Category: Business Daily

Milk intake in the formal sector hit an all-time high of 690 million litres in the eight months to August, due to an increased supply from farmers to dairy processors in response to attractive prices.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that milk delivered formally to dairy processors grew 17.2 percent in the period under review to 690 million litres from 588.9 million litres in a similar period last year.

‘Production is up, the prices paid by the formal market are attractive and stable, hence the high supply on our side,’ Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) acting Chief Executive William Maritim told the Business Daily.

‘New processors have also joined the industry, for example, the Ravine Dairies, increasing the capacity and the numbers we are seeing.’

The milk deliveries this year hit a record high every month since January, with May posting the highest amount of 94.6 million litres sold to the processors.

This was followed by 90.4 million litres in January and 90.2 million litres in June.

Farmers sold the lowest volume of milk of 77.9 million litres in February, which was, however, higher than the deliveries in every month of 2023 and most of 2024.

Most of the milk produced in Kenya does not reach the formal markets, according to a previous study, which found that the majority of households buy raw milk directly from farmers and traders.

Retailers are selling packaged milk at substantial differences in prices. A spot check shows that a half litre of milk at various supermarkets in Nairobi ranges from Sh50 to Sh60.

At Naivas Supermarkets, a 500ml packet of milk varied between Sh38 and Sh55, depending on the brand.

Fresh milk at Carrefour is sold at between Sh47 and Sh66, for a 500ml packet, depending on the brand and type of packaging.

With an estimated 1.8 million smallholder farmers who make up around 80 percent of the producers, it is estimated that about 80 percent of Kenya’s milk is marketed informally.

The formal sector refers to milk that is collected, processed or distributed via licensed, regulated channels, as opposed to the informal market of raw milk sold locally in Kenya.

KDB had earlier estimated production-including formally and informally marketed milk-to be about 5.2 billion litres annually.

In its 2024-2027 strategic plan, KDB aims to grow Kenya’s annual milk production to 11 billion litres and boost exports to one billion litres.

The Kenya dairy sector is the largest in East Africa, contributing approximately four percent to the national gross domestic product GDP and 14 percent of the agricultural GDP, according to the International Livestock Research Institute. It provides livelihoods for about 1.8 million households and creates over 700,000 jobs.

Only four percent of Kenyans have the income to afford a mortgage of Sh10 million amid the rise in home prices.

A new survey by pension firm Zamara, the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) shows that 6,146 of 145,205 pension scheme members can afford a house loan of more than Sh10 million, representing 4.23 percent of the respondents.

This is in line with Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data, which shows that the average home loan has increased to Sh9 million from Sh6.9 million in 2013 and Sh7.5 million in 2014, a jump blamed on expensive homes and upfront fees.

Besides rising home prices, the survey observes that stagnant pay and costly mortgages have locked out a majority of Kenyans from bank-financed housing.

The CBK data shows the average size of a mortgage is Sh9 million with a repayment period of 11 years at an interest rate of 14.9 percent.

This type of loan will attract a monthly instalment of at least Sh140,000, and one would require a gross monthly salary in excess of Sh420,000, given that banks demand that borrowers retain a third of their pay after all deductions.

More than 85 percent of Kenyans earn less than Sh100,000 per month, official data shows.

‘High interest rates, strict eligibility criteria, and low income levels push most households to rely on short-term, high-interest personal loans or informal financing, which are not ideal for long-term housing projects,’ the report read in part.

Banks have pointed out the low level of income against the high cost of property purchase as a major impediment to the growth of Kenya’s mortgage market.

The banking sector had issued 30,016 mortgage loans against a formal employment of 3.4 million Kenyans.

Expensive homes, high interest rates and high incidental costs like stamp duty, legal and valuation fees remain the biggest obstacles to the growth of the mortgage sub-sector.

These difficulties have seen a lot of Kenyans opt to buy houses or take sacco loans to buy land and build incrementally.

According to the Zamara survey, 22.7 percent of respondents can afford a Sh3 million house with a favourable 25-year repayment period and at 9.5 percent.

‘Under the subsidised Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) rate of 9.5 percent, a household earning Sh100,000 per month can qualify for a mortgage of approximately Sh3.4 million, enough to purchase a typical Affordable Housing Programme unit.’

Zamara highlighted the profile of the pension scheme members, with about half or 47 percent, earning below Sh50,000, 42 percent taking home between Sh50,000 and Sh150,000 and 11 percent getting over Sh150,000.

