Category: Business Daily

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) plans to overhaul the income tax return filing infrastructure by abandoning the Excel file download and adopting use of a web-based system as it seeks to streamline filing following changes brought about by Finance Act 2026.

The law has amended Section 52 of the Income Tax Act to introduce a staggered system for filing income tax returns, with natural persons expected to file by the end of the fourth month following the end of their year of income.

Non-natural persons will be expected to file by the close of the sixth month following the end of their year of income.

The change means that effective January 1, 2027, Kenyans relying on employment income, most of whom have a December year-end, will be expected to file their returns by April 30 while companies will still be expected to file returns by June 30. KRA now says to further buttress the changes brought about by staggered income tax return filing, it will switch to a web-based system which means that taxpayers will now file returns directly on a browser over the internet as opposed to having to download and populate an Excel file as they have been doing.

‘We have staggered returns in Finance Act 2026 so that individual returns will be due by April 30 and the non-natural persons’ returns will be due by June 30. Are we transferring the problem we had in June to April? Absolutely not because there are other things we are doing to ensure the system will be stable,” KRA’s Chief Manager in charge of Policy and Tax, Josephine Mugure, said at a townhall convened by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAK).

‘The first thing is that we are introducing web-based returns so that we will not require taxpayers to fill the Excel file anymore. It will be web-based and significantly simplified,” Mugure said.

Web-based return filing, which is expected to be rolled out in the course of 2027, will be the latest among a number of measures that KRA has taken to streamline the income tax return filing process and widen visibility of the country’s taxable base.

On April 1, 2026, KRA introduced filing of Income Tax Returns via social media platform WhatsApp as it targeted boosting compliance amongst Kenyans whole income tax returns were not complicated.

KRA BY JULIANS AMBOKO

The taxman says the planned overhaul of the Income Return Filing System includes widening the scope of the filing that can be done via WhatsApp to accommodate more complex and voluminous returns.

The upgrade of WhatsApp Income Tax return filing includes equipping KRA’s AI-powered virtual assistant, Shuru, with stronger capabilities.

‘We want to expand what filing Kenyans will be able to do via WhatsApp so that it won’t just be what we have had for employees,” Mugure said.

“We will expand it such that you will be able to file a whole range of returns via WhatsApp. In 2027, Shuru will have been here for more than six months and whatever teething problems she encountered this year will have been resolved and she will be of better use.’

Kenya started Incomes and Expenses Validation on January 1, 2026 in a measure that was designed to set the stage for adoption of auto-population of Income Tax Returns by KRA.

Finance Act 2026 has since anchored auto-population of Income Tax Returns in law by amending Section 75 of the Tax Procedures Act to provide that KRA may use ICT systems including eTIMS invoices, Withholding Tax Certificate, Customs data and third-party data to generate an auto-populated Income Tax Return on behalf of a taxpayer.

I am not the loudest when it comes to football. Actually, I consider myself an orphaned silent CEO fan in football.I do not have a club tattooed on my heart. I do not wake up at 2am to watch Champions League. I do not argue about referees, club formations, or who should have been substituted.

People often ask me, ‘if you’re not loyal to any football club, then why do you watch the 2026 Fifa World Cup matches?’

The truth is, I do not watch football for loyalty. I watch football for leadership. I watch because football teaches me things that boardrooms, strategy documents, and leadership books cannot.

I watch because patterns reveal themselves in real time; patterns of winning, patterns of collapse, patterns of pressure, patterns of behaviour.

I watch because football is a mirror of a leadership lab. It exposes the truth about systems, psychology, and decision-making under pressure. It shows me how leaders behave or ought to behave when the world is watching and when the world is collapsing. It is like watching a live case study in leadership, exposing cognitive fatigue, emotional overload, tactical indiscipline, and behaviour under pressure.

The Fifa World Cup matches remind me of former Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson’s book ‘Leading’, where he says that ‘the last minutes of a match are won not by muscles, but by mentality.’

I also watch to see how coaches behave: who panics, who stays calm, who argues with referees, who anticipates danger, who loses emotional control.

Just as Sir Alex said, just like many organisations, a leader’s behaviour becomes the team’s behaviour. And in this World Cup, African teams mirrored their leaders in the final stretch. From this World Cup, I have picked patterns on why some teams rise in the last 15 minutes and why others collapse.

I watched Côte d’Ivoire dominate Norway, then lose concentration for one second as striker Erling Haaland punished them at 86 minutes. I watched DR Congo hold out against England for 80 minutes until metabolic fatigue broke them. I watched South Africa protect the lead against Canada in the round of 32 stage, stop pressing, lose verticality and concede in the second minute of time added on in the second half. I watched Egypt survive the group stage through discipline, then collapse mentally when Argentina increased intensity.

These collapses are not football collapses; they are leadership collapses. Because football is not played only by 22 players. It is played by the emotional climate around them.

Think Morocco; their win is the result of European football culture embedded inside an African team.

In 2018, Morocco returned to the World Cup after 20 years. They played well but lacked finishing power and tactical maturity. They exited at the group stage. They already had a team with exposure in European football. In 2022, Morocco shocked the world with its historic run to the World Cup semi-finals.

