Category: Business Daily

When Felix Chege first dipped his toes into the world of public supplies as a university student, he did not have the benefit of full visibility of how bureaucracies and information gaps inhibit business.

All he could see were the challenges whenever he wanted to, say, source 100 printers of the same quality from Nairobi for supply to Masinde Muliro University, and ensure consistency of supply to meet the university’s demand.

‘Imagine being asked to deliver 100 printers when you have no idea where to even source them consistently. Nairobi had them, yes, but getting them from different suppliers and same quality was a challenge,’ Mr Chege recalls.

It was this sourcing headache that planted the seed and Mr Chege began to dream of a platform that could simplify procurement, sourcing, and logistics.

He started Real Sources Africa, a company that has carved a niche out of breaking the red tape involved in cross-border trade by digitising operations that have always relied on paper to facilitate cross-border movement of goods, while connecting traders with business facilitators.

Today, Real Sources Africa is the official trading company of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Kenya and eight other countries.

At a time when most African countries are looking inward to trade with counterparts as a way to grow business, Real Sources Africa finds itself as a crucial nexus between businesses and markets, and while at it cultivating influence and cash.

‘We are basically a trade facilitation company and our main role is to support exporters and importers to be able to expand their market base across the region without the hassle of the normal logistics, market entry and capacity building,’ Mr Chege says.

The company has facilitated trade valued about Sh5.8 billion ($45 million), involving 315 containers since launching its platform nine months ago, and business will only get bigger after the African Export-Import (Afrexim) Bank came on board as a partner.

Real Sources Africa is currently getting support from the AfCFTA to facilitate onboarding and trading among businesses in the continent, but also from the Afrexim Bank which has offered its platform, Africa Trade Gateway (ATG), for use by businesses trading under the AfCFTA.

Since the launch of ATG on September 23, 400 new companies have registered and Mr Chege says the company expects to onboard 3,600 businesses in the next six months.

With the entry of Afrexim, financiers and businesses in need of cash flows are expected to come on board due to the development bank’s capacity to bank roll trade transactions.

Companies pay Real Resources a commission for their profiles to be maintained on its platform, where they can meet buyers if they are selling products, or source for products not available within their locality, if they are seeking to import.

Real Sources finds itself as the trusted bridge for businesses across the continent, and benefitting from the ATG, a key trading platform that is capable of conducting due diligence on companies seeking to trade through the AfCFTA, thus boosting trust among trading parties.

There are only 10 AfCFTA trading companies across the continent, and Real Sources is the official face of the continental trade bloc across nine countries.

The companies are charged with representing AfCFTA in market development and demand creation as the trading bloc entrenches its operations, essentially by identifying where there is a need for certain products and supporting ways to supply them from within the continent.

They also support businesses attain compliance requirements, aggregation and logistics issues to build volumes for export across borders, and facilitate trade finance for businesses in need of financing to trade successfully.

‘AfCFTA trading companies came up to create a practical implementation of the AfCFTA ratification. They are lifting up the barriers of trade such as customs and standards issues, and tariffs to make trade very practical,’ says Mr Chege.

What started as a small campus hustle in 2015 has evolved into a regional enterprise that is now simplifying trade for exporters and importers, and while at it cultivating influence.

The company approached AfCFTA secretariat to pitch its idea on how digitising operations could address major trade barriers within the continent, and that was how it was picked to be the trading bloc’s official face to the business community.

Among products it showcased was a platform dubbed Biashara Link Portal which is capable of directing business inquiries by potential buyers to the right producers of goods being sought for exporters to initiate conversations.

This happens through the creation of a database of already active exporters of different goods, for them to receive inquiries directly and start negotiating with buyers.

‘Why should someone fly across the continent just to find out what’s available? Technology allows us to make trade borderless, at least in terms of information,’ says Mr Chege.

The company also signed a partnership agreement with Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to automatically channel business inquiries coming through embassies to producers of the goods being sought.

Through an initiative dubbed TradeConnect, Real Sources is also engaging with stakeholders including counties to create demand for goods produced locally, by leveraging the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) to produce and ship in volumes.

‘We removed our minimum turnover requirement. Initially, we required companies to have at least $100,000 turnover but we realised that that was locking out too many passionate entrepreneurs. Now, we’re fully in the SME space,’ says Mr Chege.