The report has pointed out that the Affordable Housing Program’s attempt to ‘solve the price equation, fails the ‘livability test”.

This is because the affordable housing stock comprises primarily studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, designed to meet affordability targets rather than family requirements.

‘Our survey indicates that most members predominantly in their 30s and 40s aspire to own three- or four-bedroom homes suitable for families with children…This points to a fundamental disconnect between policy intent and market demand,’ the report added on family size mismatch.

Three-bedroom houses under the affordable housing project are sold at Sh3 million a unit.

About one in ten (12.2 percent or 17,725) respondents can afford a five million house comfortably without much financial strain.

‘[This] represents mid- to upper-income earners capable of servicing larger loans, though at higher financial commitment levels,’ the survey read in part.

Only four percent or 6,146 of the sampled Kenyans said they can afford a house loan of more than Sh10 million.

Most of the properties on the market are targeted at the middle class with a recent report noting that there is a shortage of low cost housing.

The Kenya Bankers Association has previously said that this shortage was because developers are inclined more towards renting than selling.

Global Motors Centre, the distributor appointed to sell Jetour brand of cars in the Kenyan market, is investing Sh1.4 billion to start assembling the Chinese models in Mombasa from the first quarter of 2026.

Local assembly will see the firm benefit from several tax incentives, enabling it to cut its introductory showroom prices that are substantially lower than the sticker prices of some rival Japanese and European brands in the same categories.

Global Motors has started selling four sports utility vehicle (SUV) Jetour models at prices ranging from Sh4.9 million to Sh7.8 million, inclusive of taxes.

‘We are going to start assembling the Jetour models in the first quarter of 2026 at our Mombasa plant. The investment in the Jetour line is about Sh1.4 billion,’ Ali Zubedi, Managing Director of GMC, told the Business Daily.

He said the Jetour line marks an expansion of the plant which has been assembling FAW trucks that are sold by Global Motors’ sister company TransAfrica Motors.

With local assembly, Mr Zubedi said the company plans to lower the Jetour prices due to tax incentives offered to local assemblers.

The government exempts assemblers from the import duty of 35 percent levied on fully built vehicles. Completely knocked down (CKD) parts headed to assembly plants are also exempt from 20 percent to 35 percent excise duty levied on imports of fully built vehicles, depending on the engine capacity and fuel type.

Assemblers also pay a lower import declaration fee of 2.5 percent compared to the standard 3.5 percent. The two percent Railway Development Levy (RDL) is also reduced to 1.5 percent for assemblers.

Local assembly can lower vehicle prices by up to millions of shillings, with dealers of commercial units such as pick-ups, trucks and buses making the biggest investment in local production.

Global Motors is among the passenger car dealers also moving to tap into tax incentives to gain a pricing advantage in a market where used imports dominate sales.

The company unveiled four Jetour models -the T2 priced at Sh7.8 million, T1 (Sh7.4 million), X70 Plus (Sh5 million) and Dashing (Sh4.9 million).

Jetour, part of Chinese automaker Chery Group, was founded in 2018 and has sold over one million SUVs worldwide. The brand’s entry in Kenya will intensify competition in its target segment where its major rivals include CFAO Mobility Kenya and Inchcape Kenya.

CFAO’s lineup of SUV models include Toyota RAV4, Landcruiser Prado, and Mercedes GLC. Inchcape’s SUV models include Land Rover Discovery, BMW X3, and Changan Oshan.

The Toyota Urban Cruiser, RAV4 and Fortuner are selling at Sh4.8 million, Sh7.4 million and Sh10 million respectively, according to CFAO Mobility’s website.

Jetour’s entry comes amid a rise in local assembly output and new vehicle sales buoyed by falling lending rates and stable foreign exchange rates.

New vehicle sales rose 24.56 percent in the first nine months of 2025 to 9,924 units from 7,967 in the same period last year, a six-year high, per Kenya Motor Industry Association data.

The majority were commercial vehicles like heavy-duty trucks, mini-buses and pick-up trucks assembled at Isuzu.

Manufacturing bucked a trend of ballooning bad loans in the banking sector in the year ended June 2025, becoming the only major segment in the credit market with improving loan quality.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) in the manufacturing sector dropped 4.5 percent to Sh123.7 billion at the end of June from Sh129.5 billion a year earlier, an analysis of latest Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) report on banking sector asset quality trends show.

