Category: Business Daily

Willis Evans Otieno, a partner at Otieno Ogola and Company Advocates, describes Alego as the promised land. Here, the man he is, goes to meet the boy he was. In Alego, he is not the man filing a legal suit here, chasing a client there, or with political leanings. ‘When I am in Alego,’ he says, ‘I am in basic mode.’

It reminds him of the old days when everything worked. Garbage collection. Tight security. Communal upbringing. Everything worked, until it didn’t. He moved to Nairobi to have a chance at that thing called success.

In Nairobi, he owns a three-legged beaded stool, a totem of power passed down from his paterfamilias. On this stool, he channels his ancestors and bemoans first the dearth, then the death of good manners in society. From it, he also conjures up an elderly sage, frothing with wisdom from the tweeting gods of Alego – where, he believes, the Garden of Eden will one day descend. He hopes to be its chosen gardener.

Mr Willis, what makes you, you?

Authenticity. I believe that the most important thing in a person’s life is to identify why they were born, and the submission of that to me is that we are here to fulfil the will of God, in service to God and humanity.

My path is law, and I must apply it to serve humanity to the glory of God, and I am not being a typical Bible-wielding politician. I’m here by the grace of God, and that’s shaped my path to date.

What question are you trying to answer with your life?

Service. Why do you exist in the first place? You cannot say that you are born to enjoy life, live a good life at the expense of others. You are born to serve the fulfilment of the glory of God.

What do you think is your greatest virtue?

Honesty. I’m authentic. I don’t lie.

What is a uniquely personal struggle you’re fighting?

Hypocrisy, and how to learn to live with hypocrites. You must accept that you live in a society that not everybody ascribes to the views or the values that you have. And you must coexist with them. And sometimes I have to accommodate and respect authority views that don’t hold the same values that I do.

Isn’t that just human nature?

It’s not human nature. I don’t believe that humans are bad people. For instance, a child doesn’t know anything about colour, race or tribe. When they meet us, they relate in a very humane way. So innate in the human, I believe, is good. But then the social construct has been that as a man grows, he’s deconstructed, taking him away from his innate value. Selfishness, greed, hypocrisy, lying. These are not innate human traits.

Can you legislate good manners?

You cannot. Good manners can only be taught and educated. And that is one thing that is lacking in our country. Greed has superseded everything. Basic courtesy, someone wants to join the road, and you’re on the main road, but you don’t allow them to pass. You may be right legally, but morally you’re wrong.

What do we need to know about how you grew up to understand the man you now are?

I grew up in a basic household, surrounded by love from my family and community. There was no demarcation about which child was from which home; we were just all children playing together, eating together, and we’d watch television, about 30 children in a small room [chuckles].

But we would all fit watching the soap operas and Indian movies. We felt that we were one happy community, not haunted by negative, toxic ethnicity or politics.

It only became political after the Structural Adjustment Programmes, when many people started losing jobs and families started breaking down.

Before then, it had been a functional society: you had security, cleaners in the estates, provided by the government. Garbage was collected every two days by the municipal council. There was a community centre, a social hub, where we would go to watch TV. It was joy, bliss. Now we have children living in high-rise apartments who, if lucky, may have their parents take them to a shopping mall to play at the weekend

You have become quite popular on social media thanks to your X (formerly Twitter) dress downs, but also offline in your courtroom battles. Do people act differently around you?

I wouldn’t say people act differently. The majority of the people, when I’m in a public space, walk up to me and say they love my zeal and that I should not tire of fighting for us. Many Kenyans innately want the common good; they have just been forced to accept this mediocrity. Now I restrict my public appearances because it can be quite overwhelming. As an optimist, I believe in the inherent good of man, and it only takes a few good men who speak, and then you’ll see the majority join in.

Have you watched the movie A Few Good Men?

Yes, of course, many years back [chuckles].

How do you take care of yourself as a man and reward yourself? The best reward I give myself is to go to Alego, the land of paradise, where the Garden of Eden will land, haha!

That’s where my home is. In Alego, I keep a few animals, birds, ferocious dogs, et al. It is green, serene and quiet, and all I do is sleep, walk my dogs, and think of the welfare of my dogs and plants. Basic engagement is the ultimate therapy. I try to go at least once a month, but sometimes every three months, depending on my schedule.

What has this done for your life?

It makes me appreciate the beauty around me, which you sometimes don’t even notice when you’re too busy. As a person, your mind is a scatterbrain. You don’t focus on anything in particular. But taking time out and pulling back from your daily hassles, just to be basic, is important. The hardest conversation I have there is maybe talking to a neighbour and hearing about a bullfight the previous evening.

What would you say is the greatest blessing of your life?

God giving me a platform to be his vessel. To fulfil His will. He has given me a family. Some people take that for granted. To have your parents is a blessing, a wife, and you have an immediate social comfort from people who look at you as one of them.

Your father?

My father passed away at 80 years old this year. I thank God for the period we spent together.

Are you a father yourself?

I’m a father of many [laughs].

That’s a typical political answer.

I’m the one in the public space, not my family members. I take it as unfair if I expose them to what I chose for myself. But when they want to come, I say, ‘Come’. Because we must learn one thing, that some of the bad habits you see in the public space are children and family members who feel entitled. If you want it, create your own path. I believe family should stay as a family, and if you are coming to the front, come as a politician, and we will meet as thus.

What has being a father helped you understand about being a son?

Being present, that’s the most important thing; it’s about presence. This is not about just material goods, but being around. You get to learn more in life just by being around these old folks, for they are the encyclopaedia of experience. I have learned more about the Luos from my father than I have read in any book-and I have read many books.

What’s an item you have that reminds you of your father?

A three-legged beaded stool, which I keep proudly in my house. No one can sit on that stool [chuckles].

Do you declare family decrees on that stool?

Haha! No, I sit on that stool when I want to be in sync with my ancestors. I don’t use it as a symbol of authority to dictate, but understanding that I am here now, and that I will also hand over that stool to the next generation.

