Category: Business Daily

Lamu Governor Issa Abdalla Issa Timamy is part of a group of investors in line to buy majority stakes in two insurance firms from South Africa’s Absa Group.

Regulatory filings and court documents show the governor is a director and shareholder of First Assurance Investments Limited – the vehicle buying the majority stakes in Absa Life Assurance and First Assurance Kenya Limited.

Absa Group on Thursday last week announced it has signed an agreement to sell its 63.3 percent stake each in the two companies as the South African financial giant exits the insurance business in several African countries, including Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique.

A search at public registry revealed that First Assurance Investments Limited is owed 47.5 percent by Exclusive Holding Limited, a company associated with Governor Timamy.

The other 52.5 percent is under Syndicate Nominees, a company Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said he owned during his vetting for the ministerial position in 2022. Mr Mudavadi is also the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary.

It reflects a business union that morphed into a political partnership, which saw Mr Mudavadi serve as the Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader, with the governor his deputy.

ANC dissolved last year to allow a merger with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Registry document indicate that Issa Abdalla Issa directly owns 30 percent of Exclusive Holding Limited and his partner Salim Mohamed Busaidy 18 percent.

The Absa deal comes in the middle of a Sh363.3 million court battle pitting the governor and Mr Busaidy that has entangled the chief executives of NCBA Group, KCB Group and Co-operative Bank.

The criminal suit follows investigations into the alleged theft of Sh363.3 million from First Assurance Investment Ltd by Mr Busaidy.

According to the charge sheet, he siphoned the money from the firm between May 18, 2018 and April 30, 2024 by exploiting his position as a director and accessing the company’s accounts held at NCBA Bank, KCB Bank Kenya and Co-operative Bank.

The prosecution says he forged the signature of his co-director – the governor – on company cheques to facilitate the unlawful funds withdrawal.

Investigators add that the forged cheques, valued at between Sh150,000 and Sh350,000 each, were presented as duly authorised, allowing the money to be withdrawn over several years.

Mr Busaidy denies 120 criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud and steal, 114 counts of making a document without authority and one count of acquiring proceeds of crime.

Prosecutors are seeking to charge the three bank CEOs over failure to report suspicious transactions linked to the Sh363.3 million.

The case uncovered Governor Timamy’s links with First Assurance Investment.

It remains to be seen if Mr Busaidy will participate in the fundraiser for buying the Absa stakes as a shareholder of the investment group.

Sources close to the transaction say Absa Group will be seeking at least Sh3.8 billion for the two stakes.

For Mr Mudavadi, Mr Timany and their partner in First Assurance Investments Limited, the transaction will see them buy back the shares they sold to Absa – then Barclays Africa – in 2015 in a Sh2.2 billion deal.

Absa Life is the seventh-largest life insurer while First Assurance Kenya is ranked 13th among general insurers in a market where premiums continue to grow.

The current insurance penetration of three percent presents potential for investors seeking growth and dividends.

Absa’s exit from the insurance business in several countries marks a shift as it seeks to tap insurance billions through bancassurance as opposed to direct ownership.

The bancassurance model, or a partnership where a bank sells insurance products, will allow Absa to profit from the sector through commissions, without putting its capital on the line.

Absa Bank Kenya’s net profit from bancassurance grew by 35 percent to Sh1.3 billion in the year ended December 2025, placing it top in the country’s bancassurance business.

During the same period, Absa Life’s net profit fell by 26 percent to Sh790.1 million, a performance that offers clues on why the South African giant is selling its majority stake in the two insurance companies.

Absa’s deal with First Assurance Investments Limited comes as the Johannesburg-based group is increasing its stake in Absa Bank Kenya to 85 percent from 68.5 percent in a Sh30.9 billion deal.

Absa Group’s subsidiary, Absa Financial Services, last year sold its 100 percent stake in Absa Life Botswana to Hollard International, the international wing of South Africa’s Hollard Insurance Group.

It sold its entire stake in Absa Life Zambia and its Mozambique insurance operations to the same entity the same year.

‘We switched to a bancassurance distribution model with key partners across our Africa regions, hence selling our insurance businesses in Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique,’ Absa Group said in the 2025 annual report on the three transactions.

Mr Mudavadi owns First Assurance through two investment vehicles, First Assurance Investments Limited and directly through Syndicate Nominees, with a 12.35 percent ownership, giving the Prime CS a 21.26 percent stake.

Other shareholders of First Assurance are Mr Stephen Githiga (four percent), Chandaria Ventures Limited (1.67 percent), Epoch Investments Limited and Absa Pension Services Limited with 0.84 percent each.

Mr Githiga is the former chief executive officer of First Assurance Company and Sasini.

Chandaria Ventures is associated with Darshan Chandaria and Neer Chandaria, while Epoch Investments is associated with Jambojet chairman Ayisi Makatiani.