To onboard and trade on the platform, a company needs to provide its certificate of incorporation, business details, ownership structures, and undergo due diligence by Real Sources.

Mr Chege believes that while logistics in terms of physical infrastructure has hindered intra-Africa trade, information gaps, where many lack visibility on what product is needed, were leading to mismatched demand and supply have also been a huge barrier, a problem Real Sources seeks to address.

‘Our role is to map demand and supply, then guide businesses accordingly. If maize is needed in Rwanda, or steel in Egypt, we should know-and help businesses position themselves to seize that opportunity,’ he says.

And as AfCFTA gains momentum in an effort to charm Africa more towards trading with herself, the role of its trading companies such as Real Sources Africa will become more crucial, as they stand at the heart of the trading bloc’s operations, connecting governments, banks, and businesses.

A Dutch investment firm has agreed to provide $63 million (Sh8.14 billion) to help lower water prices from a public-private partnership (PPP)-backed project that targets Mombasa and Kilifi counties.

The National Treasury disclosures show that Invest International, a Dutch investment firm committed to providing the money in the form of a grant, which is a quarter of the Sh32.96 billion ($255 million) needed to fund the Sabaki Water Carrier Project.

Consumer tariffs for water from the project are projected at between Sh160 and Sh170 per cubic metre. The Treasury has not disclosed whether these tariffs have already factored in the grant.

The Treasury said the Sh8.14 billion, which will be a grant, will help to ensure affordable prices of water from the project and benefit as many locals as possible in the two counties.

‘Invest International, a Dutch Impact Investor, has committed to provide a grant of 25 percent of the project cost -$63 million, to improve the affordability of the project’s tariffs,’ says the Treasury in the project notes.

‘This proposed tariff is contingent upon project negotiations, the approval of the project’s comprehensive financing plan, and the final tariff structure by the Water Services Regulatory Board as per regulatory requirements.’

But the projected tariffs for water from this project are higher than the average price of Sh100 for a cubic metre at most kiosks in Mombasa.

The Baricho aquifer along the Sabaki River is one of the major sources of potable water in the coastal region. The aquifer accounts for an estimated 64 percent of the water supplied to Mombasa County.

The PPP project is fronted by a consortium led by Utility Partners One LLP and will, upon completion, see 80,000 cubic metres of water tapped from the aquifer and supplied to residents and businesses in the two counties every day.

The construction of a seven-megawatt captive solar power plant is also part of the Sabaki Water Carrier Project.

The PPP Directorate approved the project to proceed to contract negotiations in February this year, and ground breaking is anticipated to be done in the current financial year that ends in June 2026.

The project is set to take four years, after which Utility Partners One LLP and associates will operate and maintain it for 20 years to recoup their investment, then hand it to the government.

Sabaki Water Carrier is one of the two PPP-backed water projects that the government is banking on to ease the crisis of clean water supply countrywide. The other one is the Lamu Water Desalination Plant, whose total cost is Sh106.4 billion. The PPP Directorate cleared the project to go for contract negotiations last April.

Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Inc. has added two more Kenyan-listed firms to its frontier markets indices, bringing the visibility of the stocks to foreign investors.

The global investment advisory firm in its latest index review for global markets, added CIC Insurance Group Plc and Williamson Tea Kenya Plc in its MSCI Frontier Small Cap Index.

The increased number of NSE-listed stocks on the global indexes is expected to increase the visibility of the counters to foreigners, particularly those relying on indexes to invest in emerging and frontier markets such as Kenya.

MSCI is a leading provider of services for the global investment community, enabling investors to understand and review key drivers for their portfolios across markets in both advanced and frontier markets.

This comes amid reduced participation of foreign investors at NSE, whose valuation moved above Sh3 trillion for the first time on the back of increased activity by local institutional investors.

The MSCI has added seven NSE-listed stocks to its index in the past year. The six counters, including Kenya Power, Carbacid Investments Plc, Bamburi Cement Plc and Housing Finance, have been added to the small-cap index in the year.

Standard Chartered Bank joined the MSCI main frontier market index that had Safaricom Plc, Equity Group Holdings, KCB Group Plc, East Africa Breweries Plc and Cooperative Bank of Kenya.

The MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index captures small-cap representation across 28 frontier market countries.

The NSE on Thursday closed above Sh3 trillion for the first time in the wake of a rally that began last year and was then turbocharged by Safaricom’s profit announcement.

The value of all stocks at NSE rose to Sh3.044 trillion at the close of the trading session up from Sh2.991 trillion on Wednesday (October 5).

Analysts say the 2025 market rally has ridden on the back of lower returns on fixed income assets, including Treasury bills and bonds.

This has pushed investors to pour cash into shares, with the NSE posting a return of 56.9 percent since the start of the year and increasing equity owners’ paper wealth by Sh1.1 trillion.

The return beats other assets like bonds, real estate and fixed bank deposits.

On Thursday, Safaricom and KCB helped lift the market above the Sh3 trillion mark after threatening for days to hit the milestone.

For decades, telcos were the unchallenged custodians of communication. SMS was their undeniable golden goose; universal, reliable and wildly profitable.

Then came the over-the-top (OTT) revolution: WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram. Riding the same data rails telcos built, these apps ate the messaging pie whole, turning operators into mere connective tissue.

Rich Communication Services (RCS) has re-emerged as the telco comeback strategy, a modern, media-rich evolution of SMS. It is the long-promised upgrade that lets users exchange images, videos, and payments directly from their phone’s native messaging app.

Having onboarded and built two media use cases across news and entertainment, I can confidently say that RCS is the “killer channel” given its ubiquity and seamless handshakes on the network side, with no app installation required. Unfortunately, the revival has not been entirely organic.

Recently, Google has rolled back access to its directly provisioned service, resulting in outages for subscribers in various markets around the world. Interpreted as arm-twisting or not, it has jolted the industry awake. RCS is the foundation of Google’s vision for an open messaging ecosystem that can finally rival iMessage and WhatsApp.

For operators, this moment feels eerily familiar. A decade ago, the GSMA launched Joyn, a collaborative RCS attempt that promised to reclaim the customer relationship. It flopped, bogged down by bureaucracy, inconsistent rollouts, and a lack of user experience vision. OTT players moved faster, understood network effects, and captured users by the millions.

This time, in my opinion, things are different. Android’s scale gives RCS a ready global base.

Google’s muscle ensures cross-device compatibility. And for telcos, playing ball could unlock serious upside from new revenue streams in business messaging, conversational commerce, authentication, and customer care. Imagine a future where your apps live within your messaging inbox.

This is where telcos can reclaim relevance by co-creating value on top of the infrastructure they control. The competitive edge lies in localisation, partnerships, and trust.

Telcos already have the billing relationships, the identity data, and the regulatory credibility. What they need now is agility to turn RCS into a competitive moat.

Of course, Google’s heavy hand in the recent move raises valid concerns. When one player controls the switch, the promise of ‘open standards’ begins to resemble a managed democracy.

But we must be pragmatic. The next frontier of mobile engagement will be shaped by whoever blends reach, reliability, and interactivity, and right now, RCS is that rare bridge between telco-grade infrastructure, an app-like experience, and, for Africa, that all-important mobile money layer that powers commerce.

For telcos, many of whom are changing step into techco, this is about evolution. The game has changed, and for the discerning, the ball is back in their court.

If you are to meet Antonina Agata in a restaurant, she will first seek to know what the menu looks like. Her eating, she says, is not dictated by what’s available; she curates what she eats to suit her holistic lifestyle, regardless of where she is.

‘I don’t just eat the way I eat at my house; even when I travel outside the country, I will look for food that aligns with my nutritional standards.’

The 47-year-old Certified Health and Holistic Nutrition Coach and founder of Emeri Holistic Health does not have fitness goals. No. She calls them standards. ‘Standards are irreducible minimums that I have set for myself; I can’t go below them. Diet is a big part of my general fitness, and I take it with the seriousness it deserves.’

Her fitness journey dates back about one and a half decades. ‘In December 2011, I went for a hospital open day where I had my vitals taken, everything. I was told, was okay except my body weight. Before this, I was not sleeping well and had elevated levels of the Prolactin hormone. I remember the doctor declaring that I was obese. This stuck with me long after leaving the hospital.’