First African and Arab team to reach the semifinals. Beat Spain (round of 16). Beat Portugal (quarterfinals). Finished fourth overall. That was the birth of Morocco’s mental system. And today, in 2026, they are back in the quarterfinals. Morocco proved 2022 was not a miracle; it was a system. Morocco’s squad is almost entirely Europe-based.

But teams like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, DR Congo, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Angola have far fewer players in top European leagues. But think of giants like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, they have Europe-based players, some of them not necessarily in the elite tactical environments such as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, or Italian Serie A ‘where mental systems are built.’

Most African teams often walk into stadiums carrying a heavier emotional load than their opponents. The issue is ‘mental exposure versus mental isolation.’

At least 40 Kenyan companies sought voluntary liquidation or bankruptcy protection in the nine months to March, up from 24 a year earlier, exposing mounting financial distress despite improving economic indicators and lower borrowing costs.

Business Registration Service (BRS) data shows companies entering voluntary liquidation rose by 55.6 per cent to 14 during the period, from nine a year earlier, while bankruptcy applications jumped by 73.3 percent to 26.

The filings indicate that lower inflation, a stronger shilling and successive interest-rate cuts have yet to ease cash flow pressures as weak consumer spending and delayed payments continue to squeeze businesses.

Voluntary liquidation allows directors and shareholders to wind up a company before creditors intervene, with assets sold to settle outstanding obligations before the business is formally dissolved.

Bankruptcy applications, on the other hand, are filed when companies acknowledge they can no longer meet their financial obligations and seek legal protection from creditors under insolvency laws.

The BRS records, however, show business formation remained resilient during the period, with 109,350 new entities registered, as business names and private companies accounted for the bulk of fresh listings, at 62,472 and 45,334 respectively.

The latest rise in business closures comes despite inflation easing to within the central bank’s preferred range, the shilling stabilising against major currencies, and interest rates falling steadily over the past year.

Although these improvements have strengthened the broader economic outlook, they have yet to translate into stronger sales and healthier cash flows for many businesses operating on thin margins.

BUSINESS CLOSURES BY KABUI MWANGI

Many firms continue grappling with subdued household demand, delayed settlement of invoices, and rising statutory obligations that have eroded profitability over successive quarters.

Business failures typically accelerate after companies exhaust internal restructuring measures and conclude they can no longer generate sufficient cash to meet their obligations to suppliers, employees and lenders.

Voluntary liquidation is often viewed as a controlled exit because shareholders retain responsibility for winding up the company instead of waiting for creditors or courts to trigger insolvency proceedings.

Bankruptcy, however, generally reflects deeper financial distress after directors determine that liabilities have exceeded the firm’s capacity to continue operating as a going concern.

The increase in both categories suggests more businesses are abandoning turnaround efforts in favour of orderly exits before their financial positions deteriorate even further.

The disclosures mirror concerns raised by chief executives over weakening business conditions despite improving macroeconomic fundamentals reported over the past year.

The central bank’s latest CEO survey shows businesses continued reporting weak demand, delayed customer payments and elevated operating costs as the biggest constraints to growth.

The survey found firms remained cautious about expansion plans, with many prioritising cost-cutting measures and liquidity preservation over new investments.

Reduced household purchasing power has continued weighing on sectors dependent on discretionary spending as consumers increasingly prioritise essential goods and services.

Smaller businesses remain particularly exposed because they generally operate with limited cash reserves and restricted access to affordable bank financing during periods of slowing economic activity.

Although commercial lending rates have started easing following successive Central Bank Rate cuts, banks have maintained relatively cautious lending standards amid concerns over rising defaults and the financial health of borrowers across several sectors of the economy.

The cumulative pre-tax profit for Kenya’s commercial banks in the four months ended April rose 13.8 percent, riding on loan book growth, signalling another lucrative year for the banking sector.

Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that the lenders’ pre-tax earnings in the review period stood at Sh111.8 billion, rising from Sh98.2 billion a year earlier. The performance is limited to the banks’ operations in the Kenyan market.

The lenders’ loan book grew by 9.37 percent to Sh4.5 trillion from Sh4.1 trillion, allowing banks to record higher interest income.

This is the fastest credit growth recorded by the sector in the last two years following deliberate actions by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) pressurising banks to lower their lending rates.

‘Banks are really making the most of lower funding costs and benefiting from more income sources. They’re growing their balance sheets, too, thanks to growing private-sector credit and investments in government securities,’ said Melodie Ndanu, a research analyst at Standard Investment Bank.

Banks have been quick to cut the interest they pay for deposits at a faster pace than they are reducing the prices of loans to ensure they not only protect their margins but widen them resulting in higher profit.

In the three months to March, Kenya’s listed banks (including regional operations) cut their interest expenses by 12.8 percent while interest income grew by three percent, signalling a faster pace of cutting deposit rates than reducing lending rates.

The drop in lending rates has been accompanied by a decline in non-performing loans which were 15.4 percent of total loan book, standing at Sh693.9 billion at the end of the four months compared to 17.5 percent or Sh724.2 billion a year earlier.