Absa Life Assurance Kenya was licensed in 2015 and has grown into the top 10 life insurers bracket in the country.

It was the first life insurer in Kenya to adopt a bancassurance.

First Assurance was established in 1930 in Kenya as Prudential Assurance Company and Kenyan investors bought the entire stake from British investors in 1991.

The public discourse in the run-up to the passing of the Finance Bill, 2026 raised a familiar concern about unpredictable tax changes. Kenyan businesses face a recurring nightmare: implementing new tax rules before they fully understand them.

Even before the ink on the Finance Act, 2026 had barely dried, uncertainty was already rippling through the business landscape.

A recent example appeared in media reports of furniture makers warning of price hikes and job cuts after the introduction of a 30 percent excise duty on imported inputs such as MDF, particle board, blockboard and plywood, a measure that was not contained in the Bill.

Businesses are right to worry. But there is an often-overlooked victim of tax instability, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Kenya’s National Tax Policy notes that frequent changes in tax laws cause unpredictability and inefficiency in tax administration and impose additional costs on taxpayers and the revenue administration. The Public Finance Management Act, 2012 also calls for a reasonable degree of predictability in tax rates and the tax base. Stability, then, is not merely an investor issue, but a practical requirement for effective collection and administration.

Unpredictability harms the tax authority through increased disputes and litigation. In October 2024, it was reported that Sh313.5 billion in tax revenue was tied up in the courts and tribunal.

When new rules arrive suddenly or are introduced within a short window to enactment, they often reflect multiple competing views that have not been fully reconciled. The result can be poorly drafted provisions and unclear transition rules, which taxpayers then challenge more frequently and aggressively.

Tax officers subsequently spend significant time preparing objections and defending assessments. Litigation will always have a place in tax administration, but when ambiguity becomes common, disputes stop being exceptional and resources that should go to service, education, and targeted enforcement are absorbed by case management.

Unpredictability also undermines compliance. Tax administration works best when most people comply voluntarily because they trust the system and understand the expectations.

In an unstable environment, even willing taxpayers struggle. Systems may not be updated in time, supply contracts may not anticipate new costs, and guidance may lag the law. Errors become more likely, and uncertainty encourages defensive behaviour. Trust erodes and KRA must then spend more on audits, enforcement and debt collection to achieve the same results.

Instability can also shrink the tax base. When tax policy changes constantly or unpredictably, some firms delay expansion, scale down, or relocate to more stable jurisdictions. The long-term result is fewer stable taxpayers and a heavier burden on the compliant minority.

There is also a direct administrative cost to KRA. Each major change requires updates to tax systems, revisions to internal guidelines, retraining of staff, new public communication, and more time spent answering taxpayer queries. When change is frequent, the tax authority spends more time retooling than on improving service delivery and curbing deliberate tax evasion.

Another cost is weaker revenue forecasting and the creation of unrealistic targets. Frequent changes make it difficult for the National Treasury to estimate what will actually be collected. When forecasts are unreliable, budgeting becomes harder, planning for public services becomes less precise, and debt management becomes more complicated. Pressure then flows to the revenue authority to deliver numbers that may not match economic conditions.

In that environment, overly aggressive assessments can appear as a quick fix. Taxpayers push back, disputes rise, and the cycle returns to costly litigation in which both the state and businesses expend resources that could have supported productive investment.

The lesson is simple, predictability is not anti-tax, it is pro-collection. What should change going forward is not the government’s ability to reform the tax system, but the discipline with which reforms are introduced.

The National Tax Policy recommends that tax laws be reviewed once every five years, and there is ongoing debate as to whether we should even have a Finance Bill every year.

The National Treasury and Parliament can anchor stability by keeping to a clear review cycle, limiting late-stage amendments that were not tested in public participation, and insisting on clear transition rules. When change is necessary, adequate lead time should be provided so that systems and contracts can adjust, and the expected revenue effect can be measured realistically.

Businesses, too, should participate early and constructively, not only by opposing proposals, but by presenting workable alternatives and clear evidence of impact.

Tax policy will always evolve, especially in a country balancing development needs and fiscal pressure. Yet predictable law, orderly change and clear guidance reduce disputes, strengthen compliance, protect the tax base and lower administration costs. If Kenya wants sustainable revenue, stability should be treated as a revenue strategy in its own right.

At 37, John Mathegi says he feels stronger than he did in his 20s. As he approaches 40, he is betting that the physical and financial foundation he is building today will give him the freedom to navigate life on his own terms.

For a man who has no plans to marry, Mathegi imagines a future where he is physically fit, financially secure, and free to travel the world without having to depend on anyone.

‘I bet I will have made a lot of money by then. The essence of life is to live a good life, and I have been working on building that base, body-wise and financially,’ he chuckles, in his soft voice.