The growth in NPL was higher than the 2.6 percent rise in industry gross loans to Sh4.1547 trillion in the review period, underlining that the industry is facing more of a credit quality problem than a supply challenge.

Bankers say the credit quality squeeze reflects broad weakness in the economy, despite interest rate relief touched off by successive easing of the benchmark interest rates by the CBK’s Monetary Policy Committee.

Since August 2024, the CBK has cut the benchmark rate from 13 percent to 9.25 percent, signaling commercial lenders to ease borrowing costs for businesses and households.

‘There is a correlation between the average asset quality in the industry and the quality of the economy,’ Moses Muthui, director of consumer banking at Absa Kenya, said last month.

‘We are dealing with the lag effect of high interest last year. That has not washed out yet. There are inherent weaknesses in parts of the economy.’

Banking insiders have argued that the improvement in NPLs for manufacturing is not because activities in that sector have rebounded, but shows that it probably absorbed impairment pain earlier.

Lenders have been pushing through aggressive loan restructuring cycles from 2023, supported by collateral rules and partial write-downs of legacy exposures.

‘Our recovery teams have enhanced recovery efforts, rehabilitation or restructuring to ensure that our customers’ cash flow matches what we are asking them to pay … .and we have done some write-offs,’ Lawrence Kimathi, KCB Kenya Group’s Finance Director, told an investor briefing in August.

KCB’s NPLs data showed that bad loans held by manufacturing firms dropped to Sh41 billion in June 2025 from Sh49 billion a year earlier.

The CBK data indicate firms in the transport and communication sector posted the sharpest deterioration in the review period, with NPLs jumping 36.1 percent year-on-year to Sh56.5 billion.

This came as the lender cut exposure to the sector by 4.7 percent to Sh326 billion in June 2025 compared with a year earlier, reflecting a pull-back from loss-making PSVs, trucking and cross-border logistics clients.

Households -the single biggest borrower class- saw bad loans rise 17.1 percent to Sh110.8 billion from Sh94.6 billion the year before, followed by traders who recorded a 16.8 percent bump in NPLs to Sh167.9 billion.

Bad loans in real estate increased 15.1 percent to Sh131.6 billion, reflecting struggle by developers and landlords, particularly in Nairobi’s upmarket areas, to find buyers for commercial properties with prices largely flat in recent years.

The NPLs in the building and construction sector also remained in the double-digit growth territory, climbing 15 percent to Sh51.4 billion.

That underscores liquidity distress among small and medium contractors, including road sub-contractors, caught in delayed settlement cycles for government-funded projects.

Agriculture, which is prone to climate-linked shocks, including floods of 2024, saw bad loans edge up 3.1 percent to Sh33.1 billion.

Banks have expanded restructuring, rehabilitation and recovery efforts this year through what aligns repayment schedules with customer cash flows with some executing selective write-offs.

The sector-wide NPL ratio hit 17.6 percent in the second quarter of 2025 from just 16.3 percent a year earlier, before easing slightly to 17.1 percent by the end of September.

As Artificial intelligence (AI) transforms economies globally, there is an urgent question Kenya’s universities and technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVETs) must answer: What is their purpose in the era of AI, and in driving our national ambitions toward Vision 2030 and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda?

For decades, the higher and technical education sector understood its purpose largely through access: how many students we could enrol, how many campuses we could build, and how many graduates we could produce. That focus was right for its time. Expanding access was an act of justice, progress and nation-building.

Yet in an age where intelligence has become a shared global resource, quantity is no longer enough. The true measure of purpose and progress must be relevance, and particularly, how well our teaching prepares students to thrive in a future world shaped by artificial intelligence.

Across the world, governments are not waiting for the future to arrive. They are designing for it. In the United Arab Emirates, every citizen now has access to free AI tools.

In Jordan, the Ministry of Education is ensuring that every child learns with AI. In the United States and China, children as young as six are being introduced to AI concepts.

These governments understand that nations at the forefront of AI development will shape emerging industries and set economic standards. Similarly, in the Global North, universities are beginning to see AI not as a threat but as a partner.

They are using it to reimagine teaching, learning and research in ways that make education more adaptive and discovery more dynamic. Kenya cannot afford to be a spectator in this race.