Willis, what is the strangest thing you have done for love?

[chuckles] My wife says that the first time we started talking, I told her I had to marry her. We spoke for almost four hours, and she said I was very spooky, but look at her now, where is she? Haha!

Four hours. Must have been quite the conversation.

Haha! I had come from abroad, and it was only the second time we had spoken. I called her just after I disembarked. I went through immigration and took a cab to my house in Lang’ata, all while still on the phone – there was no expressway or Southern Bypass. We spoke for almost the whole afternoon and I only disconnected the call at around 6.30 pm to make dinner [chuckles].

I asked her what she remembers from that call, and she said I said, ‘I want to marry you’.

What makes a good husband?

Just respect your wife.

What has been your biggest fashion crime today?

I used to mix and match my agbadas at university – those Nigerian outfits – and I would wear them to class in Moi University, haha! People on campus found me very strange.

Did it come with the accent, too?

Haha! No, just the looks [chuckles].

What makes someone memorable?

The impact. What feeling do you invoke in somebody? I hope that for me, that should be one of service. If they feel that I am serving them, not leading them or lawyering them.

Nigeria’s second-largest bank by asset base and market capitalisation, Zenith Bank, is seeking to acquire Kenya’s Paramount Bank and has sought regulatory approval to proceed with the transaction.

Zenith’s plan to enter the East African market through an acquisition in Kenya was reported earlier, but the target bank was not identified.

The Business Daily has now confirmed that Zenith is at an advanced stage of securing the regulators’ approval to complete the acquisition of Paramount Bank.

It is keen to conclude the deal in January, should it be approved. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Paramount Bank closed 2024 with a net profit of Sh339.9 million, up from Sh294.8 million reported the year before. The bank’s total assets stood at Sh15.9 billion while the loan book was at Sh9.4 billion in the review period.

With an asset base of Sh2.68 trillion, Zenith is bigger than Kenya’s two largest banks, KCB Group and Equity, whose assets stand at Sh1.96 trillion and Sh1.8 trillion, respectively.

It joins a growing list of Nigerian lenders trying to find new avenues to grow and diversify their regional footprint after slow economic growth at home.

The transaction is the latest in Kenya’s banking sector, where a tenfold increase in the minimum core capital requirements for commercial banks to Sh10 billion is expected to trigger deals and tie-ups.

“It’s a brownfield market entry; we are trying to acquire a bank,” a top official from Zenith, who sought anonymity owing to non-disclosure agreements relating to the transaction, told the Business Daily.

“We are at an advanced stage on the way to regulatory approval because when you are buying a financial institution in any country, both the regulators from the acquirer and the target jurisdictions must approve. If we had our way, we’d be at Kenya’s doorstep by January 1, 2026.”

Paramount Bank started operations in 1993 as Combined Finance Ltd, which was a non-banking financial institution, before expanding its range of services to become a fully-fledged commercial bank in 1995. In 2000, Combined Finance Ltd merged with Universal Bank Ltd, setting the stage for its transition to Paramount Bank in 2005. Paramount Bank operates eight branches across the country.

As at the close of December 2024, Paramount Bank’s core capital stood at Sh2.67 billion, making it one of the banks whose recapitalisation plans the market would be keeping a close eye on, given the progressive upgrade of minimum core capital requirements over the next five years.

The minimum core capital in the banking sector was, through the Business Laws (Amendment) Act 2024, revised upward from Sh1 billion to Sh3 billion by the end of December, Sh5 billion by the close of 2026, Sh6 billion by the end of 2027, Sh8 billion in 2028 and Sh10 billion by the close of 2029.

In its 2024 annual report, Paramount Bank had informed shareholders of its plans to build up core capital in line with the new prudential guidelines prescribed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

“In line with the Central Bank of Kenya’s directive on progressive buildup of minimum core capital to Sh10 billion by December 31st, 2029, Paramount Bank Ltd remains committed to aligning its capital base with the regulatory trajectory. Paramount Bank Ltd is strategically preparing for this transition through prudent earnings retention policies, capital conservation buffers, and measures growth of risk-weighted assets,” the bank stated in the annual report.

Zenith’s planned acquisition in Kenya comes at a time when the bank has recently concluded its latest cash call through a combination of a rights issue and a public offer.

Through disclosures made on January 26, 2025, Zenith announced that it had raised Sh29.49 billion through a rights issue that saw it float an additional 5.23 billion ordinary shares to existing shareholders and a public offer, which saw it float 2.77 billion shares targeting new shareholders.

“The public offer was 160.47 percent oversubscribed with a total of 4,440,587,250 ordinary shares allotted based on the terms of the offer and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Capital Verification Exercise. The rights issue was also 100.18 percent subscribed with a total of 5,232,748,964 ordinary shares allotted,” Zenith said in a statement.

Zenith Bank says its entry into Kenya will aim at serving the entire spectrum of the market.

“Zenith Bank traditionally serves all the segments -corporate, retail and public. We intend to continue to pursue this strategy in the markets we go to,” the bank’s top official told the Business Daily.

If the acquisition is successful, Zenith will be the fourth Nigerian bank to enter the Kenyan market, joining United Bank of Africa, which entered the market in 2009 through greenfield operations.

Guaranty Trust Bank entered the market in 2013 through the acquisition of Fina Bank Group, while Access Bank bought Transnational Bank in 2020.

Access Bank has since consolidated its position in the Kenyan market even further following the acquisition of National Bank of Kenya from KCB Group in a deal that was concluded on April 14, 2025, after a prolonged wait.

On March 23, 2025, Ecobank became the first lender to disclose capital injection given the enhanced core capital requirements in Kenya, with the Togo-based parent entity, Ecobank Transnational, pumping in $27 million (Sh3.5 billion), shoring up the Kenyan subsidiary’s total capital to Sh8.5 billion.

Banks that have indicated they are exploring alternative capital raising plans include Family Bank, which is expected to go public by listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 2026, coming on the back of a rights issue in 2023.