It is not difficult to see that his ambitions extend beyond the words. He is a sharp dresser, drives a sleek black sedan, and maintains a well-built physique. It may not be the sculpted body of a fitness model, but it gives him the confidence he needs, particularly when he walks into boardrooms for pitch presentations.

There is, however, one small battle still being fought.

‘I am working on the small belly (which you will have to be extra keen to spot). I love my chapos, you know. I don’t think I will get the abs anytime soon, but let’s see,’ he says, chuckling again.

JB, as he insists I call him, has been working out for 13 years, and his approach to fitness has evolved considerably with age.

‘In the beginning, and I am talking about my 20s, my idea of working out was to see who lifts heavier than the other, you know the peer pressure that comes with that. So you train for others, not for your own good. But with age, I have come to understand my body, which has changed a lot. Recovery is one of the major changes I have incorporated as I get older, and that seems to be working out so well for me.’

For a man who runs an advertising firm while also moonlighting as a stylist through his tailoring business, time is valuable. So, these days, his fitness routine is not simply about pushing harder but also about knowing when to step back a little.

‘A little doesn’t hurt, but some might want to dispute that.’

JB has made recovery an intentional part of his workout regime, taking an extended break at the end of each gym subscription without worrying that he will lose his muscle.

‘I have made it a habit that at the end of my gym subscription, at the end of every month, I take a week or a week and a half to rest without working out. I maintain my diet, which isn’t that strict. During those breaks, my muscles get to heal and build.’

The pause comes at a small price. When he returns to the gym, he admits he initially struggles to find his rhythm again. But he says it does not take long.

‘I just need two days after resuming, and I am back like I never left.’

But there was a time he almost forgot what working out looked like.

‘A lot was happening then in my life. For two years, I didn’t step into a gym. For many of us who work in the advertising space, we were heavily hit by the Covid pandemic. Nothing I tried seemed to work. I was stressed, and stress eating kind of became my thing, my dopamine. I gained some bad weight, weighing 90 kilos then, but now I am 88 kilos with much of that bad weight gone,’ he recalls.

But beyond the recovery strategy employed, his gym routine has changed too.

‘Nowadays, I prefer doing a whole-body weighted routine, alternating that with isolation workouts in certain weeks. That way I am not only able to engage my entire body at once, but also to build muscles in specific body areas.’

His sessions are never as intense as before, but also not prolonged.

‘An hour and a half is good enough. I also realised you don’t always have to lift heavy to grow your body muscles. However, once in a while, whenever I feel I have some extra strength in the bag, I love to challenge my body by taking on much heavier weights than my usual.’

JB is among the few people who seem to train with their phones as much as they train with weights. His phone is never too far away. After completing a set, he picks it up, scrolls through social media and the wider internet as he catches his breath before the next set.

‘I know it goes against the holy grail of training, but it keeps me locked in. I never really get distracted by my phone during my workouts, as some would argue. There are those who prefer training with headphones, music playing, but I don’t.’

Unlike many people who find their way to the gym after a doctor’s prescription or a health scare, JB’s fitness journey began with something far less dramatic, with admiration for his older brother.

‘He is now in his 50s and in impeccable physique. When we walk together, there are those who think we are agemates. He has influenced me since I was young.’

The influence was reinforced by the environment in which his brother worked out. He once owned a gym, although JB is quick to clarify that it was far removed from today’s polished fitness centres.

‘It wasn’t a fancy one. It was, you know, those hood gyms with all the rusty weights and stuff. So I would see many people working out, and as a young man growing up, it looked cool. I too wanted to look cool, and that’s how I began my fitness journey.’

Taking stock, that decision has paid dividends beyond physical fitness. His physique has become an unlikely marketing tool for his fashion side hustle.

JB makes suits, and his body has become part of the visual pitch when clients come looking for a particular fit.

‘Many times a client will tell me they want a suit that looks perfectly fitting like mine, and sometimes you look at a client and deep down you know that isn’t going to happen because of their body structure.’

Rather than simply promise the impossible with a perfectly cut suit, JB says he sometimes has a more uncomfortable conversation with his clients, particularly men who need to shed some weight around the middle.

‘I have made it a habit of telling such clients that they need to work on their physique and lose some weight, especially in their middle sections. I do that especially with men who rarely take things to their chests.’

For JB, tailoring begins long before a measuring tape is pulled out. The body, he argues, is the foundation upon which good tailoring works, something many tailors don’t tell clients.

‘It doesn’t matter how well the cut of fabric is. Without a good physique, the cloth will struggle to achieve an outstanding drape. As I always tell my clients, physique is the fit. No cloth goes against a good physique, whether cheap or otherwise.’

It is a philosophy he does not merely have to struggle to preach to many clients.

‘You will always look good in any fabric when you have a good physique, and I am glad I am always able to demonstrate that to them with myself.’