Our universities and TVETs must evolve from institutions that deliver knowledge to generating intelligence.

This means embedding AI not as a single course but as a cross-cutting competence shaping every discipline: from the sciences to the creative arts and humanities. Imagine a TVET student in automotive engineering graduating with an understanding of AI-powered predictive maintenance.

Equipped with that skill, they could help matatu or bus fleet owners use simple sensors to forecast vehicle breakdowns, saving thousands of shillings and improving road safety. That is the power of applied intelligence, turning theory into transformation.

Now picture a law graduate who understands vibe coding and uses that to build a low-cost agentic legal AI for small businesses that cannot afford legal representation.

The outcome is not just innovation; it is inclusion. These examples are within reach if we reimagine curricula, invest in capacity building for educators, and let innovation flow between universities, TVETs and industry.

Innovation is nothing new to us as Africans.

From the metal furnaces of the Haya in ancient Tanzania to intricate irrigation systems that sustained early communities, from the architectural marvels of Great Zimbabwe to the astronomy of the Dogon people, we have always pushed the boundaries of what is possible.

AI now gives us new tools to express that same spirit of ingenuity, and through modern research systems and institutional collaboration, this creative energy can once again be channelled into national transformation.

At the heart of this transformation lies science, research and innovation. From climate-smart agriculture to public health and the creative economy, AI-driven research can become our new engine of growth.

This is already beginning with initiatives such as NRF AI, being developed for the National Research Fund, which gives researchers access to an intelligent research assistant trained on Kenyan and African data but connected to global repositories to ensure that our ideas contribute to global knowledge.

Sustaining this momentum needs bold and visionary leadership across the sector. In this regard, Kenya’s university vice-chancellors and TVET principals have a unique opportunity to turn awareness into action by providing the direction, collaboration and capacity needed to turn promising ideas into lasting national impact.

By embracing AI as a tool for transformation, they can help shape a more innovative, inclusive and competitive Kenya. Yet technology alone will not secure progress. Its real value will lie in how education itself evolves to shape the people, ideas and ethics that guide innovation through that technology.

The question before us is no longer whether AI will change education. It already has. The real challenge is whether education will, in turn, change Kenya and also whether our institutions will be bold enough to lead that transformation.

That transformation will not happen by chance but through the choices our universities and TVETs make today. We owe it to a new generation of Kenyan learners to make the right choices for they will inherit the world we are shaping.

Those choices begin with a new mindset: to view AI not as a threat but as a tool to reimagine teaching and research, expand opportunity and strengthen our nation’s capacity to think and create. In the years ahead, history will not remember who built the most campuses or graduated the most students, but those who equipped our learners with the best ability to thrive in the AI age.

A Mombasa court has been asked to hold Taifa Gas Investments SEZ Ltd, its directors, contractors or agents in contempt over alleged disobedience of court orders temporarily stopping the construction of a Sh16 billion Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminus at Dongo Kundu, Mombasa.

In an application at the Court of Appeal, Likoni residents want the directors and principal officers of the company committed to civil jail for a term not exceeding six months.

Taifa Gas is associated with Tanzania’s billionaire businessman Rostam Aziz.

According to the applicants, the court had issued clear and binding orders of status quo directing that the construction be put on hold pending hearing inter partes of an application at the Environment and Land Court (ELC).

At the ELC, the applicants have filed a petition challenging the construction of the LPG terminus.

Taifa Gas then moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to have it set aside orders and directions of the ELC suspending the construction of its 30,000 metric tonnes of LPG terminus.

At the Court of Appeal, parties agreed to comprise on the applications before the court (of appeal) and directions were issued that an application at the ELC be heard and that the status quo subsisting be maintained, meaning the contested construction of the project be put on hold in the meantime.

In their application at the Court of Appeal dated November 5, the residents now claim that Taifa Gas has acted in defiance of the orders and proceeded with constructions works on the project the Court of Appeal ordered halted.

‘Such conduct is not mere omission or inadvertence, it is a calculated, willful and contemptuous affront to the dignity of the court deliberately engineered to mocks its authority and render its lawful orders impotent,’ argue the applicants.

They claim that unless restrained, Taifa Gas will have accomplished by illegality that which the law has forbidden thereby making the court process a mere academic exercise.