The CBK also lifted the decade-long moratorium on licensing of new banks, effective July 1, 2025, a pointer to the regulator’s bid to welcome new entrants into the playing field.

At just 40, Edhah Nahdi, the Tanzanian businessman behind the recent takeover of East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), already has the demeanor of an older billionaire who understands the limits of wealth and the preciousness of time.

Even after clinching two mega deals in the lucrative cement sector in under a year, boosting his net worth in the process, the founder of the Tanzanian conglomerate Amsons Group still downplays his riches, brushing off the ‘tycoon’ label as nothing more than a media exaggeration.

‘Honestly, this wasn’t my expectation, and as you know, the media often creates its own narrative,’ Mr Nahdi says in a written response about being labeled a tycoon in headlines. “I am just a simple businessman with a vision of making an input in prospecting economic growth for self as well as empowering others,” adds Mr Nahdi.

Setting aside any modesty, Mr Nahdi is undoubtedly wealthy. His fortune straddles transportation, cement, energy, and milling, which he has been tapping into to cut major deals around the region.

Last week, Amsons’ subsidiary Kalahari Cement Limited completed the buyout of a 29.2 percent stake in EAPCC, valued at Sh718.66 million, from Swiss multinational Holcim.

The deal comes hardly a year after Amsons completed the full acquisition of Bamburi Cement in December for Sh23.6 billion, cementing its hold on Kenya’s cement market.

With Bamburi already holding 12.5 percent of EAPCC, Amsons will become the single largest shareholder with a 41.75 percent stake – a move that sparked concerns among lawmakers, who even threatened to veto the deal.

Kalahari Cement is controlled by Nahdi through his wholly owned Mauritius-based investment companies – Pacific Cement (90 percent) and Comercio Et Consiel (10 percent).

In Bamburi, his stake is held through an investment vehicle called Amsons Industries Kenya.

The ownership in EAPCC will effectively give companies controlled by Mr Nahdi, the muscle to access strategic information in two of Kenya’s top cement firms, which together account for 31 percent of the country’s production capacity of 14.5 million tonnes per annum, raising anti-trust concerns alluded to by lawmakers.

The double acquisition, valued at a combined $186.6 million (Sh24.1 billion), makes him the leading Tanzanian investor in Kenya.

With the acquisition, he stretches his lead against Rostam Aziz, another Tanzanian tycoon, who is building a 30,000-tonne cooking gas plant and storage facilities at the port of Mombasa, worth $120 million (Sh15.5 billion).

Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in capital flow from Tanzania into Kenya – an irony that will not be lost on historians, given Tanzania’s socialist, or ujamaa, legacy.

At one point, Dar es Salaam’s socialist architecture clashed with Nairobi’s unbridled capitalism, with founding father Julius Nyerere famously describing it as a ‘man-eat-man society’ (Nairobi countered by describing Tanzania as a ‘society-eat-man society’).

But this appears to have changed, as Tanzania moved away from Nyerere’s command economy and gradually embraced a free-market model, minting billionaires such as Mr Nahdi in the process.

Today, these wealthy entrepreneurs are flocking to Nairobi, the region’s undisputed hub of capitalism.

‘The answer is simple: Capital follows opportunity, and of course good political relations tend to foster economic and social growth,’ says Mr Nahdi, noting that Kenya’s President William Ruto and his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu have worked very hard to inspire confidence for bilateral investments.

‘Many Tanzanian investors are exploring local operations, and the same is true about Kenyan investors exploring opportunities in Tanzania,’ he adds.

Following President Samia’s Nairobi visit in May 2021, Kenya and Tanzania would later resolve several restrictive regulations that had impeded trade between the two countries, according to a report by the National Treasury.

Mr Nahdi notes that last year, within the African continent, Tanzania was Kenya’s second most important import goods country of origin at Sh58.7 billion, just a slot after South Africa, which was a source of imported goods valued at Sh64.3 billion.

Kenya’s exports to Tanzania dropped marginally to Sh67.2 billion in 2024 from Sh69.2 billion a year earlier, with only Uganda being a bigger market for Kenyan goods at Sh125.9 billion.

The flow of goods between the two countries might have recently been impeded by post-election violence in Tanzania, but it could not stop capital movement from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, as Kalahari Cement Limited completed the EAPCC buyout on July 31, 2025.

‘Kenya has always focused to the West and East for sizeable FDI (foreign direct investment) flows and perhaps tended to overlook the neighbouring countries,’ says Mr Nahdi.

‘It is now clear that FDI receipts can also be sourced from our neighbours, particularly Tanzania,’ he adds, urging Kenyan conglomerates to emulate the Amsons Group and plunge into the Tanzanian market.

But he is challenging Kenyan investors to go beyond the usual food imports and exports of soap and medicaments. To most Kenyans, cement might be the most visible money-minter, but Mr Nahdi’s treasure trove runs much deeper. In fact, cement is a relatively late addition to Amsons’ stable.

Mr Nahdi got his start in business in the transportation sector at just 19, immediately after finishing high school in Egypt. He started with 20 trucks, and he has since grown this into a fleet of around 800 trucks, which move goods such as cement, construction materials, fuel, and industrial products within and across countries in East and Southern Africa.

In 2006, Amsons unveiled Camel Oil, its flagship petroleum company. Camel Oil started out as a bulk importer of oil and petroleum products but has since evolved into a full-fledged energy company.

In addition to importing petroleum products, Amsons Group deals in fuel, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The group operates fuel depots across several countries, including Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, and the DRC, supported by a network of over 150 retail stations.

The group’s portfolio extends to a 500 tonnes-per-day wheat flour milling plant, a premix concrete facility, and a network of inland container depots.

But it was in 2012 that Amsons made a bold move into the cement sector, acquiring a 600 tonnes-per-day local grinding plant – a facility they have since expanded into a 2,400 MT-per-day factory.

Since then, they have aggressively grown their cement portfolio, acquiring, in addition to Bamburi and EAPCC in Kenya, Mbeya Cement in Tanzania.