For the longest time, she was comfortable with her weight and body structure. ‘Growing up, weight was never frowned upon; it was seen as a score of how good one was doing. So, it never struck me even remotely that I could be facing a possible health problem.’

She weighed 96 kilos back in 2011. The following year, she sought the help of a nutritionist and a gym to rebrand herself and live a healthier life. ‘It wasn’t about losing weight, though that would eventually be a consequence of the change in my lifestyle-it was more of dropping off the obese tag. I dropped out of the gym not long after.’

Then, in her early 30s and working at a leading bank, she picked up walking. She walked around Upper Hill, where she worked at the end of every working day. At home, she filled bottles with sand for weight training.

‘It never truly felt like working out. I lost 16 kilos just by minding what I ate and walking.’

So noticeable was her body’s transformation that a senior manager at her workplace noticed and asked. ‘I had just cut my hair bald, and with the massive loss of weight, my colleagues were concerned. A senior manager thought I was going through a tough season of life.’

In 2015, the weight started creeping back. ‘I went through a season of mental and professional unsettlement. I was not happy at work. I did not know where I wanted to go with my career life. I moved industries; from finance to FMCG [fast moving consumer goods] . This rapid movement did not offer a learning period. For me, this meant I was learning on the job. My working hours were affected, I had gone back to school for my masters as well, this meant I would at times have my evening meal at the university’s cafeteria on the go and mostly these were sugary snacks. The weight gain would hit me like a boulder at some point.’

Antonina is not one to let years of gains go down the drain. ‘I always go back to see what is changing, how it affects me and what I need to do to rise above it.’

The odds would have been against her if she had not adhered to her self-efficacy code. ‘I could sit back in the comfort of not finding time to eat healthy or continue with my physical fitness regime, and let life pass by. But life is about making do with what you have as you seek to reach where you want to go. I call it self-efficacy. I started waking up at 4 am to do my High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for about 30 minutes. I made plans for my meals. I almost never ate out. I used to carry my lunch and dinner. Before leaving the office in the evening for class, I would warm my food, and just before getting to class, I would sit down and eat.’

From this part of her journey, Antonina learned something pivotal.

‘Always find a way to incorporate balance into your life. Everyone, as it is commonly said, has the same 24 hours. What happens between waking up and going to bed is what sets people apart. Balance is found in being intentional about time and activities.’

This balance, she says, may not achieve a perfect equilibrium.

‘Opportunity cost is a key factor in this business balance. My social life was heavily dented because many times, I was too pressed for time to squeeze in additional activities. You choose what you can forgo and do what must be done.’

In 2018, she returned to the gym. ‘I needed to lift heavier. My muscles had grown used to the makeshift weights I had at home.’

Antonina does not consider going to the gym as working out. ‘I call it training, teaching your body to be strong. It’s teaching your muscles resilience. The gym is your body’s classroom,’ she adds.

She got a personal trainer later on after recognising the need for one from her brother. ‘For this thing to work, you must create an environment that supports your growth. It is not a linear cast-in-stone process. You gain new knowledge on the move, and sometimes this new knowledge unsettles what you have held on to for long. The secret is in being flexible and adjusting with time. Besides, what worked 10 years ago may well not work in the present. Once you realise this, you become more receptive to change.’

Her core started to build and look stronger. She is unable to hide her excitement when showing off her midsection’s six-pack abs.

‘People see the results, no one sees the efforts. When I look at myself in the mirror and see these abs perfectly coming together to form a ‘six-pack,’ I see all the efforts I have put in training my body to look like it does right now.’ Her biceps are well-toned, and she feels good at accomplishing something not many people her age have.

She added running to her fitness catalogue in 2020. ‘It was what everyone did in 2020, but beyond this, I wanted to see how far my body could go. How much push it can accommodate.’

This is a part of the large build that is her constant movement. ‘Movement is among my very first activities of the day. I wake up and move for about 10 minutes in the estate, climb a flight of stairs three times before I can start the day.’

During this interview at the Wadi Degla Club, she parked her car at the farthest corner just so she could walk. ‘I do this even in the supermarket, I always park the farthest I can. I watch movies standing up at times. I am a creature of habit. When I started moving, it became a part of who I am, and now I just can’t sit for long periods of time.’

