Category: Business Daily

The High Court has ordered the revival of a company that ‘died’ six years ago to allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) pursue tax dues.

The court directed the Registrar of Companies to restore the registration of Bristol Estate Limited, clearing the way for the taxman to pursue the recovery of Sh475.8 million in taxes.

According to the court, holding that dissolution automatically extinguishes tax liabilities would create a perverse incentive structure.

‘It would mean that companies could divest themselves of tax liabilities through dissolution and effectively obtain an extra-legal waiver of taxation,’ the court in Mombasa stated.

The judge observed that the money claimed by KRA accrued while the company was in existence and, therefore, survived its dissolution.

‘They remain due, payable and recoverable in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act and the Companies Act unless successfully challenged through the available legal avenues,’ the court added in the June 26 ruling.

The decision closes what the court described as a potentially dangerous loophole that could have enabled companies to evade taxes through deregistration.

It affirms that striking a company off the register does not extinguish tax liabilities incurred during its existence, reinforcing the principle that corporate dissolution cannot be used to evade statutory tax obligations.

The KRA moved to the High Court in April last year seeking orders compelling the Registrar of Companies to restore Bristol Estate Limited to the roll, arguing that its removal was in breach of the Companies Act and tax laws.

KRA told the court that the firm was struck off the register through Gazette Notice 3876 of June 5, 2020, following an application for voluntary striking off under Section 897(4) of the Companies Act.

At the time of its dissolution, KRA said, the company owed Sh475.8 million, comprising unpaid income tax of Sh372.6 million and value added tax of Sh103.3 million, exclusive of accrued interest and penalties.

KRA added that Bristol Estate had incurred an additional Sh1 million penalty for failing to apply for deregistration of its tax obligations as required under Section 81 of the Tax Procedures Act.

‘Despite the outstanding tax liabilities, the company neither served KRA with the application for voluntary striking off as required under Section 900 of the Companies Act nor sought cancellation of its tax obligations and Personal Identification Number in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act and the Value Added Tax Act,’ the authority said.

Maintaining that it remained a creditor of the company, KRA asked the court to restore Bristol Estate to the register to enable it to pursue the outstanding taxes.

The agency sued Bristol Estate Limited, Pietro Bongiovanni, Ernesta Sciarra and the Registrar of Companies.

Despite being served with court papers, none of the respondents entered an appearance, filed a response or opposed the application, prompting the court to determine the matter as unopposed.

The High Court found that KRA produced the company’s tax ledger showing outstanding tax liabilities of Sh475.8 million at the time of its dissolution, comprising income tax and VAT, together with accruing penalties and interest.

The judge held that a tax debt arises by operation of law once a taxable event occurs and the tax obligation crystallises, with non-payment giving rise to the right by the government to recover the amount.

‘These owed taxes remain a legally binding debt until they have been challenged successfully. KRA has demonstrated sufficient reason for the grant of the orders sought to reinstate the company,’ the court said.

The judge also found that the company’s striking off failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of Section 900 of the Companies Act, which requires a firm applying for voluntary dissolution to notify every creditor within seven days of making the application.

The judge observed that the use of the word ‘shall’ in the law makes the requirement mandatory and is intended to protect creditors from suffering loss or prejudice without notice or an opportunity to be heard.

‘The applicant was entitled to be notified of the intended dissolution and afforded an opportunity to object thereto and safeguard its interests,’ the court said.

The one thing that I have always appreciated about the Despicable Me and Minions is that creators of these films know exactly what they are cooking and who they are cooking for. From the deliberate choice of the colour palette to the distinct character design, the production teams are fully aware that these films are primarily meant for young audiences.

Yet, they consistently find ways to sprinkle in jokes that grown-ups will catch, all while keeping the overall tone as silly as possible.

You have never heard of the Minions and are wondering what I am on about. The Minions are small, yellow, deceptively cute creatures characterised by their distinctive gibberish language (Minionese), childlike personalities and unwavering devotion to villainy and bananas. Their cinematic appearance began with their introduction as sidekicks in Despicable Me (2010), where they served the aspiring supervillain Gru. They continued this service in the sequels Despicable Me 2 (2013), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and Despicable Me 4 (2024). Their rising popularity eventually led to their standalone origin franchise, beginning with Minions (2015), which explored their prehistoric origins and historical search for evil masters. This was followed by the prequel Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), which depicted their first encounter with a young Gru.

Throughout this entire series, they have remained defined by their innate, historical urge to serve the most despicable bosses. With that in mind, the most impressive thing here is that the creators have never strayed away from what makes these movies awesome: silliness. That foundational understanding of their identity and their audience remains unbroken, and because of that, it was inevitable that we would get more Minion movies.

‘Minions and Monsters’

Minions and Monsters is a 2026 American animated comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and written by Coffin alongside Brian Lynch. Produced by Illumination on a substantial budget of $85 million, it stands as the third instalment in the ‘Minions’ prequel series and the seventh instalment overall in the broader ‘Despicable Me’ franchise. The film stars Pierre Coffin voicing the Minions, alongside an ensemble cast including Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan and Phil LaMarr.

Taking place in 1927, exactly 41 years before the events of the 2015 Minions film, the plot follows the Minions as they land in Old Hollywood with the aim of making movies.

From a technical perspective, Illumination and the production team did an expectedly great job with this. The colours are bright and vibrant, combined with flawless animation and exceptionally good sound design – the sort of technical element average cinema-goers will overlook. I must emphasise the animation is incredibly fluid and visually gorgeous. Even when the story ventures into its theoretically scary parts, the animators find a clever way of making those moments visually appealing and non-threatening to a younger audience.

A film class in disguise

The big surprise with this movie is how it relates to cinema history. If you have ever been to film school, or if you are a film student who has sat through lectures covering the history of early cinema, this movie will be a pleasant experience. Because it follows the Minions during the dawn of the golden age of cinema, when the industry was rapidly evolving, their journey in Hollywood to make movies becomes an interesting examination of the film business’s historical nods. That threw me off because Minion movies are meant to be slapstick silliness.