The improved quality of the loan book has allowed banks to cut back on provisions for bad debts, further improving their profit levels. Provisions for bad loans are deductible expenses by banks.

BANKING SECTOR BY GEORGE NGIGI

The cleaner balance sheet follows aggressive collection including auction of collateral by banks, conclusion of court cases between bankers and large corporates regarding defaulted loans and a decision by lenders to write-off bad debts they didn’t expect to recover.

Customer savings with banks rose by 14 percent or Sh805.9 billion to Sh6.52 trillion which was faster than growth in lending. This means banks invested more in lending to the government over the review period than lending to the private sector.

Treasury bills and bonds have been a good investment option for banks in a period when they have been offering high single to double digit returns with no risk. Banks are also expected to reap from diversifying their business to other revenue streams such as bancassurance, wealth management and regional subsidiaries for those that have expanded beyond the Kenyan borders.

‘Income from diversified revenue streams such as wealth management has been growing while uptake of digital channels has lowered operating expenses,’ said Ms Ndanu.

The growth in the first four months signals another bumper year for Kenya’s commercial banks which posted a record Sh311.8 billion pre-tax profit last year despite reporting a 2.3 percent increase in the first four months in 2025 compared to 2024.

This performance has attracted investors to the banking counters on the Nairobi Securities Exchange resulting in huge gains with the 12 listed banks recording a 71 percent jump in overall valuation to Sh1.62 trillion in the last 12 months.

The growth has also triggered big-ticket deals in the sector such as the ongoing 66 percent acquisition of NCBA Group by South Africa’s Nedbank Group in a cash and stock deal valued at Sh110 billion.

Other transactions include the purchase of Paramount Bank by Nigeria’s Zenith Bank while Absa Group of South Africa intends to increase its shareholding in Absa Bank Kenya to 85 percent from current 68.5 percent at an estimated cost of Sh30.9 billion.

The unpredictability of the US-Iran war however casts a dark shadow on the sector with American President Donald Trump announcing the end of the ceasefire and launching missile attacks on the Middle East nation.

Resurgence of the war is likely to result in inflationary pressures from price of fuel which could force households to prioritize basic needs over loan repayments leading to rise in non-performing loans.

Rising inflation will also trigger interest rate hikes dampening CBKs efforts to push for growth of private sector credit.

Manish Sardana walked away from a lucrative corporate career at the height of the Covid-19 scourge, resigning from global advertising giant WPP after seven years in Kenya.

He had risen through the ranks of the WPP-Scangroup network to become managing director for Africa, earning what he describes as ‘expat-level salaries’ at a time when millions around the world were clinging to their jobs.

‘During Covid, I thought to myself, what am I doing with my life?’ he recalls asking himself. ‘I had all this experience and talent, and I felt like I was wasting my time building marketing campaigns for large organisations.’

So he quit, even without a business plan. ‘People kept asking me what I was going to do next. I told them I didn’t know. But if I waited until I had a perfect plan, I would never leave.’

The idea that would become Craydel emerged soon after, prompted by a suggestion from his wife. Sardana spent weeks researching startup opportunities in Africa until one day, while scrolling through lists of business ideas online, she told him: ‘Why don’t you go back to education? You’ve always been passionate about it.’

Growing up in a lower-middle-income family in India, Sardana enjoyed teaching mathematics and economics in his early working years. He later moved into technology, e-commerce and marketing, founding ventures and later joining WPP. However, he says that education remained his true passion.

So in 2021, Sardana launched Craydel, a Nairobi-based education technology start-up he describes as a ‘Booking.com for higher education.’ The company helps students find, compare and apply to universities worldwide, aiming to solve what Sardana calls ‘information asymmetry’ in admissions.

The problem, he argues, is not just about choice but trust. Fake study-abroad and overseas job agents remain a major issue in Kenya, with scammers conning desperate students and parents out of millions of shillings. The Commission for University Education has publicly blacklisted numerous illegal recruitment agencies. ‘The university admissions ecosystem is riddled with information asymmetry, fragmented guidance and incentives that often favour institutions over students,’ Sardana says.

Craydel was founded with former WPP-Scangroup colleague John Nguru and investment professional Shayne Premji, who has worked with various institutions, including the IFC.

The early years were far from smooth. Universities showed little willingness to pay for student leads. ‘Towards the end of 2022, we realised we didn’t really have a business,’ Sardana recalls. Their breakthrough came when the company pivoted to international university recruitment.

Unlike traditional agents, whose earnings depend on sending students to specific institutions, Craydel sought to build a student-first marketplace. ‘Our thesis was simple,’ he says. ‘If agents serve universities, who is serving students?’

Since then, the company says it has matched more than 25,000 students with universities and enrolled over 1,000 learners. Europe has emerged as one of the fastest-growing destinations among African students, with Germany attracting increasing interest. Nursing, engineering, computer science and business management are among the most sought-after courses.

Difficult adjustments

But the journey has come at a high personal cost. As savings dwindled, Sardana and his family were forced to make difficult adjustments. ‘My children were in fancy schools. We couldn’t afford them anymore,’ he says. ‘We had to completely lower our lifestyle.’ At one point, Craydel’s monthly operating costs reached about Sh1 million while revenues remained negligible. Ten months into the venture, the company had burned through nearly Sh13 million.