As busy as he might be overseeing this commercial juggernaut, he is quick to note that he has worked out his work-life balance nicely.

‘While I prefer to keep details about my immediate family private, I can tell you that my personal commitments are important priorities that I take very seriously,’ says Mr Nahdi.

In Kenya, Amsons’ investment appetite has been fueled by what Mr Nahdi calls the country’s ‘very vibrant economic market, with one of the fastest-growing building and construction sectors.’

‘The addressable market for quality cement production [in Kenya] is large, and there is abundant quality raw material locally,’ he explains.

Kenyan lawmakers’ fierce resistance is just a prelude to the cutthroat struggle that awaits Amsons, in a cement sector controlled by steel magnate Narendra Raval of the Devki Group.

Devki Group, through the Athi River-based National Cement, has the largest limestone deposits, the main material for clinker production. Clinker is the main raw material for cement production. Other local cement companies include Mombasa Cement, Rai Cement, Savannah Cement, Ndovu Cement and Riftcot Limited.

Asked if the prolonged parliamentary review of his EAPCC acquisition was merely bureaucratic red tape impeding investment, or a vital safeguard for Kenya’s economic interests, Mr Nahdi responds: ‘I’d prefer to reserve my comments for my autobiography, which I may end up penning in a few years to come, God willing.’

During the period from July to October 2025, Kenya’s Treasury bond auctions attracted Sh832 billion bids against the advertised Sh300 billion, reflecting a remarkable performance of 277 percent, with the National Treasury accepting Sh490 billion bids.

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As a result, the net cumulative borrowing from the domestic market as at October 27, 2025, was estimated at Sh399 billion, representing over 63 percent of the fiscal year’s target of Sh634.75 billion.

This reflects investor confidence in long-term government bonds and the depth of the domestic debt market and reaffirms government’s economic stewardship and fiscal reform agenda.

The Infrastructure Bond issuance in August 2025 comprising of 7.5-year and 15.6-year papers was oversubscribed, receiving Sh530 billion bids against Sh140 billion offered, raising Sh272 billion in gross borrowing.

This was the largest bond issuance in the first quarter of the fiscal year. Another key highlight was the October 2025 bond auction which was subscribed at 237 percent, receiving Sh119 billion bids against Sh50 billion offered, with Sh85 billion raised in gross borrowing.

Beyond the impressive performance, this outcome speaks to the resilience of our domestic capital markets and the credibility of the macroeconomic framework the government has pursued over the past few years. It also reflects the success of policy efforts to stabilise the economy, entrench fiscal discipline, and strengthen Kenya’s position as an attractive destination for both local and foreign investment.

The appetite for long-term government securities is, above all, a vote of confidence in the predictability and coherence of our policies. It demonstrates the investors’ recognition of the impact of structural reforms aimed at deepening the domestic market, consolidating public finances, and streamlining expenditure.

The government has intentionally recalibrated the borrowing strategy, inclining toward the domestic market, a prudent shift designed to mitigate exposure to global interest rate volatility and exchange rate exposure shocks.

This approach ensures that local savings are channeled into financing local development, reinforcing the philosophy of ‘Kenyans funding Kenya’s future’ while simultaneously enhancing liquidity within the domestic financial system.

Mobilising domestic resources is more than a fiscal necessity; it is an instrument of national empowerment. By investing in government securities, both institutional and individual investors become active participants in advancing Kenya’s development agenda.

Each purchase contributes directly to financing critical infrastructure, roads, energy, water, and social services, while each shilling invested locally circulates within the economy, deepening financial markets, strengthening institutions, and expanding opportunities for citizens and enterprises alike.

The Treasury remains committed to preserving macroeconomic stability. Our priorities are clear: to maintain inflation within target, ensure a predictable fiscal trajectory, and promote an environment conducive to private sector growth.

To further sustain investor confidence, we continue to enhance transparency and predictability in our bond issuance programme. In collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya, we are improving auction scheduling, expanding retail investor participation through digital platforms, and ensuring timely dissemination of market information, including regular publication of our borrowing plan.

At the same time, we are implementing the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS), which carefully balances the country’s financing needs with long-term debt sustainability. The overarching objective is to guarantee that Kenya continues to meet its obligations comfortably while directing resources toward high-impact, growth-enhancing investments.

The oversubscription of the treasury bonds is therefore a reminder that Kenyans have a central role to play in financing the nation’s development ambitions. It exemplifies a partnership anchored on trust, transparency, and shared responsibility.

Commercial banks have raised the cash holdings on their books to record levels amid slow growth in lending to the private sector, in a tough economy where businesses and individuals have struggled to service loans.

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that the average liquidity ratio for commercial banks stood at 59.8 percent at the end of August-up from 54.3 percent a year earlier-, the highest recorded and against a regulatory requirement of 20 percent.

The liquidity ratio captures the amount of cash or near cash assets held by banks in comparison to their short term deposits – reflecting how efficiently a bank is deploying customer savings to make profits. The growing cash pile therefore shows that banks have been slow to convert deposits from customers to loans, with the ratio of loans to deposit shrinking to 71 percent compared to averages of over 85 percent in the pre-Covid-19 period.

The slowdown follows cautious lending by banks due to high defaults by businesses and individuals, with the stock of bad loans hitting a record Sh731.8 billion, or 17.6 percent of the total loans issued as at August.

Equity Bank Kenya, which released its third quarter results at the end of last month, had a liquidity ratio of 78.4 percent, with management stating it was seeking to issue more loans.

‘It’s a flat balance sheet reflecting the environment. We are trying very hard to give loans,’ said Equity Group Chief Executive James Mwangi during an investor briefing on October 28.

‘We have this Sh1 trillion shillings (in deposits) and if you look at our lending, we are lending only Sh400 billion, so we are left with Sh600 billion. I want to appeal to Kenyans that we understand the environment but there is hope (come borrow),’ he added.