If you understand the silent era and the monumental technological transition into the ‘talkies,’ there is a good amount of detail to appreciate here. The movie is littered with clever nods and historical details about early cinema. Because of this unique angle, the movie serves a fantastic secondary purpose: it is the kind of film you can weaponise as an educational tool. If you have a child or a younger sibling who is showing a budding interest in filmmaking, but they find it incredibly hard to sit through black-and-white silent classics to understand how early movies were structured, Minions and Monsters might be an interesting alternative gateway because it acts as a vibrant, accessible introduction to that era. Though I caught glimpses of the Hollywood theme in the marketing trailers, I never expected the filmmakers to commit to that level of historical accuracy and intricate detail.

A structured Minions film?

Another major surprise is the narrative structure. With a typical Minions movie, I usually know exactly what to expect. I know the general direction the story will take, and I know it will ultimately lean on silliness. While that is still present, the filmmakers spent the entire first half of this movie carefully setting up a legitimate story.

Instead of just using the characters as vehicles for slapstick gags, they give us characters with clear ambitions and dreams. The narrative arc follows traditional, satisfying storytelling beats.

You experience high points where everything goes right for the protagonists, followed by genuine low points where their Hollywood dreams are challenged. The film captures the chaotic concept of fame and the fickle nature of becoming a Hollywood star remarkably well.

It portrays that classic entertainment trajectory where you experience the highest of highs, only to drop into devastating lows where you must dust yourself off and discover a completely new way to gain back your creative spark and trying to find the way back to the top.

Because of this narrative approach, these are characters you can actually follow and get attached to throughout the runtime. This is particularly true for creative people or anyone who has ever harboured a big dream. There is a surprisingly strong thematic focus on the artistic process and the joy of creating.

Balance

These mature, film-literate themes raise an obvious question for parents: does the movie still appeal to a young audience? The answer is yes. As the movie progresses, especially once the actual monsters are introduced, the film lets loose and goes back to its core identity.

The filmmakers strike a balance between the classic Minions we recognise from the older films and the version of the characters presented in this new era.

The world presented here is more expansive, with interesting side characters. Several characters are written with depth. At face value, they may seem primed to flip and become traditional antagonists, but they remain strangely positive and supportive influences on the story.

The film introduces executives who will feel instantly recognisable to anyone who has dealt with corporate higher-ups. The corporate lingo and bureaucratic approach to problem-solving are hilariously accurate and make the world in this film recognisable.

‘Minions and Monsters’ is a good film. As much as I was looking forward to seeing what Illumination would do with a 1920s setting, the final product exceeded my expectations, and I can confidently say that this is the best Minion movie to date.

The funds are linked to forged documents, suspicious payments from Invest and Grow Sacco and a person who falsely posed as a lawyer.

While ruling on the forfeiture suit filed by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), the court directed that the money, together with the accrued interest, be transferred from the law firm’s I and M Bank account to the Criminal Asset Recovery Fund.

‘This court enters judgment for the applicant against the respondent that Sh14.6 million plus all accrued interest held under the respondent’s name are proceeds of crime and are hereby forfeited to the state,’ it said.

The respondent did not file any response or participate in the proceedings despite being served with court papers and offered no explanation for the source of the money, leaving the ARA’s evidence unchallenged.

The court said ARA had proved, on a balance of probabilities, that the funds were proceeds of crime.

The case arose from investigations launched by ARA after it received information in March 2025 that the firm’s bank account had received suspicious payments from Invest and Grow Sacco, reportedly for legal and consultancy services supported by documents later found to be forged.

According to the agency, the firm’s managing partner represented himself as an advocate of the High Court and operated Birus Chambers Advocates and Solicitors LLP and another entity, Eristic and Qlance Advocates, despite not being a licensed lawyer.

ARA told the court it opened a file to investigate suspected fraud, forgery and money laundering linked to the partner’s acquisition of property and transactions through entities associated with him.

Investigators said analysis of the company’s bank account showed substantial inflows followed by rapid transfers, mobile money transactions and cash withdrawals, which they said were intended to conceal the origin and ownership of the money.

ARA told the court that Sh10 million was deposited into Birus Chambers’s account, while another Sh8 million was paid into an account belonging to Qlance Intakes Ltd, purportedly for tax consultancy rendered to the sacco.

ARA added that the payments were unsupported by legitimate business activity and formed part of a fraudulent scheme.

It said investigators uncovered forged documents used to justify withdrawals, including vehicle sale agreements, invoices, logbooks and documents relating to vehicles.

It said letters from relevant parties and searches conducted at the National Transport and Safety Authority established that some vehicles were not owned by the said sellers, while others had no connection to the transactions.

Investigators said entities linked to the firm’s managing partner had no staff, offices, tax compliance records or demonstrable capacity to provide the legal and consultancy services for which they received the money.

millions of shillings.

ARA further said the chief executive officer of Invest and Grow Sacco -ACCO had limited knowledge of the respondent and indicated that due diligence may not have been undertaken before the payments were made.

Since the law firm did not participate in the proceedings or file any response to challenge the allegations, the judge said the only issue before the court was whether the money constituted proceeds of crime and whether the money should be forfeited to the State.

“The Agency need not prove the actual crime committed; it is sufficient to show unlawful conduct,” the court said.

It added: “Once the applicant establishes, on a balance of probabilities, that the assets in question are proceeds of crime, a duty is cast on the respondent to prove that he obtained the funds lawfully.”

The judge noted that the respondent did not explain being served with the proceedings.

“In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is my view that the applicant has proved, on a balance of probabilities, that the Sh14.6 million preserved in the respondent’s account constitutes proceeds of crime,” the court said.

The judgment follows recent guidance by the Supreme Court, cited by the High Court, that once ARA establishes that assets are probably proceeds of crime in civil forfeiture proceedings, the evidential burden shifts to the respondent to explain their lawful source.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the hearing of a case challenging the appointment of chief executives at four state corporations over alleged ethnic marginalisation and discrimination.