‘My wife watched our savings disappear and would ask me every month, ‘Are you sure you want to keep doing this?” Sardana recalls. By the time the startup secured its first major external funding at the end of 2021, he had invested more than $200,000 (Sh25.9 million) of his own money. ‘It’s a choice you have to make as an entrepreneur. Pocket that money or put it back into the business to scale it. Even now, my salary is 25 percent of what I earned in corporate life.’

Sardana insists the gamble was worth it. He believes the pandemic exposed the fragility of education systems worldwide and accelerated demand for transparency in admissions.

‘Going to school is not just an academic experience. It is also a social experience,’ he says.

‘My view was that eventually children would want to go back to physical classrooms.’

That conviction led him to focus on exploring opportunities for in-person higher education rather than online learning platforms.

To date, Craydel has raised about $3 million (Sh388.5 million) from venture capital firms and angel investors, according to Crunchbase. The company is not yet profitable, as much of its turnover has been reinvested in regional expansion. It has already spread to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, India and Saudi Arabia, with plans to enter Ghana this year.

Kenya is aiming to raise Sh129.2 billion ($1 billion) from the issuance of sustainability-linked instruments, including loans and bonds, over the next two years as the country pushes for cheaper financing options.

The National Treasury, which published the Kenya Sovereign Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework last week, is expected to issue the securities in two equal tranches, starting September, 2026, according to disclosures by the World Bank.

The framework, which was created with the support of the multilateral lender, will allow Kenya to access cheaper financing based on climate targets, including commitments to reduce natural forest cover loss and increase electricity connections among the rural population.

“The expectation is that the National Treasury will raise $500 million (Sh64.6 billion) by the end of September. The World Bank will provide $125 million (Sh16.1 billion) in credit enhancement, while $75 million (Sh9.6 billion) will come from the OPEC Fund,” said Isfandyar Khan, Lead Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank, who was a key architect of the sustainability financing framework.

The National Treasury is currently finalising requests for proposals (RFPs) from parties seeking to participate in the issuance of the first-tranche loan before shortlisting candidates, including commercial banks.

The first tranche of the financing will be a sustainability-linked loan (SLL), but the follow-up issuance in the 2027/28 financial year could be a sustainability-linked bond (SLB).

The World Bank reckons that Kenya could secure financing at rates up to two percentage points below the market rate through the climate-linked window and notes growing interest from potential financiers likely to participate in the second tranche.

“The conservative expectation is that there will be a 200-basis-point (two-percentage-point) reduction compared with a conventional Kenya issuance, depending on the timing and market conditions,” added Mr Khan.

“A second issuance would also amount to half a billion dollars ($500 million/Sh64.6 billion), but it would likely be a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) instead of a sustainability-linked loan (SLL).”

The coupon, or interest rate, paid by the government to investors will remain unchanged if climate targets are met, but the financing cost will fall if they are exceeded.

However, failure to meet the targets will trigger higher borrowing costs.

Kenya, for instance, will see the interest rate on the instruments remain unchanged if it limits the loss of accumulated natural forest cover to less than 44,000 hectares by 2030.

The debt will, however, be cheaper to service if the target is exceeded, with forest cover loss kept below 38,000 hectares over the same period.

At the same time, the country must increase access to electricity in rural areas to 81.8 percent by 2030 from a 2023 baseline of 67.9 percent. It will have outperformed this KPI if rural electrification surpasses 94.4 percent over the same period.

Kenya will face a penalty in the form of a higher coupon, or interest rate, on sustainability-linked facilities if it fails to meet the targets, which will be assessed every two years.

The published framework, which was a precondition for the World Bank disbursing Sh97 billion ($750 million) to Kenya at the end of June, broadens the country’s borrowing instruments, which already include Sharia-compliant products, Samurai bonds and debt-for-nature swaps.

The World Bank will help underwrite the issuance by providing a Sh16.1 billion ($125 million) guarantee.

The first-tranche sustainability-linked loan will take the form of a syndicated commercial loan.

The National Treasury expects the climate-linked loans to unlock more flexible financing for the Exchequer.

Unlike traditional green, social or sustainability bonds and loans, which restrict the use of proceeds to specific projects, sustainability-linked instruments provide Kenya with greater flexibility while ensuring accountability through robust key performance indicators and sustainability performance targets.

In recent years, anime has risen from a niche Japanese art form to a global entertainment powerhouse, at the centre of today’s pop culture.

Fuelled by video streaming platforms and internet culture, these computer-generated animations originating from Japan are now among the world’s most popular television genres, particularly among Gen Z audiences.

In Kenya, fandoms built around blockbuster franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen continue to grow, creating thriving online communities that consume everything from merchandise to fan art and themed events.

One of the most visible trends has been the growing popularity of anime wallpapers. Fans increasingly personalise their smartphones and computers with high-resolution 4K images and animated backgrounds featuring favourite characters and scenes.

Applications such as Wallpaper Engine have made the trend even more immersive by allowing wallpapers to include motion effects, atmospheric sounds, and interactive elements.