Old Mutual has injected an additional Sh1.2 billion into its subsidiary Faulu Microfinance Bank as the lender steps up investments in technology, including its core banking system, to defend its market leadership.

The fresh capital comes as Faulu prepares to roll out an upgraded core banking system next week, aimed at improving service delivery and creating a stronger platform for future digital innovations.

The latest capital injection signals Old Mutual’s continued commitment to Faulu’s expansion ambition, with the shareholder seeking to strengthen the bank’s ability to compete in Kenya’s increasingly digital financial services market.

The micro-lender closed December last year with Sh1.33 billion core capital against the required minimum of Sh60 million.

Old Mutual acquired a majority stake in Faulu in 2015, giving it a 60.66 percent shareholding in the micro-insurer, which is the largest in the country with a market share of 35.7 percent, followed by Kenya Women Finance Trust (12.1 percent) as at the end of 2024.

Faulu has struggled with profitability, having gone for six years without a profit since Sh387.54 million posted in 2019. The micro-financier has, however, narrowed losses for the past two years, moving from the peak net loss of Sh1.42 billion in 2023 to Sh1 billion in 2024 and Sh496.36 million last year.

Old Mutual Group chief executive Arthur Oginga said the additional investment demonstrates the group’s confidence in Faulu’s strategy and long-term prospects.

‘Our additional investment in Faulu Bank reflects our confidence in the bank’s strategic direction and long-term growth,’ said Mr Oginga.

‘The Sh1.2 billion capital injection strengthens Faulu’s ability to accelerate its transformation agenda, expand support to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and continue investing in digital capabilities that enhance customer experience and support sustainable growth.’

The investment comes at a time when financial institutions are increasingly turning to technology to improve customer experience, reduce operational inefficiencies and widen access to financial services.

Faulu Microfinance Bank chief executive Julius Ouma said the new system reflects the lender’s continued investment in building a customer-focused institution. He added that the upgraded core banking platform will give Faulu increased flexibility to scale its services.

‘This upgrade strengthens our ability to serve them better today while giving us greater capacity to innovate for the future. It is an important step in our journey to deliver a banking experience that keeps pace with the evolving customers and business needs,’ said Ouma.

The bank is moving to deploy automated loan origination systems alongside configurable approval routing and strict disbursement controls.

The bank, which has traditionally focused on microfinance and underserved segments, is also seeking to strengthen its role in financing MSMEs, which is a big segment of Kenya’s economy and employment.

Faulu was founded in 1991 by Food for the Hungry International (FHI), a Christian relief organization, as a loan scheme programme that targeted low-income earners in Nairobi’s Mathare slum. In May 2009, it became the first registered deposit-taking microfinance bank in Kenya under the Micro-Finance Act.

The National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee has been directed to investigate the operations of QVSE, which is offering investment opportunities to Kenyans by combining cryptocurrency payments with trading in United States stocks. The online platform is operated under the Global Investment Group.

The National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has given the committee two weeks to probe the activities of the platform, which is reportedly marketing itself as providing a secure and convenient investment solution by enabling users to invest in United States equities using digital assets.

This is after Matungulu MP Stephen Mule demanded a statement regarding the operations of QVSE, which operates under the Global Investment Group in Kenya.

Mr Mule said concerns have been raised regarding the platform’s operations, particularly its regulatory status, investor protection measures, and the legality of its activities within Kenya.

‘Honourable Speaker, reports indicate that the platform targets everyday citizens such as small-scale traders and other economically vulnerable groups by requiring a minimum investment of approximately Sh65,000 and promising fixed daily returns,’ Mr Mule said while seeking the statement.

‘Unfortunately, investors are unable to withdraw their initial capital investment and are only permitted to execute one trade per day upon receiving a notification from the company through their mobile phones.’

He said the allegations have also raised concerns that the unsuspecting members of the public may be exposed to significant financial losses should the platform fail to honour its obligations.

‘Honourable Speaker, it is against this background that I request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Financing and National Planning on the following-a report on the legal and regulatory status of QVSE and the Global Investment Group in Kenya, including whether the platform is licensed to offer investment or financial services and the laws governing its operations,’ Mr Mule said in his statement.

He wants the committee chaired by Molo MP Kuria Kimani to provide a report on the ownership and operational structure of QVSE and the Global Investment Group, including their local representatives or partners.

The Matungulu MP further asked the committee to establish if any steps have been taken to investigate allegations that the platform operates as an unlawful investment or pyramid scheme.

Mr Mule wants the committee to establish measures put in place to protect Kenyans from unregulated investment schemes, including the actions being taken to safeguard affected investors and facilitate the recovery of funds where losses have been incurred.

Mr Wetang’ula directed Mr Kimani to investigate the allegations and report findings within two weeks.

