit tool that enhances confidence in the process. In addition, AI-powered blockchain solutions could provide immutable records of results transmission, reducing the risk of manipulation.

The IEBC should pilot blockchain-backed transmission platforms integrated with anomaly-detection algorithms, ensuring that all stakeholders can independently verify the authenticity of transmitted results.

The electoral process does not end with the announcement of results. Inevitably, disputes are filed before the courts and tribunals. AI tools can assist the Judiciary in managing this deluge of litigation by streamlining case management, clustering similar issues, and even assisting in the rapid review of voluminous evidence such as polling station returns.

While judicial decision-making must remain firmly human, AI can enhance efficiency and reduce the delays that have in the past undermined public confidence in the resolution of electoral disputes.

The IEBC should therefore collaborate with the Judiciary to create structured, machine-readable repositories of electoral data, thereby ensuring that disputes are resolved on the basis of accurate and easily accessible information.

Of course, while the promise of AI is immense, its deployment must be approached with circumspection. There must be clear legal and regulatory frameworks governing its use to ensure that the technology itself does not become an instrument of manipulation.

Data protection and privacy considerations must be paramount; AI systems rely on vast datasets, and without proper safeguards, sensitive personal information could be misused. Further, there must be public education and transparency to demystify AI so that citizens can trust that it is being used to strengthen rather than subvert their democratic will.

As Kenya prepares for the 2027 General Elections, it must confront the reality that traditional approaches to electoral management are no longer sufficient. The challenges of disinformation, logistical complexity, and entrenched suspicion demand new solutions. Artificial Intelligence, if deployed judiciously, offers a transformative opportunity to enhance the integrity of the process.

For the IEBC, this will require targeted investment in AI-driven voter registration systems, collaborative frameworks for monitoring online disinformation, adoption of AI-powered logistics and results transmission tools, and close engagement with the Judiciary to ensure that disputes are adjudicated efficiently.

The task before the IEBC is therefore not merely technological but institutional and ethical: to ensure that AI is harnessed as a servant of democracy, not its master. If this is achieved, Kenya will not only secure a more credible 2027 election but also position itself as a continental leader in the fusion of technology and democratic governance.

Insurers paid out Sh175.2 billion in claims during the nine months to September this year, marking a 24.6 percent jump compared to a similar period last year in a surge driven by an increase in filed claims.

Data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) shows that the payouts rose from Sh140.6 billion in a similar period last year, adding Sh34.6 billion to the compensation bill and signaling deepening pressure on insurers’ bottom-line.

The number of claims jumped 67.2 percent to 12.9 million cases in the review period, up from 7.7 million a year earlier.

The surge signaled worsening risk such as higher medical and repair costs, as well as increased use that exerted stress on underwriting performance throughout the review period.

General liability claims climbed to Sh16.3 billion from Sh14.7 billion while non-liability claims rose to Sh67.1 billion from Sh57.2 billion.

General liability insurance protects a business from third-party claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal or advertising injury, while non-liability insurance coverage refers to policies or specific coverages within a policy that protect one’s own property or person.

Long-term insurers paid out Sh91.8 billion, up from Sh68.7 billion as heavy obligations tied to life, pension and investment-linked products experienced larger benefit outflows.

Continued rise in claims came as insurers pushed to strengthen risk controls and enhance fraud detection systems across their operational networks.

Insurance firms have in recent years decried rising cases of fraud that have bedevilled the sector, with policyholders, especially in the motor sector, making claims on fictional accidents and signing multiple insurance contracts on a single vehicle.

A section of motorists has also been found to use their vehicles for different activities other than those insured against that translates into higher exposure risk.

More insurers are adopting digital claims platforms that track patterns, authenticate documents and flag inconsistencies before payouts are approved. Telematics and data-driven pricing models are gaining prominence as underwriters seek to align premiums with actual risk behaviour demonstrated by policyholders.

Insurers have also begun adjusting cover limits, reviewing terms and selectively reducing exposure to high-risk customer categories experiencing frequent and cost-intensive claims.

Further, some underwriters have quietly restricted comprehensive cover for older vehicles or models associated with high accident and theft frequencies in recent reporting cycles.