Cooperative Bank of Kenya, in its quarter three financials published on Sunday, disclosed a liquidity ratio of 59.3 percent, with a loan book of Sh381.9 billion against a deposit base of Sh511.4 billion.

Banks held Sh5.89 trillion in customer deposits in August while loans issued were Sh4.16 trillion. The industry loan book grew by three percent in the year to August while deposit grew at a faster pace of 4.7 percent leading to higher liquidity levels.

CBK has been pressuring banks to lower their interest rates so as to spur private sector lending which would trigger economic expansion. Slow credit growth has been a major concern of CBK’s monetary policy making committee for the last year which has seen it take diverse actions to push banks to lending more. ‘Average lending rates in the domestic market have continued to decline, while private sector credit growth has continued to improve, though at a slower pace than desirable,’ said the Monetary Policy Committee after its latest meeting on October 7.

CBK Governor Kamau Thugge also called on banks to stop making excuses and pass on the benefit of the monetary policy decisions to the public through lower interest rates.

Banks were charging an average interest rate of 15.07 percent for loans at the end of September, having dropped from 17.22 percent at the beginning of the year.

The decline tracked the CBK’s eight consecutive rate cuts that have brought the base rate to the current 9.25 percent from 13 percent in August 2024.

Businesses have also been shelving borrowing plans due to high interest rates charged by banks, hence the pressure from the CBK to banks to lower their loan prices.

At the same time, banks have had the alternative option of taking up risk free lending to government via bonds and Treasury bills, shielding themselves from losses due to the elevated default rate on customer loans.

‘The high ratio is partly due to banks having parked most of their funds in government securities -and other highly liquid assets – with asset quality concerns leading to cautious lending,’ said Melodie Ndanu, an analyst at Standard Investment Bank.

‘In addition, the CBK put in place measures to spur lending to the private sector earlier in the year, for example the reduction of the cash reserve ratio, which helped free up liquidity,’ she said.

CBK reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio for commercial banks to 3.25 percent from 4.25 percent in February a move that released an additional liquidity of Sh35.2 billion for banks to on lend but which is yet to flow into the economy.

The National Treasury has also been paying up pending bills which were main contributors to the piling bad loans. Contractors owed by national and county government were some of the main defaulters as they awaited pay to clear their loans.

For the banks however, keeping high liquidity in hand and piling cash into government securities risks sacrificing profit opportunities as customer loans earn them more than bonds and T-bills.

Banks profits in the eight months to August 2025 grew 12.3 percent compared to Sh203.4 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2024. The profit growth reflected wider interest margins as cost of deposits fell faster than the price of loans.

The difference between what banks charge for loans and pay deposits has hit its highest level in nine years at 7.44 percentage points allowing banks to post profit growth despite stunted balance sheets.

Banks have also been aggressive in collecting from defaulters with increased legal and auctioneering cases with such collections being write backs to their profit and loss accounts.

After every meal, most people often reach for a toothpick to dislodge bits of food stuck between their teeth. It feels satisfying, almost like the final step of enjoying a good meal. But dentists warn that this simple habit, when done every day, can gradually damage the gums and change the shape of your smile.

Dr Serah Wanza, a dentist at Versatile Dental Solutions, says that frequent toothpick use puts pressure on the gums and, over time, can cause microtrauma that leads to inflammation and gum recession. Additionally, repeated use of toothpicks can create gaps between the teeth.

So, how does the recession happen?

“It’s not that the toothpick is pushing the teeth apart,” Dr Wanza explains. “It’s the gum tissue shrinking away because of repeated irritation and micro-injury.”

As a result, gum recession develops, and before long, the triangular space between the teeth, from the point where they touch down to the level of the bone, which should be filled with healthy gum, becomes exposed.

In a healthy mouth, that space is naturally occupied by gum tissue known as the interdental papilla. When it recedes, it creates what dentists call “black triangles,” the dark gaps that appear between teeth as the gums pull back.

While it is normal for bits of food to get pushed into the spaces between your teeth as you chew, the tongue and cheeks can push even more debris into those gaps, making it more noticeable if there is the slightest opening.

Can toothpicks cause infections?

“Yes, they can when the packaging is not individual and handling not hygienic. Secondly, when the wooden fragment fractures and is left in the interdental space, the body views it as a foreign body and inflammation ensues as a defence mechanism, and if unaddressed, it can progress to an infection.”

The correct way to use a toothpick, according to Dr Wanza, is to do it in front of a mirror, where you can see what you are doing and you are not blindly poking your gums.

“You approach the tooth gently and parallel to the surface of the tooth, not downward into the gum. The goal is to lift the food out, not push anything in,” she adds.

Is flossing any better?

When comparing a toothpick to dental floss, the main difference lies in what each can reach. Dr Wanza says, “A toothpick is thick, and it mostly just cleans the surface between the teeth, but if anything is sitting slightly under the gum, the toothpick can’t really reach that. You can actually press the food even further under the gum instead of removing it.”

String flossing, she adds, is definitely better than toothpicks, mainly because the latter cause gum recession over time. “You get the real benefits of flossing only if you do it consistently and correctly,” Dr Wanza says.

“The proper technique involves letting the dental floss hug the surface of the tooth in a C-shaped curve. That way, the floss actually wraps around the tooth and can reach just below the gumline, where plaque and bacteria accumulate. Simply sliding floss up and down without that curve won’t remove all the buildup.”

Other than dental floss, Dr Wanza says there are also water flossers and interdental brushes that can help clean between the teeth.

“Interdental brushes are useful in certain cases, but I generally do not recommend them for people whose teeth are tightly spaced, because they may not fit properly and could injure the gums,” she says.

For people with crowded teeth, a combination of water flossers and string floss is the best way forward. The biggest challenge with flossing, Dr Wanza says, is inconsistency and incorrect technique. “I recommend flossing at least once daily in the evening.”

Esther Shisoka has an unmistakable magnetism that makes you pause mid-sentence when you first meet her. It lies in her warmth and charm, and in the quiet confidence that seems to radiate effortlessly from deep within her. Perhaps it is a glow honed over decades of doing humanitarian work around the world, touching lives and gathering wisdom.

