Category: Business Daily

The guards at the parking lot were really nice. One was a wry fellow, quick on his feet. He directed me to a slot and said, ‘This is the safest place on earth,’ in Kiswahili. A great declaration. I remember thinking about those words as I walked into Quiver.

Typically, I’m not a Quiver guy-which begs the question: who is a Quiver guy?

A Quiver guy is the kind who, when he goes to drink, says, ‘Today I’m going to turn up.’ Which means he’s in his late 20s or 30s. Some 40-somethings also consider themselves Quiver guys but that’s a story for another column.

A Quiver guy buys a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black or Jameson or Martel and works through it with his boys. He most likely wears a hat. He will have a date or he will most likely be with his boys. A Quiver guy says, ‘babes.’ And that’s who I saw at Quiver.

The place was massive. Upstairs. Downstairs. A deejay booth. Huge TV screens. Flashing banners shouting about Sunday Brunches, Executive Reggae Mondays, and Deejays Kym Nickdee-he’s good, I’ve watched his YouTube mix on The Bag.

There are Rampage Saturdays, which we were experiencing. And that’s a word a Quiver guy would use: rampage. The place was thudding, people streamed in from the rain, before long it was difficult to find a seat.

Whenever someone bought a bottle, the waitresses in their short red dresses would weave through the crowd, holding it up above their heads-fireworks, pomp, triumph.

The music that Saturday wasn’t up to scratch. The deejay was all over the place. My companion called it ‘music you listen to while handwashing clothes.’ I loved that description so much I wrote it down.

It rained heavily that evening, but inside, the party kept going. Scores of people streamed in as we were leaving around 11p.m. A Quiver guy would never leave a rampage that early. But maybe that’s how you know you’re no longer one-you start leaving before the night does.

The High Court has rejected an attempt by three petitioners to withdraw a constitutional challenge against the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) decision to bar businesses from filing returns, ruling that public interest litigation cannot be abandoned without judicial scrutiny.

The court dismissed the petitioners’ application, stating that their actions-including filing a similar case in Bomet High Court before securing authority to withdraw the Nairobi petition -raised procedural red flags and risked undermining public accountability in tax disputes.

The petitioners Peter Opiyo, Peter Gacheru, and Denis Nyambati, had sought to withdraw their petition filed in May 2025, in which they claimed that KRA’s enforcement of the VAT Special Table was “unconstitutional and discriminatory.”

The VAT Special Table is a compliance tool deployed by KRA to restrict specific VAT-registered taxpayers who show a pattern of non-compliance. The taxman uses the table as a watch list to flag businesses for suspicious VAT compliance behaviour and prevents them from performing key functions until they resolve the identified issues.

Central to the case was a claim that in April this year, KRA placed businesses on the VAT Special Table on grounds of an alleged fraudulent VAT scheme, a decision that allegedly made it impossible to make transactions, file returns or present claims for refunds.

KRA argued that the alleged fraudulent VAT scheme denies the exchequer collections of an estimated Sh2.5 billion every month, prompting the crackdown that elicited an uproar from the businesses. VAT Special Table is an administrative process where VAT-registered taxpayers are blocked from filing VAT returns.

The petitioners sued, contending that KRA’s decision was illegal and that it had denied the businesses the right to a fair administrative process.

The court emphasised that Constitutional petitions are not “private suits” that can be withdrawn at whim.

“Public interest litigation must be shielded from abuse,” noted the court, referencing concerns over forum-shopping.

The ruling leaned heavily on Rule 27 of the Mutunga Rules, which requires courts to assess whether withdrawal would harm public interest or conceal ulterior motives.

However, in their withdrawal application, they argued that allowing the case to proceed would prejudice a related petition they later filed in Bomet.

But the court noted that the petitioners failed to serve their withdrawal notice on key parties, including the Attorney General, KRA, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Law Society of Kenya.

‘The court also notes that the petitioners did not even annex copies of the petition in Bomet High Court,’ reads the ruling.

The rules require courts to be satisfied that the withdrawal of public litigation is made in good faith and not for any ulterior motive or personal gain.

In this case, the court found no justification for permitting the withdrawal, noting that the Nairobi petition raised “serious constitutional issues” requiring full participation from all stakeholders.

‘Whereas the High Court has jurisdiction to hear applications for violation of rights and fundamental freedoms under Article 165 of the Constitution, the court will resist and frown upon any attempt at forum-shopping or suits that may run afoul of rules on sub judice,’ ruled the court.

The court directed that both petitions-Nairobi and Bomet-remain active pending further orders. It also mandated service of the ruling on all parties, including the Bomet High Court, signaling potential consolidation or transfer of the cases.

KRA, the Attorney General, and the other parties did not comment on the application.