Around the same time in 2020, she was diagnosed with depression, which may have led to body dysmorphia. ‘Despite having lost significant weight, toning my body and attaining what many would consider an ideal body, I felt it wasn’t good enough.’

It was a dark pit that took great effort to extricate herself from. ‘I am now comfortable with the cellulite here, a wrinkle there, a dimple somewhere else, and the scars. It’s who I am, and if I don’t like myself yet I am the most important person to me, how am I supposed to be human?’

In 2022, she looked beyond the gym and training. ‘I started hiking mountains. Hiking has had tremendous benefits to my body, mind and spirit as well. It is where, besides shaping my character in terms of endurance and resilience, I hike to connect with a higher consciousness, what many would call God,’ she offers.

Her fitness journey has led her to embrace WHO’s definition of health. “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

‘When I got depressed and later when my father died in 2024, leaving me in a bad mental state, it was running and Yoga that held me together. This worked for me. I can’t encourage anyone out there to dismiss pharmacotherapy, but I didn’t use antidepressants for treatment. I hit the road, and I did Yoga. I got healed.’

Her motivation is simple: ‘I want to be 96 and have the ability to walk and see the world.’

With the widespread use of semaglutide injections for weight loss, especially in Kenya, bariatric surgery has somewhat taken a back seat. Yet the real question isn’t which option wins, but who needs what and when.

Dr Prabu Kathiresan, a consultant laparoscopic bariatric surgeon at Aga Khan University Hospital, states that semaglutide injections can be safely combined with bariatric surgery.

‘For example, if we combine a sleeve gastrectomy, which is a restrictive procedure for a morbidly obese patient, with semaglutide, the results are much better,’ he explains.

‘If the patient is in a wheelchair because of obesity and has arthritis, we can start with semaglutide, help them lose some weight through passive exercises, and after some time, they will be safe enough to undergo surgery.’

He explains that semaglutide works by mimicking a natural gut hormone that reduces hunger and helps patients feel full sooner.

However, once the injections are stopped, the effect diminishes. Since the anatomy isn’t altered, appetite can return to previous levels, and many patients start eating more again.

Obesity is a disease that affects more women in urban areas than men.

In a typical month, Dr Kathiresan sees six to seven patients seeking bariatric surgery. But before any intervention, he first checks whether they have followed standard weight loss protocols and examines what truly drives their weight gain. ‘What is the weight problem? Is it hormonal issues, depressive or psychiatric issues?’

For instance, if a patient has hypothyroidism and is gaining weight because of it, that must be addressed first. If it is the only cause, the patient often responds well once the thyroid issue is managed. The next step, he says, is to motivate the patient to make lifestyle and diet changes.

For bariatric surgery, surgeons either bypass the normal food pathway or restrict how much a person can eat, which naturally reduces calorie intake.

‘In restriction, we remove around 75 to 80 percent of the stomach from the body. In bypassing, we create a small pouch in the stomach and connect it directly to the small intestine. So, malabsorption will occur, and nutrients won’t be absorbed like in a normal person,’ he says.

Which procedure is more common?

According to Dr Kathiresan, the choice depends on the patient’s needs and profile. ‘For example, if a young woman wants to lose weight so she can conceive, we prefer a restrictive procedure because we cannot risk significant malabsorption. She will need those nutrients for a healthy pregnancy,’ he explains.

For sustained weight loss, bariatric surgery still requires patient commitment. ‘If patients revert to their previous eating habits, they will regain the weight,’ he says.

Success in bariatric surgery is gradual. Dr Kathiresan mentions that, for instance, if a patient is 160 centimetres tall and their ideal weight is 60 kilogrammes, weighing 110 kilogrammes means they have 50 kilogrammes of excess weight. ‘By doing surgery, after a year or two, they can lose up to 50 percent of that excess weight,’ he says.

Who should consider bariatric surgery?

The current guidance from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery states that anyone with a body mass index (BMI) over 35 may be considered for surgery, especially if they also have obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or sleep apnoea.

However, before surgery, patients are encouraged to start some form of physical activity so that movement becomes part of their routine by the time they reach the theatre.