At the same time, the court issued a landmark ruling that broadens the Employment and Labour Relations Court’s jurisdiction over recruitment disputes.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, the court directed that the petition challenging the State appointments be fixed for hearing on priority after more than two years of litigation over which court should handle the dispute.

The judges upheld the Court of Appeal’s finding that the High Court was properly seized of the specific petition filed by Magare Gikenyi and six other public-interest litigants.

The dispute stems from the 2024 government’s recruitment of chief executives and managing directors for Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Athi Water Works Development Agency, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and Kenya National Shipping Line.

After applications were invited, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura announced the appointments. Philip Kiptanui Kirwa was named MTRH chief executive, Joseph Mungai Kamau was appointed to Athi Water Works Development Agency, Agnes Kalekye Nguna was named KBC managing director, and Abdalla Mohamed Hatimy was appointed managing director of Kenya National Shipping Line.

Dr Gikenyi and six other petitioners moved to the High Court in Nakuru in May 2024 seeking to nullify the appointments. They alleged the recruitment process violated constitutional requirements, including merit, equality and inclusivity.

The petitioners also alleged ethnic marginalisation and argued that statutory instruments establishing the four state corporations had expired, rendering the recruitment process unlawful.

The High Court certified the matter as urgent and issued conservatory orders suspending implementation of the appointments.

It also rejected the Attorney-General’s preliminary objections that challenged its jurisdiction and that sought to have the petition struck out.

The Attorney-General, appearing for some of the respondents, together with other parties, argued that the dispute concerned recruitment into employment positions and therefore fell exclusively within the Labour Court’s jurisdiction, not the High Court.

They also challenged the High Court’s territorial jurisdiction, alleging forum shopping and procedural irregularities.

The petitioners maintained that they were not litigating as employees or job applicants but as citizens seeking to enforce the Constitution and challenge alleged violations of public governance, constitutional values and inclusivity.

The High Court dismissed the objections, and the Court of Appeal later upheld that decision in a ruling dated May 23, 2025, finding that the petition had been filed by citizens acting in the public interest rather than within an employer-employee relationship.

The dispute then reached the Supreme Court, where the appellants argued that recruitment and appointment disputes fall squarely within the Labour Court’s mandate because they arise from employment processes.

They also contended that the High Court in Nakuru lacked geographical territorial jurisdiction since the recruitments were undertaken elsewhere.

The Supreme Court agreed that the Labour Court’s mandate extends beyond existing employment relationships and includes constitutional challenges arising from recruitment, advertising of vacancies, shortlisting, interviews and selection processes.

“The jurisdiction of the Labour Court is not limited to employer-employee relationships only and does extend to pre-employment disputes,” the court ruled.

For more than a decade, exchanging phone numbers has been the first step in almost every Kenyan digital interaction, but WhatsApp is preparing to change this familiar routine fundamentally.

The messaging platform is introducing unique usernames that will eventually allow users to connect without revealing their mobile numbers, marking one of its biggest identity changes since launching in 2009.

The shift promises greater privacy for millions of users but also threatens to reshape how Kenyans network, verify businesses, avoid scams and even build new personal and professional relationships online.

Unlike today, where every WhatsApp account is tied directly to a visible mobile number, users will instead create unique usernames that become their primary public identity on the platform.

The system resembles long-established models used by social media giants X, Instagram and Telegram, where people search, share and connect using usernames instead of personal telephone numbers.

In Kenya, where WhatsApp has become the country’s dominant communication platform, the implications extend far beyond a simple design update or new account setting.

The application now sits at the centre of business transactions, customer support, neighbourhood groups and family communication, as well as political mobilisation and countless informal commercial activities across the country.

Small businesses, particularly, rely on WhatsApp as their primary customer service channel, while freelancers, consultants and entrepreneurs routinely publish their personal phone numbers across social media platforms.

According to Chartered marketer and digital content strategist Nyandia Gachago, the new system will prove particularly attractive for small traders, professionals and freelancers who currently struggle to separate business enquiries from their private communications.

The biggest immediate winner, she says, is likely to be privacy, especially in public WhatsApp groups where thousands of strangers can currently access one another’s telephone numbers.

Job seekers, church members, chama participants and school parents often unknowingly expose their personal contacts simply by joining groups created for legitimate community purposes.

“For ordinary users, hiding 07xx reduces exposure in job groups and chamas where M-Pesa fraud often starts. For SMEs, an @username like @MamaMbogaKE is safer and more professional than printing a personal number on posters. For professionals, it offers a way to network without giving a direct line,” says Gachago.

The timing of the system update comes at a time when Kenya is battling increasingly sophisticated mobile fraud targeting M-Pesa users through unsolicited calls, text messages and impersonation schemes.

Yet the same technology designed to improve privacy may introduce an entirely different set of digital security challenges for unsuspecting users.

Ms Gachago notes that instead of stealing phone numbers, fraudsters may begin creating usernames closely resembling trusted businesses, organisations or public personalities to deceive unsuspecting victims.

‘The move could, however, enable new scams through lookalike handles and impersonation, especially if brands don’t claim their @ early. There’s also the Sept 8, 2026 cutoff for Android 5.0/5.1 phones, which could lock out many low-income users,’ Gachago says.

Today, consumers already struggle to distinguish authentic accounts from fake social media pages, and similar impersonation risks are set to emerge as usernames become WhatsApp’s primary public identity.

“Verification becomes the weak link. Without the phone-number anchor, we may see more handle-based phishing and cloned business accounts,” says Gachago.

Her sentiments are echoed by digital marketing strategist and Brand Moran co-founder Egline Samoei, who adds that brands and public figures are staring at the danger of not just losing their preferred usernames, but also having them used to run scams and damage reputation.

‘Once usernames become available, people will compete for recognizable names. We are already seeing this discussion among Kenyan users on X, where some people are posting about securing names linked to prominent individuals, while others are joking about taking up usernames associated with brands,’ says Ms Samoei.

‘People may start assuming that a familiar-looking username is official. That is dangerous. A scammer does not need to perfectly copy a brand name. They only need to create something close enough to confuse people, especially in a fast-moving chat environment.’