A little story about how God works: In 1993, the Very Reverend Canon Evans Omollo, now the Provost of All Saints’ Cathedral, joined Maranda High School. He was one of the top students in mathematics and believed his future was assured.

‘I knew I would become something, somebody, in economics, or some cutting edge linguistics,’ he says.

But when he couldn’t raise school fees in Form Two, his education came to an abrupt stop. He dropped out and stayed out of school for seven years-until someone saw him preach and decided to sponsor him to train for priesthood. He enrolled in seminary as a high school dropout while also preparing privately for his KCSE.

He sat his exams at the age of 26 and passed, the same year he was ordained as a priest in the Anglican Diocese of Bondo, in 2004. That year, he also earned a Higher Diploma in Theology.

In 2006, he left for the UK, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Cross-Cultural Mission and a Master of Arts in Mission with Leadership from All Nations Christian College.

He would go on to serve as the Provincial Mission Director for the Anglican Church for five years, then as Assistant Provost of All Saints Cathedral for six and a half years, before being installed as the 14th Provost in 2023.

‘You see,’ he said in his office recently, ‘God interrupted my education to get me into church.’ The furniture in his office has since been rearranged from the last time we were here to interview his predecessor, Provost Dr Sammy Wainaina.

‘We were taught in leadership that if you can’t change anything, at least change the sitting arrangement,’ he added, tongue-in-cheek. Maybe that’s still how God works, interrupting, rearranging, sometimes even moving a chair or two, just to remind us that nothing, no detour, no delay-is ever wasted.

Do you feel like moving about furniture has changed something in how you run this church?

Absolutely. From a physical perspective, I get more light at my desk now. But beyond that, when someone walks in and realises, this isn’t how it used to be, it triggers something in their mind.

They register that there’s been a change in leadership. You’re speaking directly into their psychology, signalling that things aren’t business as usual. The awareness of newness is very powerful, psychologically.

What significant work were you itching to get on with when you took office?

The major one was strengthening the parish’s spiritual life, not just maintaining it, but going deeper. That’s why people come to church: for nourishment and transformation.

The first thing we changed was our preaching style. We moved from topical preaching, say, picking a theme like forgiveness, to expository preaching, unpacking scripture book by book.

We started with Romans; this year, we’re in the Gospel of John. It forces preachers to engage the whole Bible, even the hard parts, and it disciples’ people from the pulpit.

The second focus was leadership within ministries- youth, women, men, children. I realised the men’s ministry was struggling, so I led from the front. I called them, met them, even joined their nyama choma hangouts. We grew from about 30 men to over 100.

And when we meet, we talk about real things, marriage, faith, even sex and intimacy. Many men are quietly battling infidelity and separation. Some are in the ‘side-chick’ culture, even while serving in church, and it’s tearing families apart.

So we confront these issues with scripture, talk honestly and challenge each other to live right, not just to ‘make heaven,’ but to build wholesome lives here.

Provost, why can’t an African man have many wives? Putting Christianity aside for a moment, can a man have two or three wives and still be a good person, someone God would be proud of?

[Laughs] Well, I say this with context, I’m a product of polygamy. My mother was my father’s second wife. So I understand it from the inside.

In those days, people often married again because of practical reasons, labour on the farm, lineage, survival. But today, it’s different. The pressure to take another wife often comes from emotional disconnection.

I work with many couples, and I see it: people who can’t connect anymore. The man is lonely. He’s in his 40s or 50s, doing well, feeling renewed, but there’s tension at home. And in that loneliness, he seeks warmth and company. Sex just becomes part of that package. Is it wrong? From what I’ve seen, it brings a lot of complications. Growing up in a polygamous home, I saw tension, jealousy, even hatred. Families divided. It’s rarely peaceful.

Now, I’m not saying it never works – some people manage it. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Scripture is clear, and I choose to stay within it. If I weren’t a believer, maybe I’d say, fine, if you can handle it. But the truth is, it’s difficult. So I hold to the Bible – one wife, one covenant – and I focus on building the kind of marriage that keeps me from ever needing to look elsewhere.

Do you believe that all marriages have to work?

Like making Nairobi work? [Chuckles] I guess they should.

Even if couples outgrow each other years down the road, through no fault of their own?

I see your argument, and it’s credible. But I’m not sure it’s about outgrowing each other. It’s more about making the wrong choices and failing to live by principles that sustain a marriage.

It’s not distance that breaks it – it’s pride, selfishness, stubbornness. Sometimes even external pressures. There are cases, Biko, where after assessing a couple, I’ve had to accept that it just won’t work. And when that happens, it’s better they go their separate ways. Some unions are simply too difficult to sustain.