Unlikely gateways

But cybersecurity researchers are now warning that these wallpapers are becoming an unlikely gateway for malware attacks.

A new report by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has uncovered an ongoing campaign in which attackers are using Steam Workshop and Wallpaper Engine to distribute malicious software disguised as legitimate animated wallpapers.

Steam Workshop is a feature within the world’s largest digital distribution platform for PC games, Steam. It allows users to share and download user-generated content, including modifications, maps, game items, and wallpapers.

Wallpaper Engine, meanwhile, is a popular software application for Windows and Android that lets users create, customise, and use animated and interactive wallpapers on their desktop and mobile screens.

But according to cybersecurity experts, this is creating opportunities for malicious actors to hide harmful code inside seemingly harmless downloads.

Researchers identified dozens of infected wallpaper packages, many of which had accumulated thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands, of downloads.

The attackers’ primary objective, according to the Kaspersky report, is stealing gaming accounts and deploying additional malware onto victims’ devices.

‘The application-based wallpaper feature allows executable programs to run directly on a user’s Windows computer, allowing attackers to distribute malicious software under the guise of legitimate content,’ Kaspersky said.

Researchers found two main attack methods; in some cases, malware files were bundled directly into wallpaper packages.

In others, attackers concealed malicious software inside password-protected archives, with the passwords hidden in file names or configuration files. Once installed, the malware executed automatically.

One sample discovered in December 2025 appeared to launch a harmless desktop game. Behind the scenes, however, it installed the DarkKomet backdoor – a harmful virus primarily targeting Microsoft Windows systems.

The malware deployed tools designed to harvest Steam account credentials and hijack active gaming sessions.

‘The attacks rely on users trusting content hosted within legitimate ecosystems,’ said Maxim Starodubov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.

‘While many of the malware families involved are well-known, the delivery mechanism enables attackers to reach large numbers of potential victims through seemingly harmless content.’

Leveraging AI-power

The findings come as cyber threats remain high in Kenya. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) recently warned that threat actors are increasingly leveraging AI-powered malware, deepfakes, and automated attack tools, while exploiting third-party vulnerabilities and previously unknown software flaws.

In the three months to March 2026, for instance, the regulator recorded 68.7 million malware attack threats targeting phones and computer systems, making malware Kenya’s second-most common category of cyber threats after system attacks.

According to the CA, the surge has been driven by unpatched software vulnerabilities, growing social engineering and phishing campaigns, and the increasing use of AI-enabled automation by attackers.

‘Malware attacks were largely driven by unpatched vulnerabilities, increased social engineering and phishing activity, cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) models and growing use of AI-enabled automation by threat actors,’ the regulator said.

Kenyan targets have included end-user devices, internet-connected gadgets, web applications, email systems, and network infrastructure.

State institutions, universities, financial services firms, cryptocurrency platforms, and online trading sites remain attractive targets.

For anime fans seeking to customise their screens, cybersecurity experts advise users to exercise caution when downloading applications, even from trusted platforms, and to verify the credibility of content creators before installing any user-generated content.

More than Sh21 billion in extra dividends will be shipped to South Africa as Johannesburg-based multinationals buy additional stakes in Safaricom, Absa Bank Kenya and NCBA Group.

Safaricom’s parent Vodacom Group last month completed the acquisition of an additional 15 percent stake in the company for Sh204.3 billion.

Nedbank has bid for 66 percent stake in Kenya’s NCBA as part of its regional expansion, while South Africa’s Absa Bank is buying an additional 16.5 percent stake in its Kenyan business through a tender offer.

The additional stakes are set to offer the three South African multinationals at least Sh21.5 billion in additional dividends from Nairobi bourse-listed firms, going by the most recent declared payouts.

South Africa’s slow growth and mature sector are pushing its biggest banks and firms to expand elsewhere, targeting high-growth markets and companies across the continent.

Kenya’s appeal lies in its status as gateway to the East African Community, a fast-growing bloc expanding by at least five percent a year.

This has made firms with a steady dividend payout record like Safaricom, Absa and NCBA attractive to foreign firms.

Relatively solid financial regulation, east repatriation of dividends and the freely traded shilling add to the Kenyan attraction.

Safaricom and Absa were among 13 blue-chip firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) that handed their foreign parents a total of Sh65.7 billion in dividends in the 2025 financial year.

‘The additional stake will allow Absa Group to capture a larger share of earnings from Absa Kenya, which has strong profitability and growth prospects. We expect the deal to be earnings accretive at the group level over time,’ global ratings agency Moody’s said about the Absa transaction.

EXTRA DIVIDENDS BY CHARLES MWANIKI

The increased repatriation of profits will have the effect of further straining the domestic foreign exchange market as the firms buy a larger volume of dollars to share profits with their parents.

It also draws out of the country’s capital that would have been invested locally had it been paid out to resident investors.

The companies with large foreign ownership are also some of the biggest dollar buyers during their dividend season for onward payment to their external shareholders.

The market is currently enjoying ample dollar liquidity, meaning that its purchases for repatriation are unlikely to harm the shilling by draining dollar availability.