Others have been reported to reassess benefit structures in medical plans to manage rising treatment costs and limit exposure to inflated invoices from select providers.

Kenya’s insurers view the two largest classes of general insurance, motor and medical, as the worst hit by fraud amid competition that has seen some underwriters underprice and end up struggling to honour claims.

Companies and public entities created additional 206,617 jobs for workers earning monthly salaries of between Sh50,000 and Sh100,000 over the five years to 2024, marking the pay band with the most new employees.

Employees within the salary band constituted 43.8 percent of all the 471,191 formal jobs created during the five-year period, new data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show.

This has seen the number of workers earning from Sh50,000 to Sh99,999 monthly rise from 1.25 million to 1.46 million between 2020 and last year, representing a 16.5 percent growth in the most populated wage category.

At least 45.5 percent of 3.2 million Kenyans in the formal workforce earn within the salary band, followed by the group earning between Sh30,000 to Sh49,999, who constitute 32.2 percent.

The KNBS statistics show that private companies contributed 69.1 percent of the new earners within the group earning from Sh50,000 to Sh99,999, as the government took the rest.

‘Earnings or wages cover all cash payments, including: basic salary, cost of living allowances, profit bonus, together with the value of rations and free board, and an estimate of the employer’s contribution towards housing,’ the KNBS explained.

The majority of the workers earning within the most populous salary band are in education (291,224 workers), public administration and defence (201,917), manufacturing (183,156), agriculture (105,875) and trade (101,968).

They include professionals such as teachers, military personnel, bank tellers and administrative assistants.

During the five years, the proportion of workers earning less than Sh30,000 grew the largest percentage, underlining the struggle by companies to create high-paying jobs amid rising taxes and the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Workers earning monthly salaries of up to Sh29,999 increased by 33.4 percent to hit 319,275 to see the number of employees in this category constitute 9.9 percent of Kenya’s formal workforce. This was up from 8.7 percent in 2020, the KNBS Statistical Abstract shows.

The data excluded persons working in the informal sector.

‘Wage employment figures include casual employees, part-time workers, directors and partners serving on a regular basic salary contract.

‘Self-employed persons and family workers who do not receive regular wages or salaries are excluded,’ KNBS said.

The five-year period also saw public and private firms generate 86,697 more jobs for workers earning above Sh100,000. Two-thirds of these new jobs were created in the private sector, the report shows.

These workers had the second-sharpest rise in numbers at a rate of 27.9 percent and their proportion to the formal workforce also grew from 11.3 to 12.4 percent, KNBS said.

In the Economic Survey released earlier this year, KNBS noted that the majority of Kenyans employed formally work in the manufacturing, agriculture and trade sectors, collectively employing 42.6 percent in the private sector.

‘The leading industries in the private sector in 2024 providing the highest employment numbers were manufacturing; agriculture forestry and fishing; and wholesale and retail trade, accounting for 15.9, 14.1, and 12.6 percent of the total private sector employment, respectively,’ the agency said.

In the public sector, the majority of the workers are teachers who hit 410,700 last year, followed by those working in ministries (236,700), and county government workers (226,500).

Formal employment in Kenya, however, accounts for just 15 percent of the total workforce of 20.8 million by last year, with the informal sector dominating with a workforce estimated at 17.4 million.

Last year, while the economy created 782,300 new jobs, the formal sector created just 78,600, underlining the dominance of Kenya’s informal sector in employment.

‘The total new jobs generated in the economy were 782,300 in 2024, of which 78,600 jobs were created in the modern sector reflecting a growth of 2.4 percent. There was a slowdown in the number of new jobs created in the informal sector from 720,900 in 2023 to 703,700 jobs in 2024,’ the 2025 Economic Survey showed.

KNBS has not been able to provide statistics on wage earnings in Kenya’s informal sector, focusing only within the formal sector where companies submit data.

The group of Kenyans formally employed and earning below Sh10,000 over the five years, KNBS observed, rose by 15.3 percent to hit 12,331.

Workers earning between Sh10,000 and Sh15,000 have, however, reduced marginally over the five years, closing at 40,953 last year.

Those earning between Sh15,000 and Sh20,000, on the other hand, have doubled from 25,552 in 2020 to 57,580 last year, the Statistical Abstract shows.