You are currently pursuing a doctorate in Missional Ecclesiology. What is that?

[Chuckles] Ecclesiology comes from the Greek word ecclesia, which means ‘church.’ So, ecclesiology is essentially the study of the church. The ‘ology’ part, like in theology, just means ‘the study of.’

Now, missional ecclesiology looks at how the church can be mission-oriented-that is, focused on bringing people to God and helping them understand Him. It asks: How can the church exist primarily as a conduit to bring people into a living relationship with God? The opposite of that would be what you might call an institutional church-one that just exists to exist, to be comfortable, maybe even rich.

You know, in England-where I went to school-the Church of England is very much an institution. It’s there; people come if they want.

Like a bank or a post office-it just exists. But missional ecclesiology challenges that model. It’s about a church that actively goes out, touches lives, and makes faith real in people’s everyday experiences.

Is there something you would change in the 29 years you’ve served the church?

That’s a very deep question. [Long pause] Maybe not change-but do differently. One, I’d marry earlier. I got married just before turning 33. If I could do it again, I’d marry younger. Why? Because you’ve got more energy for life then. More time to see your children grow.

I’m 47 now, my daughter is 13. By the time I retire at 65, she’ll just be a few years out of university. I wish I’d raised my children when I was younger, more energetic-so that by the time they’re done with school, I’d be enjoying grandchildren as I retire.

[Pause] Another thing is my schooling path, I wish I’d gone through education like everybody else; through a straight line. I was a very good student when I was young, but maybe God saw that a smooth route would have spoiled me. So He interrupted it. Brought me into the church. And the church has formed me into who I am today.

In the 29 years, are there moments that you questioned your decisions to get into church and what happened then?

[Pause] Yeah. You know, people tend to see ‘the church’ as one big monolith, but I’ve always tried to show it has many expressions.

Still, one thing I’ve seen-personally and around me-is how deeply people can get hurt in it. Some feel rejected, even thrown off completely. I came close to myself. But God saved me from that edge.

I’ve had a lot of grace, a lot of favour. The truth is, while I’ve seen others wounded by the church, the church has mostly been good to me. But it’s not without politics. You see, in State politics, people will tell you to your face, ‘Biko, I don’t like you. You’re a thief.’ It’s crude, but honest.

In the church, it’s different. People smile, call you ‘man of God,’ but when they sit in rooms full of opportunity, instead of mentioning your name, they quietly tear it apart.

Where there’s competition, there’s politics. And the higher you go, the more the interests multiply. At my level, people start wondering, ‘So where does he go next?’ And suddenly, you find yourself in a quiet jostle.

If you’re to do a diagnosis of your spiritual health, how do you think it looks like today?

[Pause] I’d say I have a clear conviction of who God is, and a real relationship with Him-and that, really, is the entry point of faith. I encountered Christ at 18, and that moment set me on a lifelong journey.

Twenty-nine years later, I’ve built a framework of prayer, of reading scripture, of listening to God-both through His word and through others.

[Pause] But if I’m honest, my commitment back then was stronger. I had fewer distractions. I could give God my all-we’d pray overnight, fast for days. There was a purity of focus.

Then came family-marriage, children, ministry, leadership-and with each came new demands. These days, I sometimes find myself in quiet conflict with the very values I hold dear: prayer, scripture, and the practices that once revived my spirit.

People must put you on a pedestal. Do you feel the pressure to conform to that idea-when really, you’re just a man?

Of course. A lot. That’s not how I was raised. I’m a grassroots person. I wasn’t born into privilege; I didn’t grow up around power. So I struggle with some of the formalities of this role.

When I first became Provost, people would literally stand when I walked in-even staff. I’d say, ‘No, no, please sit.’ Some see you as an idol, and I try, as much as I can, to push back. I don’t have all the answers. I’m just a man doing my best.

This office makes people assume you’re powerful, even holy. I once told the congregation, ‘Don’t clap after I preach. Pray instead.’ Some understood; others were offended. But I meant it. Why clap for me? The focus should be on God, not applause. Even small things-how I dress, where I go-people attach meaning to them.

When I grew this beard last year, it was just a New Year’s resolution. My first ever. I keep it trimmed-it’s not as long as yours. [Laughs] When I started, some said, ‘That’s not the look of a Provost.’ I told them, ‘It’s my beard!’ So I kept it-stubbornly. Maybe it’s a 40s thing.

How has AI impacted on your work as a provost?

Yeah, crazy one. When I became Provost in 2023, one of the things God placed on my heart was to lead the church into what I call the digital church.

Out of my 10 pillars, one was focused on growing All Saints into a digital church. So we’ve invested heavily in building our digital presence. And through that, I’ve seen both the potential and the dangers that come with technology-especially AI.