The changes are also set to quietly transform how Kenyans discover new contacts, particularly outside their immediate personal and professional circles.

Today, obtaining someone’s phone number is usually enough to establish a WhatsApp connection, whether through referrals, networking events, business cards or mutual acquaintances.

That simplicity will disappear since users must now know somebody’s exact username before initiating conversations through the platform.

Random discoveries will, therefore, become less common unless usernames are actively shared through websites, social media profiles, business cards, QR codes or other marketing channels.

Professionals seeking new clients and entrepreneurs targeting new customers may increasingly invest in promoting memorable usernames instead of simply advertising telephone numbers.

The transition will particularly affect Kenya’s vibrant informal economy, where quick exchanges of phone numbers often lead directly to business transactions and lasting customer relationships.

For many users, mobile numbers have also served as a trusted verification tool because every registered SIM card carries regulatory identification requirements.

Usernames remove that visible identity layer, forcing people to rely more heavily on digital literacy and platform verification features before trusting unfamiliar accounts.

“Usernames improve privacy and SME safety, but only if paired with digital literacy. Otherwise, Kenya risks trading ‘number-based fraud’ for ‘handle-based fraud,'” says Gachago.

The jobs and perks of 15 chief executive officers of State corporations are on the line as the government rolls out the first phase of its plan to dissolve non-viable parastatals and merge agencies with overlapping functions.

New Bills tabled in Parliament by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah seek to dissolve six regional development authorities, triggering the redeployment of their chief executives to other government roles.

The agencies targeted for dissolution include the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA), Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA), and the Ewaso Ng’iro South River Basin Development Authority (ENSDA).

Others are the Ewaso Ng’iro North River Basin Development Authority (ENNDA) and the Coast Development Authority (CDA).

The chief executives set to be affected by the dissolutions are Moses Kipchumba (KVDA), Wycliffe Ochiaga (LBDA), Liban Duba (TARDA), Ngala Oloitiptip (ENSDA), Ali Hassan (ENNDA), and Mwanasiti Bendera (CDA).

‘… dissolve the regional development authorities as they have carried out the mandate for which they were created,’ the Regional Development Authorities Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2026, says.

‘The Bill further seeks to align the national and county governments’ functions in tandem with Schedule Four of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, reduce pressure for budgetary allocations, enhance efficiency, accountability, and service delivery.’

The Bill was received in Parliament on Thursday. Mr Ichung’wah has also tabled four separate Bills that seek to merge nine State agencies into four entities.

The Kenya Investment Authority, led by John Mwendwa, and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency, led by Floice Mukabana, will be merged to create the Kenya Investment and Export Promotion Authority, headed by one chief executive.

At the same time, the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority and the National Irrigation Authority, led by Julius Mugun and Charles Muasya, respectively, will be collapsed to form the National Irrigation and Water Harvesting Authority.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo) and the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) will be merged into a new Kenya Intellectual Property Authority.

John Onyango is KIPI’s managing director, while George Nyakweba is Kecobo’s executive director. Robi King’a is ACA’s CEO.

The Tourism Research Institute (TRI), headed by Hesbon Oyendo, and the Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC) will also be collapsed and their functions transferred to the Kenya Tourism Board.

According to the Regional Development Authorities Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2026, all rights, obligations, assets and liabilities of the dissolved authorities will be transferred to the State Department for the National Treasury upon their disbandment.

Similarly, loans, credit facilities, financial obligations, loan collateral and securities administered by the authorities will remain valid and be administered by the State Department for the National Treasury.

Existing contracts, agreements and other instruments will also remain in force and be enforceable by or against the State Department, the Bill says.

Employees of the dissolved agencies will be transferred to the Public Service Commission on terms and conditions no less favourable than those they currently enjoy.

‘The service of all employees transferred … shall be deemed to have been continuous for pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits,’ says the proposed law.

The Cabinet in January 2025 approved the dissolution of the nine State corporations and the consolidation of 42 agencies into 20.

Under the plan, the State also seeks to privatise 16 corporations with outdated mandates, further reducing the number of entities under direct government control in a bid to cut expenditure.

The government spends more than Sh1 trillion annually -equivalent to six to seven percent of its gross domestic product (GDP)- to keep loss-making State corporations afloat, according to a 2025 joint survey by the World Bank and the Competition Authority of Kenya.

The Central Bank of Kenya has previously cautioned banks against indiscriminate lending to State-owned enterprises (SOEs) because many were using long-term commercial loans to pay salaries and other recurrent expenses rather than to fund investments.

In March, Parliament directed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to complete the mergers and dissolutions by October this year.

The recently assented-to Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2026, gives the Treasury Cabinet Secretary power to dissolve or merge government-owned enterprises, subject to the Competition Act, upon the Cabinet’s approval.

The law will scrap 14 State corporations, most of which are loss-making and purely reliant on the Exchequer for funding, and turn them into self-financing commercial enterprises. It will also affect 66 other entities in which the government has a shareholding.

The cash-rich State corporations that are to be turned into companies include the Kenya Airports Authority, the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya Railways Corporation, the Agricultural Development Corporation, and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

Several loss-making corporations such as the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya Literature Bureau, National Cereals and Produce Board, and Postal Corporation of Kenya will also be made companies.

At 44, many female fitness enthusiasts opt for Pilates classes, Zumba or yoga sessions, or light weightlifting exercises. Some do long runs or brisk walking. Not Dr Gathoni Kamau.

She has built her fitness life around heavy weights. In the gym, you will find her sinking deep into squats, picking loaded barbells off the floor, and pressing heavy weights from her chest. Deadlifts exceed her own body weight.

Gathoni is a Kenyan living in Wales, working full-time as a psychiatrist. This September, she will step onto a powerlifting platform hoping to lift a total of 285 kilogrammes across three lifts. If she reaches it, she will qualify for the National Masters Competition next year, where women over 40 compete against each other. It is a goal she has been building toward slowly for more than two years.