Messrs Karungu and Nyiro also argue that the court has inherent power and jurisdiction to punish for contempt and enforce its orders against any party who seeks to undermine its authority, underscoring that court orders are not suggestions or opinions but commands that must be obeyed.

They also want the court to direct immediate cessation of all construction or related activities by Taifa Gas on the project site pending full compliance with the orders and further directions from the court.

In their petition at the ELC, the applicants say they are residents of Likoni close to the project by Taifa Gas.

They contend that the respondent has proposed to construct the LPG plant and intends to clear indigenous natural trees and vegetation and excavate the land to provide space for the LPG tanks which will lead to soil erosion and environmental degradation of the land and its environs.

‘The petitioners aver that clearing the vegetation will interfere with the coral rock and will negatively affect the eco-system around the land,’ part of the petition states.

According to the petitioners, the project by Taifa Gas involves the construction of a pipeline which will lead to suspension of sediments that will ruin the quality of water and penetration of light for the ecosystem within sea water.

‘The petitioners also contend that the construction of a pipeline will ruin the fishing grounds which is a source of livelihood for the local population,’ argue the petitioners who have named the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) as an interested party in the case.

The petitioners argue that the proposed development will have adverse environmental and land use impacts on the land including the depreciation of the environment, increase in pollution, increased vehicular and human traffic and rise in insecurity which will pose a great threat to the inhabitants around the land.

They want a conservatory order of injunction issued to restrain Taifa Gas from carrying out deleterious activities, carrying out construction or works including but not limited to setting up of the LPG terminus without prior compliance with Articles 10, 40, 42 and 69 of the constitution.

The petitioners also want a declaration that Taifa Gas unauthorized construction, felling and destruction of indigenous trees, excavation or proposed commencement of works to set up the LPG terminus without prior notice to consent, consultation or compensation to them and compliance with mandatory provisions of the law is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

They are also seeking compensation from Taifa Gas for destruction of the environment, indigenous trees and vegetation and excavation works in violation of the law.

When Annabelle Njambi Wamunyu and her husband first opened a small convenience shop at a petrol station in Kenol nearly 12 years ago, it was just a quiet roadside rest stop for motorists on their way to Murang’a or Nyeri.

‘Kenol was almost empty. At that time, even selling a gas cylinder in a month was impossible. People would come, ask the price, and leave. We didn’t have that kind of clientele back then,’ she says.

Their mini mart and a small restaurant, known as Magomano, were part of a simple experiment of combining fuel sales with eatery and a small shop, copying what bigger petrol stations along the highway were doing.

Mrs Wamunyu says business was slow at first; however, as more travellers began stopping at Kenol for meals and short breaks, the couple spotted a bigger opportunity.

‘People going for weddings, burials, and other ceremonies would stop at Kenol. Soon, our restaurant became busier. We realised the mini-mart was also picking up, and we needed space.’

They pulled down the service bay, car-wash, and petrol offices to create what is currently County Supermarket, a three-storey retail hub and one of the oldest surviving supermarkets in the area.

‘We started with only the ground floor, then two or three years later, we added the other floors as business grew.’

The name change, she adds, was very intentional.

‘We wanted a name that could fit anywhere in the country. When counties were being introduced, we said, Let’s call ourselves County Supermarket because it represented our ambition to go beyond Kenol,’ she says.

She is among the many people who have reaped the benefits of Kenol’s growth over the past decade.

‘Today, Kenol has great potential. We have seen estates coming up and many other businesses setting up. Ten years ago, no big retail chain would have looked at Kenol, but they are all here because of the growth.’

That boom, Mrs Wamunyu says, has translated into a more diverse customer base.

‘Before, most of our shoppers were travellers, but now we serve construction workers, and families who have settled here. People who used to pass through now call Kenol home,’ she says.

Jump in rents

The retail expansion has also pushed up commercial rents, which has been a major sign of business confidence.

‘When we started, many buildings couldn’t attract tenants, so rent was low. However, small shops that are not along the highway are going for between Sh30,000 and Sh50,000, depending on the landlord and location. Along the highway, rent is even higher; if you move a bit inside town, it’s cheaper.

‘Every week you see someone opening a salon, a hardware store, or a boutique,’ she adds.

Beside her supermarket, Mrs Wamunyu owns an acre of land where she operates a car wash. She recalls buying half of the property years ago for about Sh700,000, which, when she decides to sell today, she says it will fetch almost Sh30 million, and the whole acre could go for even Sh100 million.