A stable exchange rate also means that the multinationals will not experience exchange-related gains or losses when sending dividends to the offshore owners.

Payouts to the South African multinationals could rise if the companies keep up the recent trend of increasing dividends every year on sustained profit growth.

Safaricom, whose financial year closed at the end of March, declared a full-year dividend of Sh2 per share, translating to a payout of Sh32.05 billion for Vodacom and Vodafone for their 16 billion shares.

With its higher stake of 22 billion shares, Vodacom will be in line to bag Sh44 billion if Safaricom maintains the same dividend payout in the year ending March 2027.

The current dividend was split between an interim payout of Sh0.85 a share that was paid out in April, and a Sh1.15 a share final dividend that will be paid in September to shareholders on Safaricom’s books by August 4.

Given that Vodacom has completed the acquisition of the additional six billion shares well before the book closure, the company is in line to bag the Sh6.9 billion in dividends accruing to these shares in September, making an early return on its investment.

Vodacom will therefore bag Sh25.3 billion in the final dividend distribution after receiving Sh13.6 billion in interim dividends, pushing the company’s full-year payout to Sh38.9 billion.

As part of the Safaricom deal, Vodacom agreed to pay the government an advance dividend of Sh40.2 billion, to be recouped from future dividends of Sh55.7 billion that will accrue to the government’s remaining 20 percent stake.

This means that the South African firm will enjoy an additional windfall of Sh15.5 billion from Kenya in the coming years as the government settles its obligation.

For Absa, the Kenya subsidiary paid a dividend of Sh2.05 per share in the year ended December 2025.

Absa Group was paid Sh7.63 billion for its current holding of 3.72 billion shares in the Kenyan unit, which would rise to Sh9.46 billion after the share purchase, presuming the lender maintains a dividend of Sh2.05 per share.

Absa Group’s tender offer for the additional shares opened on June 30 and will run until August 11. The bank usually pays its interim dividend in October, meaning that the new shares are likely to qualify for the year’s total payout in full.

Nedbank’s offer for 66 percent of NCBA stock has meanwhile set the South African lender on the path to netting more than Sh7 billion in annual dividends from the Kenyan bank.

NCBA paid out a dividend of Sh7.10 per share for the year ended December 2025, translating to a total distribution of Sh11.7 billion to its shareholders.

With a 66 percent holding, Nedbank would be entitled to Sh7.7 billion, presuming the dividend per share was unchanged.

NCBA shareholders can tender 66 percent of their holdings to Nedbank in the cash-and-stock offer, which closes on Friday.

Out of this pool of shares, 80 percent of the units will be converted to Nedbank shares at a rate of 4.02994 shares for every 100 NCBA shares, with the remainder settled in cash at a rate of Sh2,100 for every 100 shares, or Sh21 apiece. NCBA owners may apply to sell more shares to Nedbank in case there is undersubscription.

There are stories Mahesh Acharya tells about growing up in Eldoret; about a Peugeot 505 station wagon that carried his dreams, about being raised in a garden full of brothers, and being the spoilt child.

If he was not pushed, he says, maybe he wouldn’t be the managing partner of ENS in Kenya. That willingness to embrace uncertainty would later define one of the biggest decisions of his career.

‘We left Kaplan and Stratton, four partners, with nothing but hopes and dreams for this opportunity of opening this office for ENS. Ninety per cent of our team today followed us-including our clients,’ he says.

Now their law firm advises clients across financial services, cross-border corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M and A), restructurings, joint ventures, capital markets, and others. ‘If my client wants to buy this phone for Sh100,’ he says, ‘and you’re selling it for Sh200, my job is to get it for him at Sh100.’

A member of the Law Society of England and Wales – International Division, the 47-year-old Mahesh is proud of the life he has built. ‘The life my wife Preeti and I have built feels like ours, not something handed to us off a script. That’s the best part.’

What kind of a child were you?

A spoilt one, because I am the fifth and last born of five boys. But I’ve now become that person whom everyone comes to for advice. Now, my wife and I don’t have children, but I have nieces and nephews. I feel they are growing up in a very different, complex world with a lot of information. When I was a child, we would just ride bicycles until 4pm when we would come back to watch TV.

What did success feel like, or look like, when you were younger?

I never in my life thought I would be a top corporate lawyer. I wanted to do law, but I wasn’t very serious. In my family, everyone went to university. We have an architect, a doctor, and an engineer. What was left was law, so I did law. But I had to be pushed to come to Nairobi. I didn’t know which law firm I was coming to work for, so I went to the Yellow Pages, and in my mind, the best law firms were the ones with the most numbers [chuckles]. So I picked 20 of them, and I wrote to every one of them asking for pupillage. And I got rejected by every one of them. Mostly because I was late. I went back to Eldoret, got a call from Kaplan and Stratton, came back to Nairobi, no suit, no nothing. The person who interviewed me is my partner here today, Nigel Shaw.

What have you had to give up to get to managing partner?

The way I’m reading your question is, did I have to step on people? Did I have to sacrifice family life? I grew up in Eldoret and moved to Nairobi, and my family is in Eldoret, including two of my brothers. I missed that family life.