The World Bank Group and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) have raised fresh concerns over the government’s leasing of four state-owned sugar factories, warning that flaws in the process risk distorting the market further.

The World Bank Group and CAK reckon that the lease of Nzoia, Muhoroni, Sony and Chemelil sugar factories to private operators for 30 years from May 2025, may fail to deliver genuine market discipline if competition issues in both the leasing process and the broader market are not addressed.

This could entrench weak competition in the sector, the joint World Bank-CAK report states, subjecting consumers to even higher prices for the sweetener.

‘The GoK [government] has sought to increase private investment and market discipline through the leasing of state-owned mills, although competition concerns remain in the implementation of leasing processes, both in terms of the leasing processes themselves and the overarching market conditions under which leasing occurred,’ they said in a report.

The report argues that the government’s heavy financial support to State-owned millers over the past decade, including debt write-offs and direct grants, has severely distorted competition, shielding inefficient firms from market forces and preventing more efficient private players from expanding.

The support comprises Sh117 billion debt waiver by the State in 2023, which included loans from the Sugar Development Fund and accumulated taxes and penalties.

A debt of Sh62 billion was wiped off the books of the State-owned sugar factories in 2020 by the predecessor regime of President Uhuru Kenyatta, the report notes.

Further support has come in the form of direct cash injections, the report adds, such as a Sh150 million bonus to Mumias farmers in January 2025 and a Sh166 million non-reimbursable grant to Muhoroni in 2022 to settle arrears to farmers and suppliers.

‘Such transfers from Kenyan taxpayers to state-owned mills create an unlevel playing field between private and state-owned mills, preventing more efficient firms from expanding and putting resources to higher-value use,’ the World Bank and CAK warn.

A key structural concern is that domestic production of sugar remains significantly more expensive than imports- a gap that continues to widen. Domestic ex-factory prices in 2022 and 2023, for example, jumped more than 40 percent annually, faster than cane prices and global trends, according to the report. ‘Benefits from higher prices accrued to millers as opposed to farmers,’ the report states, adding that restrictive trade policies have prevented imports from reducing retail sugar prices.

The government in May leased Nzoia to West Kenya Sugar Company, Chemelil to Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd, Sony to Busia Sugar Industry Ltd and Muhoroni to West Valley Sugar Company Ltd.

The government argues that the leasing of the four State-owned sugar factories is meant to inject private capital and improve operational efficiencies.

CAK’s director for Competition and Consumer Protection, Amenya Omari, said the authority lacks the legal mandate to safeguard competition during major privatisation programmes – a loophole that exposes the sugar sector to risks of entrenched market dominance.

‘The greatest challenge is the lack of an enabling legal provision that enables the Competition Authority to have a bigger role in the privatisation process,’ Mr Omari said on November 24.

‘It is through competition analysis and public-interest analysis that the Authority is able to assess the potential impact of a privatisation process.’

Concerns over the process of handing over management of the sugar mills to the private sector have also been raised in Parliament.

Lawmakers in June demanded answers on the transparency and fairness of the leasing process, seeking disclosures on the beneficial owners of the winning firms, the criteria used to select them, their qualifications, evidence of public participation, and the financial terms of the 30-year deals.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said in May that the government has retained ownership of all assets tied to the four sugar factories, including land.

Mr Kagwe stated that the assets have been leased to the private firms on an annual basis at prevailing market rates, with all the proceeds channelled to the Kenya Sugar Board to finance cane development programmes and reinvest in communities surrounding the mills.

In his third State of the Nation Address on November 20, President William Ruto said the sector was ‘stabilising,’ citing a 76 percent jump in sugar output to 815,000 tonnes, a 200,000-acre expansion in area under cane, and a drop in imports.

‘To secure this progress, we have leased Nzoia, Muhoroni, Sony, and Chemelil factories to competent private sector operators,’ Dr Ruto said.

Kenyan households are confronting yet another season of rising prices. The cost-of-living crisis experienced in recent months continues to burden families whose budgets were already stretched thin.

Indeed, even when headline inflation softens slightly, at its current 4.6 percent, the everyday reality in supermarkets and kiosks tells a different story. A modest fall in the price of maize flour, for instance, is rarely enough to counter sharp rises in vegetables, electricity and transport.