It started oddly, with a tennis injury. Gathoni played tennis for many years, and one day she hurt her lower back and shoulder. She went to see a physiotherapist about the pain. She was given simple advice: start strength training to get stronger and protect her body. The goal was not to become a powerlifter. She just wanted to get back on the tennis court, stronger.

She went looking for a new gym.

‘I didn’t know it was a powerlifting gym,’ she said. ‘I tried it for fun.’ The second time was harder. Her muscles burned. Her body strained. But she kept going.

What appealed to her was how simple it was. ‘Powerlifting has only three lifts: the squat, the bench, and the deadlift. We do the same things again and again, and each week you try to lift a little more than before. I liked the simplicity,’ she says. ‘My life is very busy, and this was something simple.’

She also found something else in the gym, a feeling lifters call the pump, the rush of blood and effort that comes after a hard set. ‘I felt this pump and a sense of accomplishment,’ she said.

She laughs when she talks about how much she hates running, one of the reasons powerlifting suits her so well.

‘I hate running and moving fast, so powerlifting is for very lazy people,’ she said. ‘I only get to train for a squat, bench, and deadlift.’

Gathoni, whose job involves caring for elderly patients, sees the effects of muscle loss every single day at work, and it shapes how she thinks about her own training.

‘Strength training is very important for people as they age, because in my line of work a lot of people I see are old and very frail,’ she explains. ‘Basically, frailty is just a lack of muscle mass.’

Besides building strength and muscles, powerlifting has given her a community.

‘We go for competitions. Travel around to compete, meet amazing people who become friends,’ she says. Before every competition, the lifters gather for a meal together. Since competitors must weigh in and often cut their food strictly for 12 weeks beforehand, that shared meal afterwards becomes something she looks forward to.

Four to six eggs a day

Getting ready for a competition means training hard and eating clean. Gathoni eats about five times a day. She eats between four and six eggs a day, sometimes more. For breakfast, she eats three eggs, an avocado, and one slice of bread. Mid-morning, she might have protein yoghurt or a protein shake, or two more eggs. Lunch is protein, vegetables, and a small portion of carbohydrates. In the afternoon, she eats a small portion of carbohydrates with more protein, again maybe two eggs or a protein snack. She stops eating by 8pm, making sure her last meal has protein in it.

How strictly she eats depends on her goal. If she wants to lose weight before a competition, she goes on what lifters call a cut, eating less than she burns, while still eating enough protein to protect her muscle. Gathoni does not enjoy shedding weight. ‘I only need to lose about three kilogrammes, which can happen in a week. The rule of thumb for eating proteins is simple. Take your body weight in kilogrammes and multiply it by 2.2. If you weigh 100 kilos, you should eat around 200 grammes of protein a day.’

Opening doors

She credits powerlifting with opening doors she might never have found otherwise, from knowing a good plumber to simply feeling like part of a neighbourhood rather than an outsider passing through.

‘If you are someone who just hangs out with Kenyans all the time, you wouldn’t know these things,’ she said. ‘It sort of opens your eyes to where you are. It opens you up to the local community.’

The sport has become a family affair too. Gathoni’s mother now trains alongside her. ‘I’ve made my mother do it,’ she says proudly.

She points to one word first when asked what she has gained the most.

‘Confidence,’ she said. ‘And it has really helped with my diabetes control. It has helped me have some discipline, a routine, and work-life balance. To powerlift, you have to have discipline, and this spills over into your work, into your life.’

During competition season, Gathoni trains four times a week, fitting sessions carefully around her demanding job as a psychiatrist.

‘During competitions, I train four times a week.’

Monday is her day off work. ‘I go in the afternoon, and we have a coaching session with the trainer. And then I find another evening during the week to go,’ she says.

Outside of competition season, she scales back to two or three sessions a week, giving her body time to rest and recover.

Night at work, daytime at gym

Still, the road has not been smooth. Balancing a demanding medical career with a sport that requires strict eating, proper sleep, and consistent training has tested her again and again.

‘Trying to balance it all and making the time is the toughest challenge, because to be good, you have to be consistent and committed. Sometimes life can be very busy and exhausting, and as I get older, it is much harder to get over a night shift.’

She describes the particular struggle of working through the night as a doctor, then somehow finding the energy to lift heavy weights days later. Eating properly becomes its own battle when hospital shifts eat into mealtimes.

‘You eat about four or five times a day, so you have to prepare meals. If I’m going to work, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Am I going to have time for lunch if I’m having a very busy day? If you don’t eat well, you get fatigued, and you don’t train well. I’m just trying to balance it all. The most important thing is just to show up.’

Squat with 120kg

That mindset, showing up even on hard days, has carried her from barely lifting an empty barbell to chasing serious numbers on the platform. When she started two and a half years ago, her bench press struggled to move at all.

‘I could barely lift the bar on its own, 20 kilos. We kept joking, ‘It’s my small Kikuyu hands,’ she said, laughing. In her most recent competition, she bench-pressed 45 kilos. Her deadlift has grown even more dramatically, from under 100 kilos in her first competition to 125 kilos in her last one, a competition she completed while struggling with an injury.

Her squat, which she calls the hardest of the three lifts because of how low she must go, has climbed to nearly 80 kilos.

‘I’m very proud of those achievements. Every week I add one kilo, two kilos. That is the thing with powerlifting. It is about progressive loading. That is why consistency and showing up is important. Over time you see the benefits.’

Now she is aiming higher than ever. Her September competition marks her first since her injury, and she is hoping to hit a combined total of 285 kilos across her squat, bench, and deadlift.

Her favourite

Powerlifting divides athletes by age group, something Gathoni sees as fairness.

‘If you are over 40, you compete in the master’s group, because as you age you lose muscle mass, so it is not fair to compare someone who is 50 to someone who is 30,’ she explains. ‘I’m going to compete in the masters age group, between 40 and 49. I’m trying to qualify for the nationals next year. I need to do a total of 285 kilos. But if I miss it this time, I will go for the competition next year in November, so it gives me time to prepare.’