‘As a surgeon and as an anaesthetist, we’re happy when we see a patient lose around 10 percent of their body weight before surgery,’ Dr Kathiresan says.

After an uncomplicated bariatric procedure, patients can usually start consuming small amounts of liquid food on day one or two. They then gradually transition to puréed foods, semi-solids, and then solid foods.

Dr Kathiresan warns that if a patient regularly consumes large amounts of junk food, like chocolate every few hours, they will gain weight again.

‘The stomach has the capacity to stretch. Even if only 20 percent of it is left, it can still stretch to accommodate the food volume you put in,’ he explains.

Can one get pregnant after surgery? ‘Yes, but preferably after a year or two,’ he says. ‘Pregnancy is physiologically demanding, so it’s better to wait until the body has adjusted.’

When the standard gauge railway (SGR) first roared to life, it wasn’t only locomotives connecting Mombasa and Nairobi. It was people, habits, and worlds.

On one side stood Chinese engineers, disciplined and punctual; on the other, Kenyan staff, warm, social, and famously unhurried. What began as a clash of customs slowly became one of the most remarkable experiments in cultural exchange in Africa.

Culture, though often invisible, is the real engine behind every organisation. It shapes how people communicate, solve problems, and even greet one another.

Studies show that diverse teams outperform uniform ones because they challenge each other to think differently. The SGR proves this daily. The friction of difference eventually produced the spark of efficiency.

At the beginning, however, the differences were almost comic. The language barrier was so steep that a new dialect was born: ‘Chinklish,’ a lively mix of English, Kiswahili, and Mandarin. If something wasn’t satisfactory, a staff member might shrug and say, ‘No sawa.’

Food was simply ‘chaku.’ When all else failed, gestures and Google Translate did the job. What could have been chaos turned into camaraderie; every misunderstanding came with laughter, and laughter built bridges.

Greetings offered another lesson. In Kenya, saying ‘Jambo’ to everyone in sight is a sign of respect. Chinese colleagues, used to quiet starts and reserved formality, were puzzled by the constant small talk.

To Kenyans, silence felt cold; to the Chinese, chatter felt excessive. Over time, each side learned the other’s language of courtesy, sometimes literally. The same happened with timekeeping. The Chinese insistence on punctuality and scheduled meals first amused Kenyan staff, but soon it transformed operations. Time, once flexible, became sacred, and efficiency followed.

Food and festivals turned out to be the gentlest teachers of all. Chapati met dumplings, ugali shook hands with steamed rice, and curiosity replaced hesitation.

During Christmas or Eid, Chinese staff joined Kenyan colleagues in celebration; during the Lunar New Year or the Dragon Boat Festival, Kenyans returned the gesture, occasionally mastering the art of chopsticks with comic determination. These shared experiences dissolved the last traces of formality.

Working together also changed how staff saw their professions. Traditionally, Kenyans tend to specialise narrowly, but Chinese mentors encouraged versatility. Engineers began learning logistics or accounting; technicians explored management. The result was a team that could solve problems faster because everyone understood more than one piece of the puzzle.

To cement this understanding, the SGR operator introduced cultural exchange and team-building programmes, from language lessons to joint excursions in national parks. Bilingual translators eased daily communication, and more than 250 Kenyan employees have travelled to China for study and exchange visits.

Many return inspired by the precision and discipline they witness abroad, describing it not as rigidity but as deep respect for time, teamwork, and purpose.

Today, the impact of this cultural integration is visible in every arrival and departure. The trains run on schedule; safety and order are second nature. Behind the polished service is a workforce that has learned to see through each other’s eyes. They have built a common rhythm, half Kenyan warmth, half Chinese precision, and the results speak for themselves.

The SGR’s success story is a reminder that infrastructure is more than concrete and steel. It is built by people.

People who laugh through translation errors, learn new recipes, and slowly discover that respect is universal even when customs differ. Kenya’s railway may run on imported rails, but its real foundation is understanding.

When a train glides out of Mombasa on time, carrying passengers who trust its reliability, it also carries the quiet triumph of two cultures that met, listened, and learned. And that, perhaps, is the smoothest journey of all.