What many Kenyans feel most acutely is not the movement of national averages but the weekly pressure of meeting basic needs with incomes that do not keep pace.

In this environment, the kadogo economy emerges as a central mechanism through which households manage uncertainty. The idea that small becomes smart is now shaping how consumers buy and how companies produce.

While the model has existed for decades, its relevance has reached a new peak as disposable incomes tighten and formal credit remains inaccessible for most households.

The smallest unit becomes a budgeting tool that allows families to match cash flow to daily requirements without committing to large expenditures.

Local manufacturers have taken note and are rapidly shifting to small, affordable packs.

Many other companies have had to reconfigure their production lines, adjust distribution networks and cultivate retail partnerships that can handle high volumes of low unit value products.

This is a strategic motivation as much as it is empathetic, with firms that do not adapt risking losing their customer base to competitors that understand the new spending logic. The approach reduces barriers at the point of sale and ensures that brands remain within reach for lower and middle income buyers. It also cushions manufacturers against erratic demand.

Smaller packs move steadily regardless of economic cycles since they align with daily rather than monthly budgets.

This adaptation is visible across sectors, with cooking oil producers now selling quantities that are small enough to cook a single meal.

Detergent brands offer measured sachets that guarantee predictable spending, as beverage companies adopt similar strategies in response to shifting consumption habits in both urban and peri urban areas.

Even premium focused brands have begun experimenting with downmarket extensions that allow them to stay present in the consumer’s consideration set during periods of financial constraint.

Critics argue that small packages have a higher cost per unit than bulk purchases, which is numerically true. But the comparison misses reality on the ground. For many households, the choice is not between a large bottle and several small ones, it is between purchasing a small pack or going without the product entirely.

Small units, therefore, remain not just a practical solution but an economic necessity for millions. As the cost of living continues to evolve, the brands that thrive will be those that design with reality-not assumptions-in mind.

A record 122 persons were electrocuted in the year that ended June 2025 amid increased illegal connections and encroachment on power lines, turning the spotlight on the level of public safety awareness and adherence to the law.

National electricity distributor Kenya Power revealed that the number includes 115 members of the public, five employees and two contractors as the number rose from 118 a year earlier.

The increased fatalities shine the light on illegal connections, encroachment on areas where the transmission lines pass and also faulty wirings, which have left Kenya Power racing to scale up public awareness in a bid to address the risks. Kenya Power can only compensate victims when fatalities are caused by negligence from its side, meaning that families of most of the 122 people killed are not likely to be paid.

‘Unfortunately, there were 122 fatalities attributed to electrocutions and operational-related accidents, comprising 115 members of the public, five employees and two contractors,’ Kenya Power says in its latest annual report.

The utility has for years grappled with the headache of illegal connections and people encroaching on power lines, especially in informal settlements, in breach of the Energy Act 2019.

Kenya Power data shows that out of the deaths in the review period, 21.7 percent were caused by faulty wirings, 12.2 percent due to encroachment on power lines and 11.2 percent were caused by illegal power connections.

Collapsed Kenya Power lines caused 10.5 percent while vandalism led to seven percent and third-party interference (4.3 percent). Illegal electric fences, acts of ignorance and protection gaps are the other causes of the fatalities.

However, scores of other victims especially those who have breached the law and encroached on wayleaves of high-voltage lines, those who have illegally tapped electricity and others with faulty connections are exposed in case of electrocutions.

Illegal connections lack safety installation standards and besides exposing the public to the risk of electrocution, they also lead to overloads on transformers, thus exacerbating the risk of an unstable grid.

An unstable grid has a higher risk of power surges or outages, which in turn creates a risky environment for Kenya Power engineers working to maintain the system.

Besides the risk of electrocution, power theft in the illegal areas continues to deny Kenya Power millions of shillings in electricity sales.

Vandalism is one of Kenya Power’s biggest headaches and a booming demand for copper and scrap materials in the region has been cited as a major driver of the crime.

Encroachment, especially in urban areas has continued unabated despite the heavy penalty contained in the Energy Act, 2019.

Infringing on wayleaves or vandalising power lines are categorised as economic crimes with a fine of not less than Sh5 million or to a term of imprisonment of ten years or to both.