‘Kenol is still a town to watch. There’s land, there’s space, and there’s energy. More people are coming in, and that means more business. If you set up something here today and do it right, you’ll grow with the town just like we did,’ Mrs Wamunyu says.

When the BDLife visited, the first impression was of a fast-growing town. Modern shopping centres and well-known eateries stand along the main road, giving it a touch of urban life. However, moving further inside, there is no formal market, no designated stage for matatus, every activity seems to be cramped up.

Just like many unplanned growing towns, Kenol marketplace is stretched along the roadside where grocery vendors sit under their old, faded umbrellas shielding their fruits and vegetables from the sun.

Here, they sell potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, and everything one would expect to find in a market.

In between the commercial stalls, there are small iron sheet shanties with some used as shops, while others are serve as stores.

Matatus have no proper stage either, so they stop anywhere they can find space as they pick and drop passengers.

Consequently, commercial businesses including hardware stores, petrol stations, grocery stalls, and small shops, also sit close to each other, all competing for space and customers. The buildings are packed extremely tightly with commercial and residential units, almost blending into one another.

That main road separates Maragwa and Kandara constituencies, and it is filled with trucks and vehicles passing through.

Real estate boom

Unplanned or not, the town that once had a single bank and a few kiosks has turned into a real estate magnet that is drawing developers, homebuyers, and businesses in equal measure.

Anthony Kiragu, the director at Wiklund Property, a real estate firm, says that back then, Kenol was just a rural town. Land was cheap, but investors were few, which made development minimal.

He recalls when a half-acre plot in Kenol, which was a few metres from the tarmac road, could cost around Sh400,000.

‘Today, the same half-acre is going for between Sh10 million and Sh15 million, depending on location,’ he says. ‘Even a single plot that we sold in 2010 for about Sh280,000 now costs more than Sh2 million. The prices have gone up, a lot.’

According to Mr Kiragu, Kenol’s transformation is driven by its strategic location and improved infrastructure.

‘Kenol is a gateway to the Mount Kenya region. The dual carriageway of the Thika Superhighway and the Kenol-Marua road have opened up the town. They’ve made movement from here to Nairobi very convenient. You can live in Kenol and still work in Nairobi without much traffic.’

He adds that reliable amenities like water, electricity, and road networks have made the area attractive for both investors and residents. ‘When accessibility improves, prices follow. That’s exactly what we’ve seen in Kenol,’ he says.

To illustrate the pace of growth, Mr Kiragu points to what he calls ‘visible markers of progress.’

Developers and homebuyers

Kenol’s real estate boom has also drawn a new class of investors. ‘The buyers cut across,’ says Mr Kiragu. ‘We have companies coming in to set up factories and agro-processing units, we have individuals building residential homes, and even a few speculators, though not as many as before.’

He notes that, unlike a decade ago, most buyers now build immediately after the purchase of land. ‘People don’t just buy and wait anymore. You’ll find someone buying land and starting construction the next month. Whether it’s a home, a block of apartments, or a factory, they’re building,’ he says.

That surge in construction has also had a ripple effect. ‘Fifteen years ago, you could count the buildings in Kenol; today, you can’t. We have so many contractors, real estate firms, and even valuers. Back then, we had only two valuers; now, there are dozens. The number of transactions happening here every month is unbelievable.’

Additionally, the housing market has mirrored the land price boom. ‘By then, you could rent a two-bedroom house for Sh7,000 to Sh8,000,’ says Mr Kiragu. ‘Today, modern units go for between Sh25,000 and Sh35,000, depending on the location. Along the highway, prices are higher, but once you move a bit inside, they drop slightly.’

‘People are building modern homes, and tenants are willing to pay more for comfort and accessibility,’ he adds.

Growth challenges

Still, the growth has not come without challenges. ‘Regulatory approvals take time, and infrastructure is becoming overstretched. You’ll find delays with power connections or road access because the demand has outpaced capacity. Resources are overwhelmed.’

‘Half an acre, about four kilometres from the tarmac, goes for about Sh2 million. A plot along the roadside cut by 40 by 80, although we have 50 by 100, can go from Sh8 million to Sh10 million,’ Mr Kiragu adds.

‘People saw the potential and moved in.’

James Githui moved to Kenol 34 years ago. He says it was nothing but open land and trees. ‘ There were no buildings, no businesses, just open land,’ he says.