In a landmark ruling, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kisumu has decided that employees who sexually harass their colleagues at work can be lawfully dismissed, even where an employer lacks a formal sexual harassment policy.

The court held that offenders cannot use the lack of such a policy as a defence, affirming that respect, dignity and professional conduct are non-negotiable obligations in every workplace, even in the absence of a written manual.

The judgment sets a significant precedent for how courts will view sexual harassment cases, as it establishes that employers can still discipline offenders even when their policies fall short of statutory standards.

In a case involving a manager dismissed for sexually harassing a female cleaner, the court found that the offender could not use the lack of a sexual harassment policy or the absence of CCTV footage to challenge his dismissal.

The manager, identified only by initials TOO, to protect the identities of both parties, had sued a non-profit organisation after being summarily dismissed in August 2024 on allegations of sexual misconduct. The claimant was anonymised as RE.

The complainant, who was five months pregnant at the time, told the court that the manager had made sexually explicit remarks to her and indecently exposed himself to her while she was at work.

She also testified that he had sent her nude photos via WhatsApp, which he later deleted.

TOO told the court that the accusations were false, unsubstantiated and motivated by malice. He also argued that his dismissal was procedurally unfair, stating that he had been denied the opportunity to cross-examine his accuser and that the firm had relied on a non-existent policy.

He also claimed that he had given the former colleague snacks and money.

TOO had sought damages and terminal dues amounting to Sh1.78 million, citing violations of the Employment Act and the Fair Administrative Action Act.

But, the judge dismissed his argument, ruling that the absence of a formal policy under Section Six of the Employment Act did not invalidate disciplinary action against an employee accused of sexual misconduct.

‘The court is satisfied that the respondent’s sexual harassment policy was sufficient, despite the respondent not having put in place a sexual harassment policy in terms of Section Six of the Employment Act.

‘The fact the claimant [TOO] understood the ramifications of the accusations levelled against him indicate the absence of the sexual harassment policy in terms of Section Six was neither here nor there,’ reads the judgment.

The judge held that the employer had followed due process in dismissing the claimant, noting that he had been given an opportunity to respond to the charges and participate in the disciplinary hearing.

The court dismissed the claimant’s contention that the case was weakened by the absence of CCTV evidence, the complainant’s failure to report the matter to police or her earlier acceptance of snacks and small cash gifts from him.

‘The fact that she had accepted snacks from TOO does not make her complicit in any way in the misconduct by the claimant. The conduct of the claimant fits in the classic mould of sexual harassment as he chose the time the victim was cleaning the office, when no one else was around to harass her,’ the judgment states.

The NGO informed the court that the dismissal was both ‘procedurally and substantively fair’ and followed internal investigations that substantiated the sexual harassment allegations.

The firm said that the claimant had been issued with a show cause letter, had responded to it, and had been heard in a disciplinary hearing before the decision was made.

Equity Group’s health insurance subsidiary made a profit in its first month of operation, riding on its parent’s brand and underlining the opportunity for the lender in the insurance sector.

Equity Health Insurance Kenya, which started operations last September, reported a pretax profit of Sh23 million, the bulk of which was from investment income.

The health unit posted Sh31 million in investment income over the month and incurred claims of Sh6.4 million.

‘The insurance sector is posting numbers that bankers only dream of. The health insurance was formed in September, and this one-month-old baby has made a profit of 23 million,’ said Equity Chief Executive James Mwangi.

‘That is the magic of Equity; you open a business and in a month it has broken even.’

Equity Group-which operates life, general and health insurance business- reported a 36.4 percent growth in pretax profit for its overall insurance business in the nine months to September to Sh1.46 billion, up from Sh1.07 billion a year earlier.

The general insurance, which started to operate at the beginning of the year, recorded a pretax profit of Sh140 million. The nine-month-old business had written premiums of Sh1.66 billion, generating insurance revenues of Sh1 billion. The life insurance business, which has been in existence since 2022, posted a pretax profit of Sh1.2 billion, up from Sh1 billion in a similar period a year earlier.

The life business has issued 17.8 million policies, the bulk of which are issued through digital platforms owned by the group.

Mr Mwangi said insurance had better prospects than the banking business due to opportunities afforded by low insurance penetration.