When we meet on a crisp morning at a gym on Kiambu Road, she has already been working out for half an hour. It’s 7.30 am. She is wearing a red bandana and is drenched in sweat, smiling as if the session were a leisurely stroll rather than the gruelling routine her coach, Sophie, has put her on.

‘How old do you think I am?’ she asks, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she meets my curious gaze.

‘Fifty. at most,’ I say.

She bursts into laughter. ‘People have given me even less than that,’ she fires back.

It’s hard to argue with that. At 62, Esther looks as though she has managed to turn back time.

‘I still look pretty, don’t I?’ she teases.

For Esther, fitness isn’t a New Year’s resolution or a vanity project undertaken in a midlife panic. It’s woven into the fabric of who she is. Movement has never been a hobby for her, but a way of life.

She has been active since childhood, and though life has presented her with familiar challenges – career, motherhood, changing priorities and an evolving body – she has never wavered in her commitment to staying fit.

“I’ve been active all my life, since I was a young child,” she explains, between sets of a full-body workout.

“But of course, as you get older, a lot changes. Life gets in the way, there’s the job, the family. As a woman, your body transforms with time. But even then, I’ve always found ways to ensure I’m consistently working out.”

Her humanitarian work is a passion that she has pursued for years and it demands extensive travel. She spends weeks or even months in different countries, addressing crises, building programmes and changing systems. It’s the kind of schedule that would give most people her age, or even younger, a convenient excuse to abandon their fitness routines.

Not Esther, though.

“Even when I’m away on such trips, I will always find ways to stay active. Who says I can’t stay pretty at 62?” She dissolves again into her signature laughter.

Back surgery

But beneath the hearty laughter and easy smiles lies a more complex story. Even as she pumps iron with focused determination and admirable precision, a nagging, often excruciating pain courses through her back. This is evident in the slight wince between reps, the momentary pause before lifting, and the careful adjustment of posture.

“My threshold for pain is quite high, so I tend to ignore a lot of stuff. I began feeling it (the back pain) about three years ago and assumed it would go away over time, but it didn’t. The pain would come and go. However, with time, it got so much worse, so excruciatingly painful that sometimes I couldn’t walk or sleep well.”

Last year, she finally decided to seek answers.

‘The MRI scan revealed that one of my spinal discs had moved out of position.’

When the misaligned disc presses against her sciatic nerve, the pain travels from her lower back to her hip and down her knee. ‘Some days can be really painful,’ she admits.

So why does she keep lifting weights? Why maintain such an active routine while dealing with an injury that would stop most people in their tracks?

Esther smiles, revealing both defiance and discipline.

‘That’s why I have coach Sophie with me. She guides me and makes sure I don’t do anything that can make it worse. But I can’t just sit and do nothing. That’s not me.’

Surgery is her only remaining option after physiotherapy and chiropractic sessions failed to help, and it has already been scheduled for January.

Until then, she is simply adjusting her workouts, keeping them lighter but refusing to stop altogether.

Given her lifelong level of activity, her doctor is confident that she’ll be back on her feet within a month of the operation. Esther can’t wait.

The injury has slowed her progress, limiting the targets she has set for her body. She misses her former stamina and the intense, unrestrained challenges she once set herself.

The irony of her injury isn’t lost on her. The very activity that defined her vitality for years is what caused this setback. According to her doctor, the displaced disc stems from decades of intense running.

“I used to do lots of running and half marathons. I would clock probably 100 kilometres every week,” she recalls.

“The doctor says the movement of the disc was a result of the constant impact of my leg hitting the pavement during all those years of running.”

Each chapter of Esther’s fitness journey reveals another dimension of her athletic past.

“That’s why I tell you, it would be torture for someone to ask me to pause from exercising because of the back issue. You know, when I started, I used to do track and field, play field hockey, and then run. In between all that, I also trained in karate.”

The karate story

“That phase kind of ended when I was about to get my black belt because I was moving to another continent,” she says with a hint of regret.

“But I can tell you, with karate it’s like riding a bicycle: Once you learn it, you never forget the moves. If you don’t ride for a while, when you get on, you might wobble, but the groove doesn’t take long to get back. The same applies to karate.”

Those three years of karate training were transformative. They sharpened her reflexes, strengthened her mobility and taught her the kind of discipline that still anchors her today, even in times of pain.

Watching her perform a knee plank – balancing gracefully on one knee with the other leg suspended in the air while holding a dumbbell steady with one arm – makes her point immediately clear.

Even at 62, Esther plans to return to karate, but this will depend on her recovery after surgery.

Watch what you eat

Once the weights have been racked and the sweat has been towelled away, Esther’s discipline extends to her home.

She is intentional about what she puts on her plate, a commitment she believes is especially crucial for women navigating their menopausal years.

‘As you age, your metabolism slows down. Exercise helps, yes, but it can only do so much when age is working against you. That’s why I’m very cautious about what I eat,’ she says.

She speaks candidly about menopause – another chapter of change that is often unspoken of yet deeply felt.

‘Women my age go through hormonal shifts that can be so unpleasant, the hot flashes, mood swings, sweating, and sleepless nights. Exercise helps, but diet is key. Hormones are triggered by what we eat, so you have to feed your body nutrient-rich foods to help keep them in balance.’

For Esther, that balance comes through a simple routine. She practises OMAD (one meal a day), often enjoying a clean, wholesome plate of chicken or fish paired with a bowl of homemade vegetable salad, which she eats later in the day.

‘I’ve never had a sweet tooth. I don’t take sugar at all. Even my white tea is sugarless. I also try hard to stay away from wheat and any processed foods.’

KCB Group has started auctioning assets of former Spencon Kenya Limited directors to recover a Sh1.35 billion loan, drawing to a close years of legal disputes with the Moi-era construction powerhouse that collapsed.