Currently, he serves as chairman of the Kenol Business Community, overseeing a network of traders in what has become Murang’a.

County’s fastest-growing commercial hub. ‘Kenol’s growth has been very evident. Many people have moved into the area with investment plans because of the proximity to towns like Murang’a and Thika. The junction itself has travellers dispatched to different places, and that impression has brought a lot of people.’

Mr Githui runs a hardware store and several commercial businesses in the town. He remembers when the plots were large and cheap.

‘The demarcation then was in half an acre or a quarter acre. Most people were just beginning to buy land, and prices were very low.’

Currently, modern buildings line the highway, alongside supermarkets and bars that have opened, and new companies have created jobs for residents. ‘There are new companies that have created employment, which adds to the population of the place. And land fraud cases are also minimal,’ he notes.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) was established following the 2008 post-election violence, as one of the agencies to help re-establish sobriety in Kenya. It has been going about its work ever since, with the media expecting it to go after those spouting hate speech.

However, NCIC was not given prosecutorial powers, and so it has often been described as ‘a toothless bulldog’ – despite working closely with other institutions that possess such powers. Its budget has also been limited.

The media has ignored NCIC’s other activities, including the peace-building mediation in different parts of the country, and five years ago I wrote an article about how they went about it.

‘They collaborated with other agencies,’ I wrote then, ‘benefitting from their expertise and their networks; held public barazas and organised work projects bringing youth together… As a result of their mediation, progress has been made.’

Recently, inter-generational issues have emerged as a serious source of conflict, and so NCIC decided to apply its experience to hosting meetings that brought together members of different generations, both genders and various sectors of the local communities.

The town hall meetings were held where conflict issues specific to those communities were evident, in Marsabit, Isiolo, Nairobi, Taita Taveta, Kisumu, Busia and Kilifi.

NCIC called these meetings intergenerational conversations, a nice term, that captures listening as much as speaking, in a friendly atmosphere.

In the selected counties, where inter-ethnic tensions and historical marginalisation have strained community relations, the need for cross-generational dialogue was particularly pressing. Intergenerational and inter-ethnic mistrust have continued to fuel misunderstanding, polarisation and vulnerability to manipulation by extremist actors.

And when youth – especially Gen Z – feel alienated and unheard, they become more susceptible to recruitment into violent networks and misinformation campaigns.

Conversely, when they are meaningfully engaged and connected to mentors, elders and institutions, they become powerful agents of peace and resilience.

By bringing together the experiences of elders, the innovation and energy of youth and the influence of women and local leaders, the conversations facilitated mutual understanding, addressed generational grievances and fostered a shared vision for peaceful coexistence.

In Isiolo, for instance, the forum generated several recommendations and achievements, including calls for increased youth representation in governance, review of public participation laws and strengthened mentorship programmes to bridge generational gaps.

A key outcome was the recognition that elders provide wisdom, while youth bring energy and innovation, helping dismantle the ‘us versus them’ mentality and replacing it with a shared vision of cooperation.

NCIC followed up with podcasts where diverse voices from across Kenya were heard to engage in honest, reflective, positive and forward-looking discussions on governance, leadership and political culture.

The first episode, ‘Wisdom in Transit’, explores how values, ethics and lessons on leadership are passed across generations.

‘New Guards’ highlights emerging youth leaders and their role in reshaping Kenya’s governance culture. ‘Old Wisdom: Bridging the Ages’ examines how traditional knowledge and modern governance can coexist to promote cohesion.

‘Political Decency in Action’ focuses on civility and integrity in political engagement, while ‘Government Without Borders’ discusses collaboration across counties, institutions and communities within a devolved governance system.

The sixth episode, ‘The Cost of Indecency,’ analyses how intolerance, corruption and disrespect weaken democracy and development.

‘Youth Agenda: The Future of Governance’ centres on the aspirations of young people and their inclusion in leadership, and the final episode, ‘A Shared Vision’, calls for collective action toward a just, decent and unified Kenya.

Given an availability of budgets, NCIC would host many more town halls, create and distribute more podcasts, and follow up on earlier engagements.

I am encouraged to see that the recently appointed NCIC CEO/Secretary, Daniel Mutegi, has a background in monitoring and evaluation, and he has been a member of the Vision2030 Secretariat. All this means he will be focusing on the long-term impact of such initiatives in a robust manner.