Among her three lifts, one stands out as her favourite, and it happens to be the one she picked up fastest.

‘Ooh, I really enjoy deadlifting. It was the one I learnt the quickest,’ she said. The bench press, by contrast, has demanded far more technical work. Many gym goers assume the bench press is simple, lying flat and pushing a bar upward, but Gathoni explains there is far more to it.

‘If you lie flat on the bench, that means you are just using your biceps and triceps. For you to engage your pecs and traps [muscles found in the upper body], you need your upper back off the bench. You have to learn to arch your back, because that engages more muscles; therefore you can lift heavier, and it protects your shoulders.’

Even the deadlift, which looks straightforward from the outside, carries its own hidden techniques.

‘You just pick the weight up off the floor, but it is not as easy as we make it sound. It is also about learning the techniques, and that has been quite challenging too.’

Gathoni also draws strength from someone close to home. The current African powerlifting champion in her age category is a Kenyan woman over 50 years old, who lifts more than 230 kilos. ‘She inspires me,’ Gathoni said.

Kenya cut annual repayments on Chinese loans by Sh21.61 billion in the financial year ended June 2026 after restructuring standard gauge railway (SGR) debts, easing pressure on the Exchequer as the country moved beyond the peak repayment period for Beijing-funded infrastructure projects.

Treasury data shows Kenya paid Sh107.74 billion to Chinese lenders in the year ended June 30, 2026, down from Sh129.35 billion a year earlier.

The payments were also Sh44.95 billion below the record Sh152.69 billion settled in the fiscal year ended June 2024, marking the second consecutive annual decline after repayments peaked.

The lower debt service bill of Sh107.74 billion came in a year when Nairobi secured a deal with Beijing to convert three dollar-denominated SGR loans into the Chinese renminbi, while also extending repayment maturities and obtaining additional grace periods to reduce annual repayment costs.

The restructuring replaced floating dollar interest rates linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) with fixed renminbi rates, shielding Kenya from elevated US interest rates that had pushed up the cost of servicing the railway debt.

“When the loan is in US dollars, then it is SOFR plus a mark-up, but in renminbi it is a fixed rate, which is almost half the rate if we were to apply US dollars. So there is a huge saving there,” Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said in an earlier interview with this publication.

Mr Mbadi said the dollar loans were attracting interest rates of more than 6.0 percent, comprising prevailing SOFR plus a margin of roughly two percentage points, compared with about a three percent fixed rate under the renminbi financing.

The loans, contracted during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, had initially carried floating interest rates of between 3.0 and 3.6 percentage points above the now-retired London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), exposing Kenya to rising global borrowing costs after benchmark rates rose in recent years.

Treasury figures show Kenya paid Sh74.74 billion in principal and Sh33 billion in interest to Chinese lenders in the 2025/26 fiscal year, compared with Sh88.61 billion and Sh40.74 billion, respectively, a year earlier.

The latest repayments indicate that Kenya has passed the most demanding phase of servicing Chinese infrastructure loans whose principal repayments have accelerated.

China remains Kenya’s largest bilateral lender, having financed the nearly 700-kilometre SGR from Mombasa to Suswa near Naivasha alongside roads, ports and energy projects. The Export-Import Bank of China financed about 90 percent of the railway’s initial construction cost of $3.75 billion (about Sh485.63 billion), excluding interest.

Servicing the SGR loans -paid every January and July- remains one of the biggest external debt obligations, accounting for more than three-quarters of Kenya’s annual repayments to bilateral creditors.

The easing in annual repayments, however, has not resolved long-running challenges surrounding the railway’s financing model.

The Treasury disclosed that it was negotiating with Beijing to revise escrow account terms tied to the SGR loans after the arrangement prevented operating revenues generated by the railway from being used to service the debt.

Under the financing agreement, all SGR revenue is deposited into a special account jointly managed by the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and the Export-Import Bank of China. The account must reportedly maintain a minimum balance of Sh25 billion before any surplus can be released for loan repayments.

Because that threshold has never been reached, none of the more than Sh100 billion generated by the railway since commercial operations began in 2017 has been used to repay the Chinese loans, despite freight services accounting for more than three-quarters of the revenue.

Instead, the Treasury continues to service the debt directly from taxes while KRC is supposed to reimburse the amount. The reimbursement mechanism has broken down, with arrears owed by the corporation swelling to Sh413.36 billion by the end of June 2025.

“This arrangement has effectively locked out loan repayments, resulting in the steady accumulation of arrears despite continued SGR operations,” the Treasury says in its latest annual debt management report, recommending that the escrow terms be renegotiated to allow debt service alongside operating and maintenance costs.

The report says the SGR arrears account for 80.8 percent of the Sh511.44 billion owed to the Treasury by State corporations through on-lent and direct loans as at June 2025, exposing the government to significant fiscal risk from a single infrastructure project.

The restructuring agreement with China nevertheless marks an important shift in Kenya’s management of its Chinese debt portfolio, offering the Treasury some fiscal relief after years in which Beijing-funded infrastructure loans represented one of the fastest-growing pressures on the national budget.

Kenya’s debt restructuring has emerged as a potential template for other developing economies grappling with costly Chinese loans.

A June report by AidData, a research group at the College of William and Mary in the United States, identified Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia, Pakistan and Indonesia among countries that could seek Kenya-style changes to Chinese loan terms.

The relatively favourable terms include longer repayment periods, additional grace periods and conversion of dollar-denominated debt into renminbi as Beijing pushes wider international use of its currency.

Panama hat. Cream-on-cream monochrome aesthetic. A popular and expensive cologne that conveys, if not power, then success. It’s not a menswear line; it is how Nahashon Mungai strides in, looking anything but a banker. Success doesn’t always go to your head. Sometimes it shows on your belly. ‘I’ve always been very lean, and suddenly now, I’m puffy,’ he concedes his insecurity.

He talks about the philosophy behind creating Mansa-X, a special fund now worth Sh153 billion, at just 32. He loves horse racing, golf, fruit farming, not necessarily in that order. He speaks about parenting girls and how he teaches them about money. ‘My daughters crochet and paint,’ he says, ‘but I take my cut, agency fees.’