Which career moves have paid off immensely and keep compounding?

In 2007, I got a placement in London through International Lawyers for Africa – that was the first real step. Shortly after, I made partner at Kaplan and Stratton, where I spent 18 years. But the move that mattered most was leaving to help found the ENS Kenya office. That one was a genuine leap of faith, and it’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve done. M and A [mergers and acquisitions] is a relationship business. Every deal makes the next one possible. That compounding is quiet, but it’s real, and it’s why the work keeps coming.

What has this career given you that perhaps being, say, a full-time photographer would not?

It has allowed me to pursue a life I never thought I would have had. It opened doors, but I worked hard. I did well and made some cash. It’s enabled me to travel and discover my creative side. But more fulfilling is that I have passed on those learnings. I was a partner at Kaplan and Stratton, but we made a business decision and four partners left with nothing seven years ago. And while we had faith in ourselves, we did not know the kind of support that we would get. But one of my clients said, ‘You know, Mahesh, you’re a good guy; you’ve always supported us. I have a small side office in my building in Riverside. You guys can have it as you figure out things.’ We were all senior lawyers, and then suddenly we had 20 people join us from Kaplan and Stratton. Ninety per cent of the staff here came with us from Kaplan and Stratton, same with our clients, and that’s the reward. It’s not just what the profession has done for me, but what I’ve managed to do for the people who follow us and the clients who trust us and the work we do for them.

What did that experience do for you-going from nothing, but also the people following you with nothing?

That was very scary because all of a sudden, you now have 20 people depending on you. But I shouldn’t also make it sound like we were zero, because we had worked for 18 years and had obviously built something that we could fall back on. That trust, when nothing was guaranteed, told me we were onto something. You don’t celebrate it in the moment. But you don’t forget it either.

What do you hope this job says about you?

That I was ready for it before I was given it, and that I didn’t need it to feel whole. That I led from a steady place rather than ego – deciding in the firm’s interest, not my own positioning. That I was fair, on every front, with everyone. And that I took the job seriously without taking myself too seriously. If it says anything, I’d want it to be: he turned up with something to give, not something to prove hard. I did well and made some cash. But more fulfilling is that I have passed on those learnings. I was a partner at Kaplan and Stratton but we made a business decision and four partners left with nothing seven years ago. But one of my clients said, ‘You know Mahesh, you’ve always supported us. I have a small side office in my building in Riverside. You guys can have it as you figure out things.’

We were all senior lawyers, and then suddenly we had 20 people join us from Kaplan and Stratton. Ninety percent of the staff here came with us from Kaplan and Stratton, same with our clients, and that’s the reward.

It’s not just what the profession has done for me, but what I’ve managed to do for the people who follow us and the clients who trust us.

What did that experience do for you-going from nothing, but also the people following you with nothing?

That was very scary because all of a sudden, you now have 20 people depending on you. But I shouldn’t also make it sound like we were zero, because we had worked for 18 years and had obviously built something that we could fall back on. That trust, when nothing was guaranteed, told me we were onto something.

The hardest decision you’ve had to make as a leader, what did it cost you?

The hardest ones are always about people. Letting go of someone you’ve invested in, or holding a standard knowing a colleague won’t meet it- and living with what that honesty costs. I’ve had to part ways with a capable lawyer who simply wasn’t right for where we were going. It cost me a friendship, and it was uncomfortable for a long time.

What do you wish you had worried less about in your career?

I don’t worry much, to be honest. I tend to live in the moment and try to do the best I can. I was taught very early that one thing you can’t control is the future, because there’s very little you can do to change it.

As you have grown through this journey of success, what is that one thing that remains unfixed?

Success is not an event. It happens gradually. You have a problem, you fix it, and then comes success. So you keep fixing problems, and then you get to success. Early on, success was all about deal size, the name of the client, the title. All measurable, all comparative. Now the real question is simpler – does this feel like a life I chose, or one I drifted into? More and more, it’s the first. That shift, from chasing achievement to actually authoring the thing, is probably the biggest change in how I think about any of it.

What has surprised you most about success?

I’ve always approached my practice and my business from a relationship perspective rather than a money perspective. And I think that has worked for me. The clients that truly trust me today come to me because we are first friends. I value that a lot. But that also comes with enemies. Because as a corporate M and A lawyer, when you start closing deals, someone is going to be upset. But it’s not enemies in that sense, because I think the world is mature enough to know, I’m just an advisor. If my client wants to buy this phone for 100 and you’re selling for Sh200, my job is to get it for him at Sh100. It’s just biashara. Sometimes people can misinterpret that as you are too aggressive. Sometimes I reflect and think maybe I don’t have to be so aggressive, but it’s the job.

It’s the nature of the beast. Yes. When it’s high-stakes deals, it’s high-stakes conversations. And sometimes you’ve got to make the difficult decision to not be the nice guy.

How do you turn off the corporate shark?

The creative side helps. I enjoy my photography and travel. I’m a little bit of an entrepreneur, in advisory roles, but I am more of a builder; let’s try and do this without necessarily thinking of it becoming a multi-billion-shilling business. But I also enjoy TV a lot, when I can. Especially trash TV and reality TV, like Cheaters and Jerry Springer.