At 37, John Mathegi says he feels stronger than he did in his 20s. As he approaches 40, he is betting that the physical and financial foundation he is building today will give him the freedom to navigate life on his own terms.

For a man who has no plans to marry, Mathegi imagines a future where he is physically fit, financially secure, and free to travel the world without having to depend on anyone.

‘I bet I will have made a lot of money by then. The essence of life is to live a good life, and I have been working on building that base, body-wise and financially,’ he chuckles, in his soft voice.

It is not difficult to see that his ambitions extend beyond the words. He is a sharp dresser, drives a sleek black sedan, and maintains a well-built physique. It may not be the sculpted body of a fitness model, but it gives him the confidence he needs, particularly when he walks into boardrooms for pitch presentations.

There is, however, one small battle still being fought.

‘I am working on the small belly (which you will have to be extra keen to spot). I love my chapos, you know. I don’t think I will get the abs anytime soon, but let’s see,’ he says, chuckling again.

JB, as he insists I call him, has been working out for 13 years, and his approach to fitness has evolved considerably with age.

‘In the beginning, and I am talking about my 20s, my idea of working out was to see who lifts heavier than the other, you know the peer pressure that comes with that. So you train for others, not for your own good. But with age, I have come to understand my body, which has changed a lot. Recovery is one of the major changes I have incorporated as I get older, and that seems to be working out so well for me.’

For a man who runs an advertising firm while also moonlighting as a stylist through his tailoring business, time is valuable. So, these days, his fitness routine is not simply about pushing harder but also about knowing when to step back a little.

‘A little doesn’t hurt, but some might want to dispute that.’

JB has made recovery an intentional part of his workout regime, taking an extended break at the end of each gym subscription without worrying that he will lose his muscle.

‘I have made it a habit that at the end of my gym subscription, at the end of every month, I take a week or a week and a half to rest without working out. I maintain my diet, which isn’t that strict. During those breaks, my muscles get to heal and build.’

The pause comes at a small price. When he returns to the gym, he admits he initially struggles to find his rhythm again. But he says it does not take long.

‘I just need two days after resuming, and I am back like I never left.’

But there was a time he almost forgot what working out looked like.

‘A lot was happening then in my life. For two years, I didn’t step into a gym. For many of us who work in the advertising space, we were heavily hit by the Covid pandemic. Nothing I tried seemed to work. I was stressed, and stress eating kind of became my thing, my dopamine. I gained some bad weight, weighing 90 kilos then, but now I am 88 kilos with much of that bad weight gone,’ he recalls.

But beyond the recovery strategy employed, his gym routine has changed too.

‘Nowadays, I prefer doing a whole-body weighted routine, alternating that with isolation workouts in certain weeks. That way I am not only able to engage my entire body at once, but also to build muscles in specific body areas.’

His sessions are never as intense as before, but also not prolonged.

‘An hour and a half is good enough. I also realised you don’t always have to lift heavy to grow your body muscles. However, once in a while, whenever I feel I have some extra strength in the bag, I love to challenge my body by taking on much heavier weights than my usual.’

JB is among the few people who seem to train with their phones as much as they train with weights. His phone is never too far away. After completing a set, he picks it up, scrolls through social media and the wider internet as he catches his breath before the next set.

‘I know it goes against the holy grail of training, but it keeps me locked in. I never really get distracted by my phone during my workouts, as some would argue. There are those who prefer training with headphones, music playing, but I don’t.’

Unlike many people who find their way to the gym after a doctor’s prescription or a health scare, JB’s fitness journey began with something far less dramatic, with admiration for his older brother.

‘He is now in his 50s and in impeccable physique. When we walk together, there are those who think we are agemates. He has influenced me since I was young.’

The influence was reinforced by the environment in which his brother worked out. He once owned a gym, although JB is quick to clarify that it was far removed from today’s polished fitness centres.

‘It wasn’t a fancy one. It was, you know, those hood gyms with all the rusty weights and stuff. So I would see many people working out, and as a young man growing up, it looked cool. I too wanted to look cool, and that’s how I began my fitness journey.’

Taking stock, that decision has paid dividends beyond physical fitness. His physique has become an unlikely marketing tool for his fashion side hustle.

JB makes suits, and his body has become part of the visual pitch when clients come looking for a particular fit.

‘Many times a client will tell me they want a suit that looks perfectly fitting like mine, and sometimes you look at a client and deep down you know that isn’t going to happen because of their body structure.’

Rather than simply promise the impossible with a perfectly cut suit, JB says he sometimes has a more uncomfortable conversation with his clients, particularly men who need to shed some weight around the middle.

‘I have made it a habit of telling such clients that they need to work on their physique and lose some weight, especially in their middle sections. I do that especially with men who rarely take things to their chests.’

For JB, tailoring begins long before a measuring tape is pulled out. The body, he argues, is the foundation upon which good tailoring works, something many tailors don’t tell clients.