Do you come here a lot?

I joined Muthaiga Country Club because I needed a social but family-oriented place. I was born in a very small family. Dad, mum, elder sister, and I. We’re are still very tight. You met my wife Nancy; she’s a psychologist, and I like to joke I am patient zero [chuckles]. We have daughters aged 16 and eight.

You have access to the who’s who of society. How do you keep in touch with your younger self?

I come from Ndeiya, proper ushago, in Limuru. I have maintained many of the friends I grew up with.

Did success not cause a rift in the friendships?

The people you meet later in life are the ones who view you differently. You are this financier, this whatever. My friends still call me Nash, and I feel very relaxed around them.

What kind of friend are you?

A loyal one.

What does loyalty mean?

I take most of my friends as brothers because I never had one. If you need something, I will provide it to you, no questions asked. That has hurt me in some ways because some people view you as a resource.

What’s the best thing a friend has done for you?

I don’t have a lot of friends. Recently, one bought me a Montblanc pen, a very expensive pen, in fact, the John Lennon edition, because I love The Beatles.

How does a boy from Limuru cavort with The Beatles and not Kamande wa Kioi?

My parents were exposed. My mum worked for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. So she was well-travelled. My father was a civil engineer, and he also travelled quite a bit. I only grew up in the village because they chose to live there. My mum would play Abba, Bee Gees and all. But now I am gravitating towards Kamande wa Kioi, though [chuckles].

What do The Beatles say about you?

I didn’t say The Beatles are my favourite. It’s actually Dire Straits. I find that music absolutely fabulous. I think their lead singer, Mark Knopfler, is the best guitarist ever.

Not Jimi Hendrix?

Well, Jimi Hendrix was more of a rock and roll type; Mark Knopfler went with the folk type of playing the guitar. Jimi Hendrix’s versatility is unmatched, obviously. I think the guitars were made for him. That’s how good he was [chuckles]. I like to do things that are not popular, hence why I liked that kind of music.

Which song from that period best encapsulates your life now?

I like ‘One Song at a Time’ by Mark Knopfler. But I also like the ‘Sultans of Swing’ [starts singing]. I feel like I’m creating something unique and being talked about on the streets of Nairobi. I’m like a Sultan of Swing.

What’s a money lesson that has remained true for you over the years?

Always spend less than you would like. I’ve seen people say you only live once. But there’s a comfort that comes with knowing I can afford something, but I’m not buying it. Delayed gratification is something I really try to teach my children.

How do you ensure your daughters do not confuse your success with theirs?

Interesting you bring that up. Because when we were in Dubai, we went to the Burj Khalifa with my daughters and we saw a quote from the ruler of Dubai: ‘Hard times make hard men. Hard men make soft times; soft times make soft men. Then those soft men make hard times.’

I posted it in our family WhatsApp group and recently picked it up again with them, that they are growing up privileged. They must be very careful and continuously hungry and driven.

We talk about money openly in my house. My daughter is an artist, a painter, and during an affordable art show, she sold me one of her paintings at Sh100,000. As her agent, I removed my agency fees 15 percent, then the cost of materials (Sh31,000), emotional support for my youngest daughter Sh1,000, and transport for my wife Sh5,000. In the end, I paid her Sh46,000, and she was upset. But she learned how business works. You can make Sh100,000 and go home with nothing.

You mentioned that you lost a son in between your two children. What did that loss teach you about life?

Life is fickle. No sooner had the baby been born than we lost him. But it also made me very interested in healthcare and how it can be improved. I’m always asking myself questions like, was that handled the right way? Would it have been handled better? If that had happened, maybe my son would still be here. It wastough. I don’t think it’s something you can ever fully recover from. It’s always there at the back of your mind. That first year was really bad.

Nash, what wouldn’t one find in a parenting book?

Children can be pretty thankless, and I’m like, don’t you feel that these things you’re getting come with a lot of effort? I wonder if we were like that. Probably we were; we just never noticed.

Where do your daughters test your patience?

I’m not just praising them; I find that I have really nice watotos. I love my girls. But with their mother, they feel like they can just talk anyhow, and I have to remind them, that’s my wife you are stressing.

What’s your fatherhood flaw?

The whole sitting down, doing homework and academics with them. I’m always thinking, come on, it’s your homework, not mine. I don’t remember my parents ever wanting to do homework with me.

What’s a small thing you do to put a smile on your face?

Just being alone, so in all my houses, I always have a mancave. I like watching movies alone. And my wife has never interfered with that. It is where my creativity comes from. And when I am alone, I eat a lot of chocolate [chuckles].

How has the interpretation of the word wife changed over the years?

When you start, you’re lovers. Over time, you become partners in dealing with life, including raising children and building wealth, even when your perspectives are different. If you don’t break at that point, then you’re good. They say your wife is not your relative, but I disagree. They become a part of you. Which is why divorce is very tough. It’s like losing a part of you.

How has she changed your life?

She’s a cheerleader. That has helped because my ideas are radical. Eddie, she has never said no or slowed me down by doubting me. That’s her superpower. I hope my children grow to be kind, and I believe kind people also tend to be very smart. If you’re kind, a lot of people will open doors for you because everybody is going through something.

Speaking of, what bad habit have you failed to kick?

[long pause] Overthinking. It makes me see things as more perilous than they actually are. Sometimes it will even give me anxiety. But I think I get it from my mother.

Does success feel like how you thought it would when you were growing up?

I suppose. Life imitates art. One of the things I did a lot growing up was reading books and watching documentaries about successful people. A lot of the things I see in my life now are very similar to the things I saw and read about. What you don’t anticipate is the feeling, especially of betrayal, when it happens.

Success is a moving target; how do you know when you hit it?

I guess you never know [chuckles]. Success is multifaceted. When I started with my wife, I just wanted to afford a car because I had a family, and that was success then. I started as a cashier, and I just wanted to be a proper officer, which is another success, or to attain a certain level of money. This is the human condition: if you stop swimming, you sink.