‘We predict that insurance will become a huge part of the group. The momentum of insurance is much bigger than the momentum of the banking group,’ he said.

Kenya’s insurance penetration is at 2.3 percent, with the low uptake of insurance attributed to mistrust towards the sector. Financial inclusion under the banking sector is currently 84.8 percent, meaning eight of every ten mature Kenyans are now banked.

Equity is banking on the reach of its brand to grow its insurance business and has turned its branch staff into agents to sell insurance products.

The bank disclosed that 2,395 staff took training on certificates of proficiency in insurance, underscoring the bank’s push to rely on existing resources to push the new business line.

‘What we expected to do is to disrupt and democratise insurance to drive inclusion,’ said Mr Mwangi.

Equity Group is a large player in the health industry with Equity Afia, its medical franchise, running 147 hospitals, which were visited by approximately 4.3 million patients last year.

Its interest in the Equity Afia hospitals, which are owned and managed by doctors who go through its education scholarship programme, provides the group with a pool of potential customers for health insurance.

Former Cabinet Secretary (CS) Raphael Tuju has failed in an attempt to reopen a long-running battle with a regional bank, over a contested debt of Sh4.5 billion loan.

The High Court dismissed the fresh application by Mr Tuju and his company Dari Ltd, saying the issues raised by the former CS had been addressed in previous court decisions.

Mr Tuju had asked the High Court to review its January 2020 decision that recognised a judgment issued in London in favour of the East African Development Bank (EADB).

The London judgment compelled Mr Tuju and his companies to repay a loan borrowed from EADB in 2015, which has since grown to more than Sh4.5 billion and triggered auction of some of Mr Tuju properties.

The formeer CS argued that he had discovered new and important evidence supporting his case that warrants a review of the judgment.

‘The matter has been finally decided by a court of competent jurisdiction. This court will not permit a collateral attack on a final and valid foreign judgment already recognised by this court and the appellate court,’ said the court.

Mr Tuju told court that the new evidence emerged from a cross-examination of a key witness, David Odongo, who testified on behalf of the bank, allegedly confirming that the loan borrowed in 2015 was two-phased.

Mr Tuju further said Mr Odongo recanted key parts of his earlier sworn affidavits that were used to obtain the UK judgment and its registration in Kenya.

He said the witness also admitted that the loan agreement was part of a two -phase project, land acquisition and constructions of villas, but that the facility agreement only reflected the first phase.

Read: EADB asks High Court to clear Tuju assets sale

The court, however, said the issue of two-phased project had been litigated to its conclusion before the English courts. The court also said it would be legally improper for the High Court to make a determination on an issue that is pending before the Supreme Court.

The former CS has been battling with the regional bank over a disputed debt, arising from a loan borrowed by in 2015.

Mr Tuju’s firms Dari Ltd and SAM Company Ltd entered into a facility agreement with the lender for a loan of $9.3 million in 2015 to expand his business. The loan was secured by several forms of collateral, including an indemnity and guarantee agreement on April 10, 2015.

Mr Tuju’s two properties Entim Sidai alongside Tamarind Karen and Dari Business Park, were charged as security for the loan.

The former CS accused the bank of failing to disburse the full amount thereby causing cash flow difficulties for the principal debtor.

When Dari Ltd failed to service the loan, the bank issued a demand for the immediate repayment and soon filed a suit in the United Kingdom against the company and the guarantors -Mr Tuju, his children and SAM Company Limited.

In a judgment on June 19, 2019, Judge Daniel Toledano of the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, entered summary judgment against Dari and guarantors, jointly and severally, for $15,162,320.95.

To enforce the decision, the bank moved to the High Court for recognition of the judgment. The decision was adopted on January 7, 2020 as provided under the Foreign Judgment (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act.

Dari Ltd filed an application before the High Court, for setting aside the UK judgment but it was rejected and the matter escalated to the Supreme Court, where it is pending after the judges disqualified themselves from the case.

One of the properties, Dari Coffee and Garden Restaurant was allegedly auctioned in October for Sh450 million, but Mr Tuju contested the sale.

The planned sale of a second property, Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary and Tamarind Karen and Dari Business park, was stopped by the court after Mr Tuju contested the valuation tabled by Knight Frank Valuers, which was appointed to value the properties.