Personally, I use AI tools quite a bit in my work. Even this morning, I was doing research and found myself using some of those tools friends have introduced me to. You can’t help but be amazed at their brilliance. But with that comes a new kind of challenge.

We have many tech-savvy people in church. So, on a Saturday evening before Sunday, a friend might text me, ‘Provost, tomorrow’s sermon is from this passage, right?’ Then they run it through ChatGPT, generate a full sermon, and send it to me saying, ‘Consider this for tomorrow.’ What they’re really telling me is, ‘If you preach off, I’ll know.’ [Laughs] So there’s pressure now. Because with AI, you don’t need to go to theological school to generate a decent sermon. It has raised the bar-and the stakes.

What are your greatest fears now, as a 47-year-old man?

My fears. you’re asking very difficult questions. [Chuckles] I think about what my children would say at my funeral. That’s actually a discussion I often have with my daughter when I drop her at school. I ask her, ‘Mom, what will you tell people at my funeral about me?’ She never likes that conversation. She’ll tear up and tell me to stop, but I keep at it. I tell her, ‘You know, I can die anytime.

So yes, I think a lot about what people would say about me when I’m gone-what my family would say, what my children would remember. It’s not exactly a fear; it’s more like a pressure.

A pressure to live well, to be present with my family, and to remain authentic in public. That people don’t one day hear, ‘Evans, who was preaching here so passionately, has a child somewhere else.’ As a priest, that’s my biggest burden-to stay faithful to what I teach.

Would you like to add anything else to this conversation that I haven’t asked.

My wife. I’d like to appreciate her vital role in where I am now. You know, she met me as a priest. I was deep in the village then-but she believed in me.

I had just come back from the UK and was teaching, but still, life was modest. Yet she saw something in me and agreed to marry me. And honestly, when I met her, favour came. Not long after, I was called to serve in the Archbishop’s office. Interestingly, she was already connected to All Saints’ Cathedral-she grew up here.

I still believe that her presence in my life, her roots here, somehow connected me to this place.

Selina has played a critical role in shaping who I’ve become. She was brought up in privilege, and I wasn’t-I was a village boy. But she never saw that difference.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has warned its shareholders, who include stockbrokers and other trading participants, against breaching its ownership rules.

The Nairobi bourse, which is publicly listed, has asked all shareholders to ensure that no transactions in the firm’s shares result in a breach of the prescribed shareholding thresholds.

The caution by the NSE comes in the aftermath of tensions with stockbrokers over the management and decisions of the bourse, including the appointment of directors.

The Capital Markets (Nairobi Securities Exchange Limited Shareholding) Regulations of 2016 place limits on the share of NSE stock held by individuals, firms and trading participants.

An individual or private company is barred from directly or indirectly holding more than five percent of the equity shares of the bourse, while public firms cannot hold more than a 10 percent stake.

Trading participants in the NSE are blocked from directly, indirectly or cumulatively holding more than 40 percent of the exchange.

‘All shareholders, trading participants and other relevant persons are advised to exercise caution when dealing in shares of the exchange, whether on their own behalf or on behalf of clients, to ensure that no transaction results in a breach of the prescribed shareholding thresholds,’ said NSE chief executive Frank Mwiti in a circular to shareholders.

‘Investors and market intermediaries are requested to notify the Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc of any proposed transactions involving its shares and obtain written confirmation prior to execution.’

A family-owned foreign fund and an overseas pension scheme are currently the top owners of the bourse with a 23.82 percent stake.

Stockbrokers and investment banks in the top 40 shareholding list of the bourse by September 30, 2025, held a combined 18.99 percent stake and individually held between 2.69 percent and 0.12 percent of NSE’s equity.

They include Nyaga Stockbrokers Limited (2.69 percent), Discount Securities Limited (2.69 percent), Sterling Capital Limited (2.69 percent), Kingdom Securities (2.69 percent) and Renaissance Capital (2.69 percent).

Lionel Richie is arguably one of the most successful pop musicians of all time, with a career that spans six decades, sales of more than 125 million albums and songs that have been the soundtrack of the lives of different generations of people across the world.

His memoir Truly, named after one of his signature ballads, released on September 30, 2025, is filled with heartwarming and often hilarious anecdotes, of how a painfully shy boy from a small town in Alabama US, became a global mega star.

Richie shares the blueprint of his longevity at the top of the music business, writing timeless classics such as Easy, Sail On, Three Times a Lady, All Night Long and Hello and reminisces on unguarded moments with Michael Jackson, Kenny Rogers, Quincy Jones and others who have been part of his close circle. Enjoy these 10 nuggets from the pages of Truly by Lionel Richie.