What matters more than you thought it would?

Peace of mind. That is the one thing you eventually come to discover is more important than anything. So, you step away from conflicts and unnecessary excitement.

What’s life’s simplest pleasure?

Laughing. Because you can get it anywhere. And the biggest superpower is to be able to laugh at oneself. Some people are too stuck up, too concerned, too self-important. Even my team selection is very much based on characters who know how to first be very kind and take themselves lightly.

What’s your insecurity now?

I’ve started having protrusions from certain parts of my body that I didn’t have. I’ve always been very lean, and suddenly now, I’m puffy [chuckles]. My friends started getting big in their early 30s, and it’s happening to me now at 42.

What’s a small thing people do for you that makes you feel loved?

Saying thank you. I don’t have a lot of people who say thank you, as people might think. In fact, it even changed my relationship with God, because when I’m praying, I like to focus on saying thank you before anything.

If I were to read any chapter from your life, which one would you recommend?

25 to 35. That’s the age when I learned to be a father, a husband, and learned to dream and actualise those dreams at the same time. I created Mansa X when I was 32, when I left banking, when everyone thought I was crazy. I look at the young version of myself, and I’m really proud of him because he just never knew the limitations, and that has also helped me to be very careful with my children. No matter what they choose to be, I will be proudest of them if they become the best versions of themselves.

What’s an investment cliché you’re tired of hearing?

The higher the risk, the higher the return. It annoys me. There is a lot of low return that comes from mediocre investing, not because you took lower risk. Just because you’re doing something in a mediocre way does not mean that it’s less risky, and just because someone else is having a higher return doesn’t mean they necessarily took on more risk.

What do you do that’s not for money at all?

Golf. I’m very enthusiastic about it, but I’m not a very good golfer. Golf is a lot like life and business. I am also into horse racing, and here, we have a syndicate of 10 who own three horses. I can ride, but I cannot ride a racehorse. I also work a lot on my fruit farm in Limuru. Let’s not talk about whether it makes money or not [chuckles].

What’s your weekend plan?

I’ll go see my dad, who is a bit sick. Later I’ll take my girls to Naivasha for the weekend and play some golf. I got them a teacher for Kikuyu lessons too [chuckles].

Why is it important for them to learn Kikuyu?

It’d be ridiculous to abandon your heritage. My great-grandfather is Chief Waiyaki wa Hinga. And he was the first freedom fighter, killed by the British before it was fashionable to be killed by the British [chuckles]. I took them to watch a play about him in Kikuyu, and this is to make it cool for them to know your language.

What does money mean to you now?

It is the best validator in the world I live in. First, it is intimidating, but the same way Sh10 hits you psychologically is the same way a million dollars hits you. It becomes a number you take care of. Money accumulates toward people who respect it, so spend less than you make.

Give us some good advice.

In life, ‘And this too shall pass.’ But in trading, the theory is simple. If it is bad, it can always get worse haha! Take your losses early. The best traders tend to be very pessimistic. Luckily, in life, unlike markets, bad things tend to get better [chuckles]. Remember to be playful. Don’t let life dictate who you are.

For years, companies have listed in the stock market to raise capital, expand operations, invest in new opportunities or strengthen their balance sheets. While these remain important motivations, they are not the only reasons a company may choose to enter the public market. A key but often overlooked benefit for listing is institutionalisation.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has shown renewed momentum, reporting a 134 per cent increase in profit after tax in 2025, with the total revenue surpassing Sh1 billion for the first time.

Family Bank rang the bell at the NSE, marking the largest private sector listing at the bourse in more than 17 years. This is a milestone not just for the institution but also for homegrown corporates, raising a question that calls for greater attention: why have few Kenyan companies chosen to follow that path?

Kenya is not short of successful businesses. Over the past two decades, Kenya has seen ordinary ideas grow into extraordinary enterprises. Entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses have built companies that have stood the test of time, creating jobs, driving growth and proving that resilience and innovation can transform dreams into lasting economic impact. Despite this, relatively few have made the transition from private enterprises to publicly listed institutions.

Their hesitation is understandable. Listing is associated with increased scrutiny, heightened bureaucracy and concerns about dilution of ownership or control. In some cases, there is no pressing need to raise additional capital. If a business is profitable, growing and adequately financed, the incentive to pursue a listing may appear limited.

This perception, however, misses the deeper purpose of public markets. Building a successful business is one thing; building an institution that lasts is another. Many businesses begin with the passion and vision of a founder. But for a company to endure, it must grow beyond one person, anchored by strong governance, accountability and systems that carry the vision forward for generations.

Building a company takes vision, courage and persistence. Ensuring it thrives beyond its founders is a greater test. Many businesses reach a point they must navigate leadership transitions, ownership changes and the challenge of scaling without losing their purpose.

Others have found it difficult to attract new investors, professionalise operations or maintain momentum as they scale. The real journey is not just creating a successful business, but building an institution that can stand the test of time.

Listing can become an important step in a company’s journey from founder-led into a lasting institution. It brings greater transparency, stronger governance and accountability, giving investors confidence while helping companies build the systems needed to grow sustainably. Equally important, it provides a platform to raise capital.

For Family Bank, listing by introduction represents this next stage of maturity. Unlike an initial public offering (IPO), it is not about raising new capital or issuing more shares, but opening an institution to the discipline and visibility of a regulated market. It reflects the strength of what has already been built and a commitment to creating a bank that can serve future generations.

The conversation around capital markets often focuses on encouraging people to invest. Equally important is creating a pipeline of strong businesses ready to open their doors to public ownership.

Publicly listed businesses create opportunities for wealth creation by allowing ordinary citizens, pension funds, institutional investors and other stakeholders to participate in corporate growth. They contribute to stronger governance standards and help channel capital towards productivity. They also provide transparency.

Perhaps most importantly, they help transform private success stories into national economic institutions. That is why the significance of Family Bank’s listing goes beyond a single company joining the exchange.