Tell me about your photography. How did you develop your eye?

It all started with the travel bug. In 2010, we went to Maasai Mara, and we’d bought a small Sony camera, but in the van, someone pulled out his large camera, and I thought it was cool! A year later, while in the US for work, I got a small Nikon.

Sometimes I sell my work, but this is more for passion. I once had an auction for elephants’ conservation, and there was an exhibition at Michael Joseph Centre at Safaricom where all six pieces were bought-one of them was bought as a present for Margaret Kenyatta. I was very proud. So instead of paying school fees, I pay for flight tickets [laughs].

Mahesh, what’s your top negotiation secret?

Oh, I can’t tell you that [chuckles].

OK, what’s your second-best negotiation secret?

Always have a plan B. When you go into a room to negotiate, fully research what you think the other person will ask for. And always have a plan B. If this is your starting point, then this is what I will accept and anything in between. It’s like playing chess.

What do you hope this job says about you?

That I was ready for it before I was given it, and that I didn’t need it to feel whole. That I led from a steady place rather than ego – deciding in the firm’s interest. That I was fair, on every front, with everyone.

Do you think you are misunderstood?

Many have told me that I come across as very technical and clever, which is a good thing. But I don’t want to come across as a geek. I believe I’m good at what I do, and I enjoy it. But there’s also the fun, creative side of me. Like this picture in my office, which I took. I also collect art, but sometimes I tend to be a bit introverted. I have an energy volume, and when I hit it, I need to decompress and take time off. And with this role as managing partner, sometimes the misconception is that you are full of energy all the time.

Any children?

My wife is a lawyer, when we started dating, we were both travelling a lot, so we did not want children. Now, 17 years later, we have just decided not to have children. In our society, it is a very difficult conversation.

How do you deal with societal judgment, if any?

I know people who, for them, success is having children. Or just being happy and peaceful. For others, it is having 15 cars. I explain to people that they only see the top of the iceberg, not what happened below and the journey someone goes through to get where they have reached.

One needs to appreciate that before they start side-eyeing. But you can’t prevent people from feeling bad for you.

All our friends have children. Actually, one of our very close friends got a baby boy about two weeks ago, and they called us on Father’s Day and asked us to be godparents for their newborn child.

So it’s not that I do not like children; I just don’t believe I want my own. Maybe there’s some selfishness in it. I want to travel, see the world, meet people. I have no aspirations of creating wealth and sitting on it.

Tell me a significant loss that shaped you.

I lost my father in 2018. And he was a big inspiration to what I do because of his work ethic. There wasn’t a day when he would not go to work, unless he was really sick. When he passed, there was a gap, which I feel till now.

What’s a question you would have asked him if he were here today?

If there was anything I could have done differently for him. But I think he’s proud.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has formally taken over investigations into the suspected Sh6.2 billion payroll fraud in the public service, following the handover of audit and forensic reports by the Ministry of Public Service.

Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku and Principal Secretary Jane Imbunya on Wednesday said they submitted the payroll system audit, 14 forensic audit reports and supporting documentation to the DCI to pave the way for criminal investigations into widespread payroll irregularities uncovered across government.

The handover follows a government payroll audit that found suspected irregularities in a sample of 12 of the country’s 53 State departments, pointing to potential losses of Sh6.2 billion through manipulated payroll records, irregular salary payments and weak payroll controls.

‘As part of the implementation process, I have today formally handed over the payroll audit documents to the Director-General of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations,’ Mr Ruku said following a meeting with the DCI boss, Mohamed Amin, in Nairobi.

‘This marks the commencement of the investigative process on matters requiring criminal investigation as identified in the audit findings.’

The CS said allegations of fraud, abuse of office or financial impropriety would be investigated ‘independently and professionally,’ and called on State offices and county governments to cooperate with investigators.

The investigation comes after the Cabinet, chaired by President William Ruto last week, directed the DCI to probe the suspected fraud.

The audit uncovered unauthorised alterations to payroll records, irregular salary payments, weak controls over statutory deductions, fragmented payroll management systems and significant oversight gaps.

The Cabinet directed investigators to verify personal numbers used in payroll processing, dismantle criminal networks manipulating government payroll systems, recover lost public funds and ensure the arrest and prosecution of those found culpable.

Mr Ruku has previously raised the alarm over cases of job group manipulation, where civil servants are irregularly promoted or placed in higher salary grades within short periods without following due process.

He has also said ‘hundreds of civil servants’ are under investigation over widespread malpractice, collusion and systemic abuse aimed at siphoning public funds.

The payroll audit traces its origins to December 2025, when the government established a multi-agency team led by the National Intelligence Service to conduct a forensic review based on findings by the Auditor General.

The Auditor-General and the Controller of Budget have long raised concerns over Kenya’s rising public wage bill and persistent weaknesses in payroll management.

In her latest report for the financial year ended June 2025, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu also flagged cases in county governments where some employees were irregularly earning salaries and disability-related allowances despite not qualifying for the benefits or having already retired.