Skeet

Richie’s childhood nickname was coined by his father who made up a playful scat song that went from Skeebo and Skeeboo to Skeeter to Skeet (His friend and mentor Quincy Jones, whom he talked to daily at 3am called him Skeets).

Trumpet vs saxophone

He started playing the saxophone after he received the instrument as a gift from his uncle who was a jazz musician and arranger.

What he really wanted to play though, like many of his friends, was the trumpet, ‘That seemed cool and I was a huge Miles Davis fan, but my lips were too big to get the sound right, and it was frickin’ painful,’ he writes.

Stage fright

This is how Riche remembers his first show as a saxophonist and vocalist with his college band The Mystics: ‘As curtains opened, I leaned into the mic, the girls screamed, and I quickly followed the curtains off the stage. The sensory overload made me hyperventilate – and you can’t blow into a horn if you can’t breathe.’

Seductive power

As a 21-year-old, Richie sang Wichita Lineman by country star Glen Campbell at an audition that earned the Commodores (a merger of the Mystics and another college band, The Jays) a contract as the opening act for Motown’s hottest group The Jackson 5 on their 1970 world tour.

As the Motown scout Suzanne de Passe would perceptively remark after watching that audition, singing ballads is where ‘the seductive power of Lionel Richie’s voices lives’.

Love ballads

To give him an edge over other members of the Commodores who were contributing up-tempo songs, Richie decided to go against the grain: ‘If everybody is bringing in a fast song or a funky song, I gotta bring in the slow song,’ he writes. He was therefore guarante

Ultimately, ballads like Sweet Love and Just to Be Close to You gave him a distinction within the band. The spoken intro on the latter was, he notes, ‘for every man who wanted to reveal his heart but didn’t have the words to do so.’

Easy

Exasperated after being handed a binder of close to 365 pages detailing his schedule for a year, Richie’s reaction was to grab a pen and write: ‘Why in the world would anybody out chains on me?’ The opening lyrics of the second verse of what would become the all-time classic Easy. He reveals how he got stuck writing the ‘musically complicated’ song and how listening to the silence unlocked the lyrics ‘Easy like a Sunday morning’

Treasurer

In addition to being the lead singer of the Commodores, Richie was entrusted with managing their finances, because he had a reputation for being frugal with money. His bandmates called him Jack Benny after the legendary American comedian who portrayed a fictional character who was a miser.

Late comer

Richie and his pal Stevie Wonder share a notoriety for being tardy with time, though he says, the reward is that when they show up, ‘they can give you a classic record like never before’. Stevie, who is blind is also a practical joker, such as when, as recounted in the book, he cranked up a car, engaged the reverse gear, and to the horror of Richie who was in the passenger’s seat, began to back down a driveway.

‘Three Times a Lady’

The song was inspired by a toast Richie’s dad gave his mother: ‘She’s a great lady, she’s a great mother, and she’s a great friend’ Those moving words left such an impression that he captured them in the song, Three Times a Lady. ‘The song was not for the Commodores, Richie discloses. ‘It needed to be sung by someone with more gravitas, someone iconic, I wrote it for Frank Sinatra.’ In 1978, it became the first Billboard Hot 100 No 1 for the Commodores and has been covered by more than 40 different artistes.

Tina Turner

Richie reveals that when he toured with Tine Turner in 1984, she would whisper to him while they sang together on stage, prodding him to give more energy to the performance: ‘Lionel, c’mon, give it to me, sing it to me baby, you got more than that, Lionel, c’mon’ he recollects her saying to his face.

Finally, a gem of wisdom from Lionel Richie: ‘Fame, money, and power do not buy you immortality. Being a legend doesn’t make you less mortal.’

Saving is often seen as a simple act – that of putting aside a few shillings for tomorrow. Yet behind that simple act lies something far greater: the power to build security, freedom and progress.

As we join the rest of the world in marking World Savings Day 2025, this year’s theme ‘This is not a Savings Account’ invites Kenyans to look beyond the act of opening a savings account and see savings as a life strategy towards building a stable future, gaining financial independence, and creating opportunities for prosperity.

Saving provides security in times of crisis for many Kenyan households. Whether it is an illness, job loss or an unexpected emergency, savings provide a vital safety net.

Emergencies often lead to financial distress if there are no emergency funds. They force individuals to fundraise or sell properties at throw away prices to save the situation.

Nothing captures this situation more vividly than the numerous stories of our gold-laden athletes and footballers who fall from ”grace to grass” due to a lack of savings.

Neither are ordinary Kenyans spared from the ravaging consequences of not saving. Take the case of Njeri, a street vendor and a Postbank customer who early in life experienced a medical emergency. She had to sell all her wares at a loss, while her children dropped out of school. She regrets not saving.