‘It doesn’t matter how well the cut of fabric is. Without a good physique, the cloth will struggle to achieve an outstanding drape. As I always tell my clients, physique is the fit. No cloth goes against a good physique, whether cheap or otherwise.’

It is a philosophy he does not merely have to struggle to preach to many clients.

‘You will always look good in any fabric when you have a good physique, and I am glad I am always able to demonstrate that to them with myself.’

The High Court has ordered the government to file a status report on the importation of 490,000 tonnes of duty-free rice authorised under a Gazette Notice published last month.

The court further directed the government to file the report within 30 days, detailing the quantity of rice imported and cleared so far, the balance of the authorised quota, all customs entries lodged but not yet completed, and the status of those entries.

‘That pending the hearing of this petition, the respondents do file a further status report upon the expiry or earlier exhaustion of the quota confirming the aggregate quantity imported and cleared pursuant to gazette notice No.10061,’ said the court.

The High Court also directed the government to continue receiving, processing and completing applications, approvals, exemption codes, customs entries and other documentation necessary for the importation and clearance of consignments falling within the unused portion of the quota.

The orders followed a petition by the Ahero Rice Farmers Association, who sued, demanding accountability in the importation of the 490,000-tonne limit set out in the notice published on July 6, 2026.

The farmers said although they did not oppose the government’s decision to import rice to enhance food security, the programme should be implemented transparently, accountably and within the quota.

The association argues that the Gazette Notice was issued without meaningful public participation or consultation with local rice farmers, farmers’ associations, millers and county governments, contrary to Articles 10, 201(a) and 232 of the Constitution.

‘The matter raises issues affecting food security, public revenue, the rice market and the livelihoods and economic interests of rice farmers represented by the 1st Petitioner,’ the petition stated.

The association sued National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Following the petition, the government complied with the directive of the court by disclosing a list of approved, licensed and prequalified importers, the quantities allocated to each importer and the quantities already imported and cleared into the country.

The farmers want KRA compelled to establish and maintain a publicly accessible register showing every consignment cleared under the notice, the importer involved, the quantity cleared, and the running balance against the authorised quota.

A separate petition has been filed in Nairobi by Soufianne Bakkal, who argues that the government has failed to disclose the information, criteria, reports, economic assessments, market analyses, food security studies, stakeholder consultations and recommendations that informed the decision to allow the duty-free imports.

‘The absence of the disclosure has denied the public an opportunity to assess whether the decision was rational, evidence-based, equitable, lawful, and consistent with constitutional principles,’ Mr Bakkal said.

He argues that the lack of a transparent and equitable framework for allocating duty-free import quotas violates the principles of good governance and fair administrative action.

The Ahero Rice Farmers Association says it represents more than 1,500 rice farmers from Ahero, West Kano, Bunyala, Mwea, Tana Delta, Bura, Hola, Garsen, Taita Taveta and other rice-growing regions.

The association says its mandate is to protect the interests of local rice producers, promote sustainable agricultural policies and advance the welfare of the rice value chain.

According to the petition, although the Gazette Notice serves the legitimate objective of promoting food security and protecting consumers from high food prices, the programme must have adequate safeguards to prevent abuse.

The farmers argue that duty-free imports should only be allowed where there is a genuine domestic rice deficit.

They warn that allowing large-scale imports during periods of local surplus could flood the market with cheaper rice, depress farm-gate prices and cause significant losses to local producers who have invested heavily in land preparation, irrigation, seed, fertiliser, labour, harvesting and milling.

The petition also argues that the duty waiver will result in a substantial loss of public revenue while conferring significant commercial benefits on private importers.

The association therefore contends that the programme must be administered openly, fairly and accountably.

The farmers accuse the government of failing to publicly disclose the market analyses, food security studies, economic assessments, stakeholder consultations and other reports that informed the decision.

They argued that the failure to disclose the information prevents the public from assessing whether the decision was rational, evidence-based and consistent with constitutional principles.

Some 780 private healthcare facilities across Kenya have shifted to solar power, as they delink their operations from the national grid to cut costs and ensure stable electricity supplies.

The shift follows a deal between their lobby organisation, the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association (Rupha), and renewable energy firm Cytek Solar. Installation of the solar panels is part of a twin approach to cut electricity bills from Kenya Power, guarantee stable supply, and avoid the outages tied to the national grid.

Rupha chairman Mohamud Ali said private hospitals are grappling with unreliable electricity supplies, costly diesel generators, and fixed Social Health Authority (SHA) tariffs, which do not reflect changing operating costs.

‘Demand is driven by Kenya Power and Lighting Company’s insufficient supply and poor support, and the need to work with a fixed SHA tariff that does not account for variable hospital input costs,’ said Dr Mohamud.