Kenya Power has in recent years faced mounting lawsuits as families of persons electrocuted seek justice on grounds that the deaths were caused by negligence from Kenya Power.

For example, the High Court in Mombasa ordered Kenya Power to pay Sh3.2 million to the family of a woman who was electrocuted by a fallen power line in Mombasa.

The State-owned electricity distributor had early last year been ordered to pay another victim Sh14.2 million for electrocution. Some of the lawsuits have hit the utility due to the heavy compensation package that the courts have awarded victims.

The firm was in 2021 ordered to pay Sh22 million to the family of a girl whose both hands were amputated after she touched live electric wires. Kenya Power lost an appeal to lower the compensation package.

The cases highlight the financial hit that Kenya Power takes whenever negligence from its staff leads to fatal electrocutions.

Families pushing for compensation for their kin who have been electrocuted must demonstrate the culpability of Kenya Power in those fatalities.

Vandalism, encroachment and flawed connections are rampant problems in the informal settlements even as Kenya Power continues to spend millions of shillings in sensitizing Kenyans on the deadly consequences.

Kenya Power routinely conducts public safety campaigns and undertook 648 such meetings in the year ended June 2025, a rise of 36 percent from 476 a year earlier.

The take-home pay by domestic workers in Kenya almost doubled over the past decade, growing 75.7 percent from Sh51.3 billion in 2015 to Sh90.2 billion last year, new data shows.

Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) represent households directly paying wages and allowances to domestic staff and other support workers, highlighting enhanced shifts in social and economic patterns.

KNBS equates the Sh90.2 billion to 0.6 percent of the value of Kenya’s economy as at the close of 2024.

Household-paid labour includes roles carried out by nannies, cooks, cleaners, personal care assistants, and other staff hired directly by families for daily tasks.

Elderly care is a growing category, as families engage caregivers to assist ageing household members with daily activities, health monitoring, and companionship.

Temporary and casual work also forms part of household-paid labour, with families employing staff for short-term maintenance, errands, or event-related services.

Most of these arrangements remain informal, with payments made in cash and without formal contracts or statutory contributions.

KNBS data shows that the growth in the value has been steady, with household employment consistently rising each year between 2015 and 2024.

Household employment has become a measurable contributor to economic activity, representing demand for services that are not captured in formal enterprises or traditional employment data.

Growth in household employment is partly linked to increased participation of women in the formal workforce, creating demand for paid domestic support.

Technological platforms and online marketplaces have further facilitated household hiring by connecting families with available workers for flexible, short-term, or recurring tasks.

Despite its growth, however, household-paid labour largely escapes formal regulation, leaving workers without social protection and statutory benefits such as leave or health coverage. Its informal nature also creates tax gaps, as paid wages are seldom captured in conventional tax monitoring, limiting the government’s view of the sector’s economic footprint.

While KNBS captures the financial value of wages paid by households, an earlier report by the national statistician had pegged the value of unpaid domestic work done by Kenyans at Sh2.423 trillion, with women putting in Sh1.9 trillion worth of labour, as men contributed Sh353.9 billion.

According to the study, each Kenyan woman performs unpaid work valued at Sh118,845 per year, while each man’s worth of this work is valued at Sh22,676 per year.

This means women’s unpaid labour amounts to more than five times the collective Sh2.423 trillion annual unpaid domestic and care work, underlining the disproportionate burden of care and domestic responsibilities borne by women.

The report identifies food and meals management and preparation as the single most valuable category of unpaid work for women in Kenya at Sh1.073 trillion from 14.7 billion hours compared to men’s Sh157 billion courtesy of 2.1 billion hours.

The second most valuable form of unpaid work was caring and maintenance of textiles and footwear, where women’s unpaid work was valued at Sh295.98 billion compared with men’s Sh55.33 billion.

Cleaning and maintaining the home and its surroundings was the third highest unpaid work for women at Sh192.92 billion, while that of men was Sh48.17 billion.

Caring for children, including feeding, cleaning, and physical care, came fourth with women at Sh176.83 billion and men at Sh7.12 billion.

Rounding out the top five categories was shopping for household and family members, where women devoted hours valued at Sh65.58 billion compared with men’s Sh27.64 billion.