Even small, regular savings can make a huge difference. It is not the amount that counts; it is the consistency. A few shillings a day can save you from a major financial storm.

However, according to the 2024 FinAccess Household Survey Report, the rate of households actively saving dropped to 68.1 percent from 74 percent in 2021, signifying decreased financial security among households.

Further, only 18.3 percent of Kenyans are considered financially ‘healthy’, according to the same survey, meaning more than 80 percent of Kenyans still lack a robust shield against life’s uncertainties.

We, therefore, must position savings as our first line of defence in times of financial emergencies as opposed to relying on credit.

Many times, the dependence on credit has exposed many Kenyans to a vicious debt cycle, with many borrowing a loan to finance another loan. Worse still, many borrow to meet day to day expenses.

This debt cycle has pushed many Kenyans to a level of inability to finance their loans. This debt crisis scenario is well captured in the 2024 FinAccess Household Survey report, which reveals that more than 50 percent of borrowers face challenges repaying their loans.

Beyond emergency preparedness and protection, saving also offers something less visible but equally powerful-independence. When individuals save, they gain control over their finances and future. They no longer live hand to mouth or depend entirely on borrowing to survive.

Take the story of Elizabeth, a food vendor in Nairobi. Through daily savings of Sh200, she was able to grow her vegetable business and send her five children to secondary school.

Her story reflects a larger truth: saving is not a privilege of the wealthy-it’s a path to empowerment for everyone. It builds dignity, discipline, and the confidence to plan ahead.

As such, saving is not an end in itself – it’s a foundation for what comes next. It is a seed for opportunity. It paves the way for investment in a house, the pursue of a higher education, or the start of a business. It helps individuals plan their future and gives families the confidence to dream beyond today.

The evidence of the foundation gained from savings is plenty among Postbank customers.

As we join the rest of the world in marking the World Savings Day, let us reflect and remember one message: saving is not about money sitting in an account. It is about security for today, freedom for tomorrow, and progress for generations to come.

When you save a bit, big things follow. Saving does not just change lives, it transforms economies. When the citizens of a country save, the financial institutions will have more funds available for lending and investment. These, in turn, create jobs and power national development.

Economists often refer to savings as the “engine oil” of an economy. Without savings, the economic growth of a country stalls.

This is why Kenya’s Vision 2030 emphasises expanding access to financial services across all regions in Kenya, while deepening the culture of savings.

Tax compliance is the basic pillar of a country’s healthy business environment and national development.

When individuals and businesses file their returns on time and pay taxes accurately, it not only contributes to a stable economic climate but also ensures the government can fund critical public services and infrastructure that support growth and social well-being.

Beyond revenue collection, fairness and equity are essential to sustainable business growth.

One of the most effective ways to create a level playing field among businesses is through ensuring all businesses pay their fair share of levies and taxes, safeguarding consistent and strong compliance with tax regulations. This ensures that all traders, regardless of size, operate under the same rules, fostering a culture of accountability and transparency.

Among the various tax obligations, value added tax (VAT) is one of the most far-reaching. Levied on the sale or importation of taxable goods and services, VAT affects a wide spectrum of businesses. Those with annual taxable supplies of Sh5 million or more are legally required to register for VAT.

However, registration is only the starting point. These businesses must also submit monthly VAT returns and remit the tax they collect from their customers.

VAT compliance goes beyond being a legal duty, it is a reflection of a business’s integrity and commitment to fair trade. When traders register, file accurate returns, and remit their taxes responsibly, they help build a market where success is driven by merit, innovation, quality, and service, rather than by evasion or manipulation.

Non-compliance continues to pose a significant challenge in Kenya.

According to the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy, VAT revenue in the 2021-22 financial year underperformed by 39.8 percent.

The government aims to reduce this shortfall to 19.8 percent over the medium term. This gap is particularly troubling considering that various initiatives, such as the VAT auto-population system, have been introduced to enhance collection.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has flagged several practices contributing to this revenue gap. These include cases where businesses file VAT returns but fail to remit the corresponding payments, file returns, or repeatedly submit nil returns while still seeking refunds.

Other businesses demonstrate a broader disregard for VAT regulations entirely, further undermining efforts to ensure compliance.

To address these challenges and improve visibility into VAT transactions, the KRA implemented the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS).

This system was designed to simplify the tax process, improve transparency, and minimize the risk of tax evasion by electronically capturing transactional data in real time. Despite being a legal requirement, uptake of eTIMS has been slow.

A fair and transparent marketplace instils confidence, attracts investment, and supports inclusive economic growth. For Kenya to prosper, every trader must play their part, not just by complying with the law, but also by upholding the principle that the rules apply equally to all.