‘We lose 400 hours per year from load shedding and grid outages. These lost hours can have a direct and lasting impact on the provision of timely medical interventions and saving lives.’

He said that there is demand for solar power among its members, but the high cost of installation and the lack of financing remain major barriers to its adoption.

Cytek Chief Executive Officer Robert Gitemi said that installing solar power at one facility would cost an average of Sh5 million, putting the total value of the programme at approximately Sh3.9 billion. The actual cost will vary depending on how much electricity a hospital uses and the size of the system it requires.

‘Cytek combines data-driven solar design, flexible payment models, financial institution partnerships, and digital energy monitoring to overcome the high CAPEX (upfront cost) barrier and unlock the potential Sh3.9 billion healthcare solar opportunity across the initial 780 facilities,’ he said.

Under the partnership, hospitals will have two payment options. With lease-to-own, a hospital pays for the solar system in monthly instalments and eventually owns it, usually after five to seven years. With a power purchase agreement (PPA), either Cytek or a financier owns the system, and the hospital pays for the solar electricity it uses at a rate below the grid tariff.

These financing options are designed to enable hospitals to switch to solar power without having to cover the full cost of the system up front.

Officials said that based on each hospital’s actual electricity use, the programme is expected to reduce facility electricity costs by 40 to 60 percent.

A survey of 70 healthcare facilities conducted by Rupha in July found that 97 percent rely on Kenya Power, while 76 percent have backup power in the form of diesel-powered generators rather than solar power.

Six percent of the surveyed facilities experienced daily or weekly power outages, while 78 percent reported a moderate to high operational impact from power disruptions on their ability to deliver services to patients.

According to Rupha, rural Kenya has some of the highest input costs, which put additional pressure on hospitals whose reimbursement rates do not automatically increase as facility operating costs rise.

The first phase will focus on the 64 facilities that have already expressed interest. These hospitals will undergo energy checks to determine their requirements, after which financing arrangements will be made and the systems installed between September and December.

The programme will then be expanded to the remaining 716 facilities from 2027, with the systems being monitored remotely in order to track their performance.

A growing list of firms in Kenya, including Bio Food Products, Total Energies Kenya, Maisha Mabati Mills, Simba Cement, Unilever Tea Kenya, British American Tobacco, Africa Logistics Properties, Bidco, Mabati Rolling Mills, Centum Real Estate, and Devyani Food Industries, have shifted to their own solar power generation to cut operational costs and lower emissions.

Migration of these companies to solar power could, in the long run, affect Kenya Power, given that industries and firms are the biggest source of revenue to the State-electricity distributor.

For example, in the year ended June 2025, industries and commercial firms accounted for 64 percent (Sh148.2 billion) of Kenya Power’s revenues from electricity sales.

South Africa’s Vodacom has added two directors to Safaricom’s board in a shake-up that reflects its increased ownership of the Kenyan company following its acquisition of a 15 percent stake from the government.

Vodacom appointed Mariam Cassim, its chief executive for financial technology (fintech), and Matimba Mbungela, its chief human resources officer, to the board of Safaricom as non-executive directors, pushing its representation to five members.

In the latest shake-up, the Kenyan government is supposed to cede one of its seats on the Safaricom board to Vodacom, in changes that reflect the South African firm’s increased influence on the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm, which also includes appointing the Kenyan firm’s chief executive officer.

The State, whose stake in the firm has dropped to 20 percent from 35 percent, has ceded one seat to Vodacom with the exit of John Kipngetich Mosonik, a Kenyan technocrat who once served as the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Infrastructure.

Vodafone, which also sold its remaining five percent stake to Vodacom, also surrendered its board seat to the South African telecom operator.

This saw the exit of James Ludlow, Vodafone Group’s reward and policy director of human resources, from Safaricom’s board after a two-year stint, ending Vodacom’s parent company’s direct ownership and influence of Safaricom.

As part of the relationship and co-operation agreement, Vodacom was to increase the number of directors on the board to five from three-taking one from the Kenyan government and the other from Vodafone, said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom’s CEO, in an earlier investor call.

‘In terms of the board structure, currently we have one Vodafone, three Vodacom. It will all become Vodacom,’ said Joosub.

‘So you’ll have five Vodacom directors, and then you’ll have two government, four independents, and one exec, which is the CEO, which is a slight change from today, because basically we’ll take over one from government,’ added Joosub.

Ms Cassim has held senior positions at Vodacom since 2017. Mr Mbungela has been the group’s chief human resources officer since 2014.

The other Vodacom officials remaining on the telco’s board are South Africans Mohamed Joosub and Raisibe Morathi, as well as French national Murielle Lorilloux.

Vodacom’s stake in Safaricom increased to 55 percent after buying the 15 percent stake and Vodafone’s direct shares, equivalent to 4.9 percent, giving the South African group effective control of the Kenyan telco.