And as Rev Dr Sam Kobia reaches the end of his term as chairman of NCIC, we can look back on all that the ‘toothless bulldog’ has accomplished to promote cohesion and integration, much of it quietly behind the scenes. Well done, Dr Kobia.

Let us view NCIC’s intergenerational conversations as role models of how to bring Kenyans together, within their communities and higher up to the national level.

Schools across Kenya have closed, with the exception of candidates sitting the national examinations. Many parents might assume their children are safest at home. Yet for thousands of learners, especially girls, the close of school term often ushers in a period of greater risks and insecurity.

The worsening economic situation has left many families struggling and renewed fears of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies, and child exploitation.

For many children, school is more than a place for learning. It is a protective environment that offers knowledge, mentorship and distance from potential harmful abusers. When they are on holiday, they spend longer hours in homes or communities where supervision is limited and financial strains run high.

The saddest reality is that poverty and desperation can expose children to sexual abuse or transactional relationships in exchange for basic needs.

Reports from past school holidays often show a rise in cases of defilement and early pregnancies, a worrying trend that demands urgent attention.

Increasing family conflicts and broken marriages have also left many children emotionally exposed, without the guidance or protection they need.

Parents must strengthen communication with their children, not through fear, but through love, trust, and guidance. Honest conversations about self-awareness and relationships can help protect children from harm and manipulation.

Communities, leaders, faith institutions, guardians, media, and government agencies all have a vital role to play.

The media, in particular, must continue to shine a light on cases of abuse, raise awareness, and provide platforms where survivors’ voices can be heard without fear or shame.

Reporting processes should be clear and accessible to everyone. Economic hardship cannot be an excuse for moral decay. Protecting children from violence is a constitutional duty and a moral obligation. Every instance of abuse represents not just a broken family, but a wounded society and a lost generation.

As Kenya navigates economic uncertainty, one truth must stand firm: the safety of our children is non-negotiable. When the classroom doors close, our duty to protect must open wider in every home, church, village and heart, among others.

A nation’s true strength is measured not by its economy, but by how fiercely it shields its children when the noise fades and the danger grows silent.

Kenya will cap the number of foreigners in local subsidiaries of multinational firms at 20 percent of their total workforce in proposed legal changes that seek to protect jobs for locals.

The proposal is contained in the Local Content Bill, 2025, which if passed by Parliament will compel foreign firms to ensure that a minimum of 80 percent of the jobs, including the top management slots like CEO, are filled by Kenyans.

Currently, foreign firms based in Kenya are not legally required to reserve a specific percentage of jobs for Kenyans, even as the country grapples with a spiralling unemployment rate. Millions of Kenyans, particularly the youth, are unemployed and rely on casual work to survive.

‘A foreign company shall ensure that at least 80 percent of the workforce of the company are Kenyan citizens and comply with Article 41 of the Constitution on fair labour practices, including the right to fair remuneration of workers,’ the Bill which was tabled in Parliament on October 7, reads.

CEOs of the firms that breach this requirement will face a jail term of a year, while the companies risk fines of not less than Sh100 million.

According to official data, Kenya is struggling to create jobs, mainly to absorb the university and college graduates who exit higher education institutions every year. These struggles have been exacerbated by the closure of firms and a hiring freeze as companies navigate a tough economy.

The economy created a paltry 75,000 formal jobs last year compared to 122,900 a year earlier, based on data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

The high unemployment rate has worsened the lives of millions of Kenyans hit by the rising cost of living.

Most multinational companies based in the country have hired Kenyans, including for top management roles. Government policy currently discourages the employment of foreigners, except in roles for which there is a shortage of local talent.

The Bill represents a protectionist approach to ensure more direct wins for locals amid the significant presence of multinationals across a range of sectors.

Local materials

Besides the capping on foreign staff at multinationals, the Local Content Bill 2025 also seeks to make it compulsory for the firms to source at least 60 percent of their materials locally. For firms in agricultural sector, this figure is 100 percent.

‘A foreign company undertaking any business in Kenya which requires agricultural produce as raw materials for manufacture of goods, shall source all the agricultural produce from Kenyan farmers,’ the Bill reads.

The requirement on local sourcing of materials will apply to multinationals in the financial, insurance, construction, transport, logistics and warehousing sectors.