Only about 508,000 businesses have so far complied, which is a low number given the millions of registered businesses across the country.

Even more concerning is that many of the businesses that have not onboarded eTIMS continue to receive Tax Compliance Certificates (TCCs), allowing them to operate as though they are fully compliant.

A TCC is meant to be issued only to taxpayers, including businesses that adhere to all tax regulations, meet all their tax obligations, including adherence to VAT regulations and the use of eTIMS.

This inconsistency raises a serious concern. Why are non-compliant businesses still able to obtain these certificates?

In response, KRA is introducing a new initiative, the Business Tax Compliance Certificate. This new certificate will be distinct from the general TCC and will specifically require that a business be fully compliant with all tax regulations, including having adopted eTIMS. The aim is to enhance transparency in business transactions, reduce tax fraud and evasion, broaden the tax base, and improve overall revenue collection.

This initiative, along with other regulatory measures that drive eTIMS onboarding and VAT remittance, will help restore fairness in the marketplace by ensuring visibility and participation of all businesses. It will also close loopholes that allow certain businesses to sidestep their obligations while gaining a competitive edge over those that comply fully with the law.

Ultimately, VAT compliance is not just a revenue issue, it is a matter of justice.

When all businesses pay their fair share of taxes, the market becomes more equitable, and opportunities are distributed more fairly. No enterprise should gain an advantage by exploiting weaknesses in the system. Fair taxation is particularly vital for micro and small enterprises, which often operate on slim margins and cannot afford to be undercut by larger or less scrupulous competitors that flout the rules.

Kenya’s National Tax Policy envisions a tax system built on the pillars of equity, inclusivity, and integrity. Holding all businesses to the same standard brings us closer to achieving that vision. VAT compliance, therefore, should not be viewed as a burden, it is a vital tool for creating a just and thriving business environment.

Blue-chip stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), including Safaricom, Equity and KCB, have increased their dominance of the market as speculative trading on small-cap companies drops off.

Data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) shows the market concentration of the top five firms on the bourse by capitalisation rose to 66.69 percent in the quarter ended September from a lower 64.51 percent previously and 62.88 percent in the first quarter.

The growing dominance of the blue chip stocks represents a stark difference from the first three months of 2025 to March, when small-cap stocks such as TransCentury, Home Afrika and East African Cables took over, leading market gains.

The markets regulator says the trend of market dominance by the top counters has been re-established as investors take profit on smaller counters.

‘This trend shows that trading remained heavily centred on a few large-cap stocks such as Safaricom and leading banks, even as overall market turnover shifted, which can be attributed to profit-taking and heightened global risk sentiment,’ said the CMA.

Small-cap TransCentury led the market at the start of the year, gaining by 282 percent over the first five weeks of 2025, ahead of Home Afrika (157 percent), East Africa Cables (148 percent), Flame Tree Group (110 percent) and Uchumi Supermarkets (112 percent).

Other top gainers among the small caps were Sameer East Africa, Eveready East Africa, WPP ScanGroup, Kenya Power, Kenya Re and Kenya Airways, diluting large cap stocks.

Analysts deemed the rise of the small caps despite poor financial performance and governance issues as speculative, with individual or retail investors looking to bet on the cheapest stocks growing by multiples.

Local institutional and foreign investors prefer blue chip/large cap stocks as they bet on fundamentals, including improved financial performance as drivers of growth.

‘Some look for the cheapest stocks and bet that they will appreciate without considering that some of the companies are not fundamentally sound, and don’t have physical operations,’ Ronnie Chokaa, a senior research analyst at Capital A Investment Bank, said previously.

‘They risk being locked in these events down the road because of the normal low liquidity of such companies and if they are forced to sell at a loss, it will affect their ability or willingness to participate in the market in the future.’

Investors in TransCentury and East African Cables have already been frozen in the trade after both firms were suspended from trading in June after Equity Group moved to attach the firm’s assets over unpaid debt.

The pair had registered gains of 187.1 percent and 58 percent, before they were suspended, to trade at Sh1.12 and Sh1.71 a piece respectively.

CMA says the sustained rise of blue-chip counters after the first quarter shows investor preference for the fundamentally strong companies even as the regulator mulls interventions to dilute the re-established dominance.

‘By empowering investors with knowledge and information to make informed investment decisions, it will help reduce the inclination to concentrate investments in a limited number of dominant companies, thus having a more diverse and dynamic market environment which reduces the risks associated with excessive market concentration,’ CMA added.

The markets regulator deems concentration levels above 50 percent by top five firms as high.

Safaricom was the top-rated blue chip in the quarter ended September with an average market capitalization of Sh1.11 trillion ahead of Equity Group (Sh206.92 billion), KCB Group (Sh169.67 billion) and EABL (Sh168.7 billion).