The deal prompted the inking of a new shareholder agreement that guides the hiring of Safaricom’s CEO and chair.

Safaricom’s board would be required to appoint the chief executive from a list of nominees provided by Vodafone Kenya Limited (VKL).

VKL is the holding vehicle through which Vodacom owns its stake in Safaricom.

Vodafone Group, which owns 65 percent of Vodacom, has committed to influence the pick of a chair who will be Kenyan.

The National Treasury, which will retain a 20 percent stake in Safaricom after the transaction, will also have a say in the appointment of the chairman, with Vodacom agreeing to have a Kenyan head the board of the telecom giant, according to the agreement.

“VKL further undertakes, insofar as possible, to ensure that the Chairman is of Kenyan nationality.”

Vodacom has also agreed to have most of Safaricom’s senior executives remain Kenyan, contenting itself with a decisive say over who occupies the corner office of the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm.

Vodacom bought the Treasury stake for Sh204.3 billion and paid the government an upfront dividend of Sh40.2 billion on its remaining 20 percent stake, to be recouped from the State’s future dividends.

The deal makes Safaricom a subsidiary of Vodacom Group and will be expected to follow its policies, standards, procedures and programmes, including those relating to financial reporting, governance, legal affairs, compliance, ethics, risk management, procurement and operations, according to the agreement signed on December 3, 2025.

Vodafone, which will have an indirect 35.75 percent stake in Safaricom given its 65 percent ownership of Vodacom, filed the new agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 22.

Diesel consumers have been denied a Sh14-a-litre cut in the new fuel pricing cycle, which runs through September 14, after the State opted to transfer the relief to petrol and kerosene.

Diesel prices dropped by Sh5 to Sh217.86 per litre in Nairobi, while petrol and kerosene prices remained unchanged at Sh214.03 and Sh191.38 per litre, respectively, in the month ending September 14.

A litre of diesel should have dropped by Sh19.28 per litre to Sh203.58 in the capital in line with the fall in global prices, regulatory disclosures show.

The State used diesel to cross-subsidise petrol users, preventing the cost of petrol from rising by at least Sh8.64 per litre to Sh222.67 in Nairobi.

Cross-subsidisation allows the Treasury to share the subsidy burden with consumers of at least one of the three grades of fuel.

The cross-subsidy comes after the State nearly depleted the subsidy kitty it has used to cool costly fuel since April in response to the Iran war.

MPs earlier flagged the cross-subsidy as illegal because it is not supported by the law and disadvantages consumers of one grade of fuel.

The energy regulator opted for the cross-subsidy to ease pressure on inflation and Kenya’s middle class, who use petrol to power private cars. Kenya relies heavily on diesel as a core economic driver for public transport, agriculture and backup power generation.

Fluctuations in diesel pump prices directly trigger economy-wide inflation, impacting the cost of moving goods, tilling land and running thermal power plants during grid shortfalls.

Inflation edged up to 6.5 percent in July from 6.4 percent in June, driven by elevated transport, fuel and food costs linked to geopolitical tensions.

A rise in the landed petrol costs or price of the product in global markets and shipment to the Mombasa port prompted the State to deploy the cross-subsidy to cushion petrol users at the expense of diesel consumers.

‘In the period under review, the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices for diesel decreased by Sh5 per litre while the price of super petrol and kerosene remain unchanged due to additional government stabilisation support measures of Sh938 million,’ Joseph Oketch, the acting Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) said in the notice.

Steep price cuts on diesel could have significantly helped ease inflation.

Landed costs of petrol rose by 6.9 percent to $948.92 (Sh123,112.8) per cubic metre last month from $886.92 (Sh115,015.26) for a similar quantity in June.

Diesel prices dropped by 13.08 percent to $855.59 (Sh111,004.24 per cubic metre last month from $984.37 (Sh127,692.47) for the same quantity in June, setting the stage for the price drops.

The State, however, opted to deny diesel consumers the significant price cuts and instead use the product to cross-subsidise users of petrol.

But the model (cross-subsidisation) has been contested in the courts with petitioners arguing that it is illegal and unfair to a segment of consumers.

The State heavily subsidised pump prices between April and June this year in the wake of the US-Iran war, which disrupted fuel supplies globally and led to skyrocketing prices.

The heavy deployment of the billions of shillings in the subsidy scheme nearly depleted the PDL kitty, forcing the government to turn to cross-subsidy in a bid to cushion consumers without choking the Exchequer.

The Exchequer has struggled to pay the subsidy arrears owed to oil marketers, throwing the capital-intensive industry into a cash crunch.

PDL is raised via collections of Sh5.40 per litre of diesel and petrol and Sh0.40 for every litre of kerosene. One of the critical roles of the kitty is subsidising pump prices whenever global costs of fuel surge.