Legacy Auctioneering Services, the firm overseeing the auction, has put up for sale three properties comprising developed and undeveloped land located in Nairobi’s Runda, Thigiri and Embakasi estates. The auction is set for November 25, 2025.

Spencon was founded in 1979 and rose over time, executing more than 200 infrastructure projects across eastern and southern Africa, before falling into administration in 2017 after years of financial trouble.

The assets on auction belong to former directors of Spencon who had guaranteed the firm a Sh871.27 million loan that grew to Sh1.35 billion. The construction firm, which was prominent during the reign of President Daniel Moi, defaulted on the loan and was placed under administration.

The default triggered a lawsuit in which KCB sought to auction the assets that the directors had used as security for the firm’s loan. The bank has now moved to auction the properties amid pushback from the directors.

US investment firm Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), which in 2006 and 2007 invested a total of $15 million in Spencon – including $1.5 million of British government aid money – attempted to rescue the company but failed.

Around 2015, ECP appointed two Britons, Andrew Ross and Steven Haswell, to lead the turnaround, but the rescue effort was unsuccessful, with the duo exiting amid suspicion that they had colluded to sink the firm further.

The Runda property to be auctioned by KCB is an undeveloped parcel measuring 0.9956 acres and is registered in the names of Raveen Prakash Sharma and Jatendra Chotabhai Patel – both shareholders and directors of Spencon.

The Thigiri assets comprise two vacant plots measuring 0.5668 and 0.4722 acres, respectively, held by Aviaspen Kenya Limited.

In Embakasi, the auction includes two parcels of 0.9884 acres each, hosting a plastic recycling plant and a go-down. The land is registered in the name of Rex Developers Limited. Ashutosh Sharma is the director of both Aviaspen and Rex.

Spencon defaulted on the loan, prompting KCB to issue statutory notices to the firm and its directors – who had guaranteed the facility – demanding repayment of Sh871.27 million.

The directors moved to court and secured orders restraining KCB from auctioning the properties used as security. They argued that, having exited the company, they should be discharged from the guarantees, since the properties were pledged in their personal capacity as third-party securities.

The directors lost the suit in October last year, with the court granting KCB the right to proceed with the sale of the properties. However, they obtained an injunction stopping the bank from enforcing the sale of movable assets.

In a related development, Rex Developers filed a fresh application for an injunction, seeking to block the auction of its properties. The judge directed both parties to submit further arguments by October 23, 2025.

However, since the interim injunction was not extended, KCB currently faces no legal barrier to exercising its power of sale.

The move by KCB marks the latest chapter in a long-running effort to recover loans from Spencon, whose decline left a complex web of legal and financial disputes.

When Wilson Nderitu Macharia walked into an I and M Bank branch, in March 2023, to open an account, he never imagined that what should have been a routine process would draw him into a legal battle with the lender that would last nearly two years.

Like any other customer, Mr Macharia expected the procedure to be straightforward: present his identification documents and be assisted in opening an account.

Instead, he was met with an unexpected demand – the bank required him to either provide a power of attorney or sign a deed indemnifying the lender as a precondition for opening and operating the account.

Reason? He is blind.

As a lawyer and adviser with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Global), Mr Macharia immediately questioned the legality of this requirement and refused to comply.

He sued the bank and won when the High Court ruled that the treatment he received was unlawful and discriminatory. The court awarded him Sh2.5 million for violation of his rights.

Safaricom job

The case between Mr Macharia and the lender mirrors an earlier dispute he brought against Safaricom in 2019, after the company declined to hire him.

In that matter, the court found that although he had not proved discrimination on the basis of disability, Safaricom had violated his right to dignity under Articles 28, 41 and 54(1), as well as his right to fair administrative action under Article 47. He was awarded Sh6 million in damages.

Read: Safaricom fined for declining to hire blind man

Mr Macharia had been invited to attend an interview at Safaricom. He was then asked to sign a contract, only to be informed that the invitation letter had been sent to him in error.

The telco explained that Mr Macharia had not taken and passed the technical and oral interviews, and that he could not expect to be offered a position without having done so.

Safaricom also said that they could not employ him because they were unable to integrate their customer service platform with the specialised software required for the customer experience executive role at that time.

The court noted that the telecoms company had made diligent efforts to develop system integration software that would enable visually impaired people to work as customer experience executives.

Unfortunately, Safaricom explained that such software integration was not possible due to potential configuration conflicts.

The court held that the failure to provide reasonable accommodation for Mr Macharia was due to a lack of software, rather than his visual impairment, and as such there was no infringement of his right to equality.

‘I find the respondent’s failure to provide reasonable accommodation to the petitioner, is a failure to afford an opportunity to the petitioner on account of lack of software but not on account of his visual disability and such there was no infringement on his rights to equality,’ the judge ruled.

The father of three said that he did not take the two institutions to court for financial gain, but rather to set a legal jurisprudence (theory or philosophy of law) and challenge discriminatory practices.

‘In the first case, I was looking for a job and I was denied the chance because of my disability. And in the second case, I had secured a job but the bank refused to take my money,’ he said with a chuckle.

Banking ‘trauma’

In the I and M case, Mr Macharia said that he had been traumatised and had become reluctant to deal with financial institutions.

But, after the court ruled in his favour, he said, ‘No amount of compensation can restore the dignity that was lost during that incident, but it has given me the confidence that I can now go to a financial institution or service provider in the financial sector and know that they cannot violate my rights to control my financial affairs.’

The court ordered the lender to pay Mr Macharia Sh2.5 million in compensation for violating his constitutional rights by denying him access to banking services.

According to the court, the bank’s refusal to allow him to open and operate a personal account due to his blindness his disability constituted discrimination and a violation of his rights to equality, dignity and accessibility, as guaranteed under the Constitution and the Persons with Disabilities Act.

‘Having considered the pleadings, arguments, the decisions relied on, the Constitution and the law, this court can only conclude that the respondent violated the petitioner’s rights guaranteed by Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution by failing to accord the petitioner reasonable accommodation and allow him full access to services he required,’ said the court.