Other top-rated firms by market value in the quarter were Standard Chartered, Absa, Cooperative Bank, NCBA Group, Stanbic Holdings and I and M Group.

The list of top traded counters on the Nairobi bourse in the quarter was also dominated by large cap stocks including KCB, Equity, Standard Chartered and EABL but also had smaller caps including Kenya Power and HF Group.

The Nairobi-Embakasi train route is now the most booming within the Nairobi Commuter Rail (NCR) network, with revenues jumping 36.3 percent to Sh17.94 million in the six months to June this year, driven by a surge in passenger numbers.

Official data shows that revenues on the route outgrew those on the Nairobi-Ruiru route, which rose three percent to Sh16.2 million from Sh15.73 million.

For years, the Nairobi-Ruiru route has been the most profitable, but has now relinquished this dominance to the Nairobi-Embakasi route.

Some 321,659 passengers used the Nairobi-Embakasi route in the six-month period, an increase of 22 percent from 263,736 in the same period last year. Meanwhile, those using the Nairobi-Ruiru route rose marginally to 301,909 from 296,562 in the same period.

In recent years, the NCR has become critical for tens of thousands of residents and workers travelling to the capital from neighbouring towns.

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) operates trains on 11 routes linking the Nairobi central business district with towns such as Kahawa, Ruiru, Embakasi, Athi River, Kikuyu, Limuru and Nanyuki.

Other towns served by the trains include Lukenya and Syokimau. KRC also operates diesel multiple units on the Nairobi-Syokimau and Nairobi-Embakasi routes.

Revenues from all the routes jumped 12 percent to Sh74.87 million in the six months to June this year compared to the same period last year, while passenger traffic grew 3.9 percent to 1.26 million.

Higher passenger numbers and growth in revenues for the trains signal a further squeeze for the public service vehicles (PSVs) plying the same routes.

The lower fares charged by the trains have been crucial in pulling thousands of workers and residents to use them instead.

Passengers pay a maximum of Sh80 for a one-way trip on the trains within Nairobi, which is lower than the Sh100 or more that PSVs charge for the same routes.

KRC revived the trains on most of the city routes during the previous administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, as the agency sought to grow its revenues and help address the city’s public transport chaos.

The agency has linked the metre-gauge railway to the standard-gauge railway at the Syokimau terminus, enabling passengers travelling from Mombasa to Nairobi to travel seamlessly.

KRC is seeking to upgrade seven commuter lines and acquire new trains, looking to capitalise on the increasing popularity of the trains in Nairobi and surrounding towns.

Under the World Bank-backed Kenya Urban Mobility Improvement Project, the agency will acquire high-capacity trains and roll out an automated fare collection system for the city trains.

Last year, Kenya applied for a $670 million loan from the Bretton Woods institution for this project.

The cost of a kilogramme of charcoal has jumped to the highest level in more than five years on higher demand, squeezing poor households heavily reliant on the energy source.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that the national average price of a kilo of charcoal stood at Sh89.83 in August, which was largely unchanged from the previous month’s Sh88.84. This marked a relentless rally in the fuel’s prices.

Poor households mainly rely on charcoal for cooking due to its affordability and accessibility compared to alternative energy sources such as electricity or cooking gas. Charcoal can often be purchased in small, affordable quantities, making it a preferred choice for households, especially those with irregular or low incomes.

The prices of charcoal in August and July are the highest since January 2020, when it hit Sh152.25 per kilo.

The impact is also felt by small businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and roadside sellers that use charcoal to prepare meals.

Charcoal prices have been rising steadily since the government banned logging in 2018 to protect the forests and preserve water towers.

The surge in charcoal prices has worsened the situation for households and businesses, which are equally facing the pressure of the rising cost of cooking gas.

The KNBS data shows that the average price of a 13-kilogramme cylinder of cooking gas increased to Sh3,158.35 in August, the highest in 10 months, dealing a setback for many consumers who had shifted to the commodity following the recent tax incentives by the government that made it more affordable.

The average price of cooking gas in August is the highest since October 2024, when it stood at Sh3,183.29.

The August prices also marked the second successive month of price increases after the average cost of the commodity, also referred to as liquefied petroleum gas, climbed to Sh3,146.58 in July, breaking a trend of drops in May and June.

‘The national average retail prices of petroleum products in August 2025 were Sh186.37 per litre for premium motor gasoline, Sh172.75 per litre for light diesel oil, and Sh156.76 per litre for illuminating kerosene,’ said KNBS.

‘Over the same period, the average retail price of charcoal was Sh89.83 per kg, while that of a 13-kg LPG cylinder stood at Sh3,158.35,’ it added.