The court added that the bank had placed impediments in Mr Macharia’s way, thereby denying him participation as an equal member of society and enjoyment of his legal capacity.

The court held that the bank’s demand for Mr Macharia to grant someone else authority to act on his behalf or indemnify the lender was unlawful and discriminatory.

‘A declaration is hereby issued that the requirement by I and M Bank that Macharia donate a power of attorney or sign a deed of indemnity to open and operate a bank account was discriminatory and a violation of Article 27(4) of the Constitution,’ the court declared.

Soft copy and left thumb

The court further ruled that the bank’s refusal to offer services to Mr Macharia on the grounds of his disability infringed his right to accessibility under Article 54(1)(e) of the Constitution and Sections 25(1)(b) and 25(3) of the Persons with Disabilities Act.

The visually impaired lawyer told the court that he had visited the bank’s Panari branch on Mombasa Road in March 2023 to open an account.

Although staff assisted him in completing the forms, he was not allowed to use a thumbprint signature.

Instead, the bank asked him to grant a power of attorney to someone else to operate the account on his behalf, a proposal he declined.

Later, on June 27, 2023, Mr Macharia met with officials from the bank’s legal department who suggested he sign a deed of indemnity as an alternative. When he asked whether this was standard policy, he was told it was not.

Feeling discriminated against, he filed a constitutional petition seeking declarations and remedies for the violation of his rights and fundamental freedoms.

He believed that demanding a power of attorney or deed of indemnity in order to open the bank account was discriminatory on the basis of his disability.

He demonstrated that he could use his screen-reader-enabled phone or personal computer to read and communicate with the bank’s staff via email, but this did not persuade the bank to change its position.

In response, the bank, through an affidavit sworn by Andrew K Muchina, admitted that Mr Macharia had visited its branch, but said he was advised to execute a power of attorney or deed of indemnity in line with internal policy and the Central Bank of Kenya’s Risk Management Guidelines (2013).

These requirements, the lender said, are intended to safeguard customers’ interests while ensuring compliance with laws, regulations and industry practices governing the banking sector.

The bank argued that requesting for a power of attorney or deed of indemnity did not infringe Mr Macharia’s right to exercise legal capacity, but was a standard prerequisite for opening an account, enabling the institution to establish the necessary contractual framework. It added that declining to meet these requirements did not undermine a customer’s dignity, as one could choose to seek banking services elsewhere.

In Macharia’s defence

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights supported Mr Macharia’s petition, arguing that the bank’s actions were intrusive and a denied him the right to exercise legal capacity.

The court dismissed the bank’s defence, ruling that its actions amounted to unjustified discrimination.

The High Court emphasised that banks and other service providers are required to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities to ensure equal access to services.

In the earlier case, Safaricom defended itself, stating that all the shortlisted candidates, including Mr Macharia and other persons living with disabilities (PWDs), had been invited to attend the two-stage interview.

The PWDs were given fair treatment: they were given extra time for their aptitude tests and a lower pass mark was granted. The company said that it had eventually employed 11 people with disabilities.

However, the telco submitted that integration was not possible at that time due to conflicting software configurations. As such, it was not possible for Mr Macharia to undertake the technical interview. The company urged that adjustments needed to be made to allow for technological advancements to be integrated into the company’s entire system.

Although Mr Macharia had volunteered to bring his own computer, the court was told that it was neither practical nor safe to allow him to do so in terms of company data and operations.

In the July 2021 judgment, the court awarded him Sh6 million in compensation for the violation of his rights.

The High Court has ordered China Wu Yi Company Limited to settle a Sh139.4 million debt owed to Kenyan construction firm Machiri Limited for completed works on the Nairobi-Thika Highway upgrade in 2011.

The judgment brings an end to the nearly decade-long legal battle over unpaid dues for relocating water and sewerage infrastructure along the transport corridor.

The case originated from a July 2011 subcontract agreement, under which Machiri Limited was engaged by China Wu Yi, the main contractor, to oversee the rehabilitation and upgrading of Nairobi-Thika Road into a superhighway.

Machiri’s scope of work included relocating water and sewerage facilities under the supervision of consulting engineers, Apec Limited and the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company.

According to court documents, Machiri completed the works and submitted its final account, which was certified by the consulting engineers, on June 18, 2014, totalling Sh326.7 million.

After accounting for prior payments and contractual deductions, the balance due stood at Sh139.4 million.

China Wu Yi contested Machiri’s claim, arguing that payment was contingent upon the certification by Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company – a condition which the Chinese firm alleged was never fulfilled.

The firm further claimed Machiri had failed to follow proper channels in submitting its final statement, rendering the claim invalid.

In an attempt to deflect liability, China Wu Yi sought indemnity from the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), arguing that the unpaid sum was KeNHA’s responsibility under the main contract.

However, KeNHA denied any obligation, asserting that it had no direct contractual relationship with Machiri, and that China Wu Yi had excluded Machiri’s claim from its final statement, thereby waiving its own right to reimbursement under the agreement.

In its ruling, the court rejected China Wu Yi’s arguments, stating that Machiri had complied with all contractual procedures.

The court noted that Machiri’s payment applications had been duly certified by the resident engineer and approved by Apec Limited, fulfilling the subcontract’s requirements.

‘The plaintiff’s claim was certified in accordance with the contract terms, and the defendant’s refusal to pay lacks justification,’ the judge stated.

The judge emphasised that China Wu Yi’s attempt to revisit liability was barred by a 2019 consent judgment, in which the firm had already acknowledged the debt.

The judge also rejected China Wu Yi’s third-party claim against KeNHA, ruling that the omission of Machiri’s dues from the final statement extinguished KeNHA’s liability under the main contract.

The court upheld Machiri’s entitlement to interest at commercial rates from 2014 until full payment, as stipulated in the subcontract. Additionally, China Wu Yi was ordered to bear the full costs of the suit, and its claim against KeNHA was also dismissed with costs.