Category: Business Daily

The Environment and Land Court has dismissed a suit by a widow seeking to evict former Kikuyu MP Lewis Nguyai from a disputed family home in Nairobi’s Lower Kabete and recover Sh61.2 million in alleged rent arrears and profits.

In a judgment delivered on June 15, 2026, the court found that Betty Wanjiku Gakuru failed to prove allegations that documents relied on by Mr Nguyai to claim ownership of the property were forged.

Mr Nguyai maintained that he purchased the land from Ms Gakuru’s late husband, George Gakuru, in 1999 for Sh3.2 million.

The widow challenged the validity of the transaction, arguing that signatures attributed to her husband on the sale agreement and an acknowledgement of payment were not genuine.

However, the court noted that she failed to provide expert evidence to support the allegations.

‘In the absence of expert evidence or any other cogent evidence demonstrating forgery, the court is unable to find that the defendant’s documents were forged merely on the basis of the plaintiff’s allegation,’ the court said.

The court emphasised that the burden of proving forgery rested squarely on the plaintiff and that she failed to discharge it.

Signature test

The widow claimed that Mr Nguyai unlawfully entered the property on or about January 1, 2005, and took possession without her consent, authority or any lawful justification.

She argued that he remained on the land for years without paying rent and without recognising her ownership rights.

Ms Gakuru further accused the former MP of erecting and maintaining structures on the property without permission, contending that his continued occupation amounted to a persistent violation of her proprietary rights.

She told the court that she reported the matter to Kikuyu and Spring Valley police stations in 2008 in an effort to have Mr Nguyai removed from the land.

Despite police intervention, the attempts to evict him were unsuccessful and he continued occupying the property.

Ms Gakuru also accused Mr Nguyai of using unscrupulous means to avoid liability while remaining in possession of the land.

Ownership claim

Mr Nguyai admitted occupying the property but denied claims that his occupation was unlawful.

He testified that he had occupied the land since 2001 and that his possession had been open, continuous and uninterrupted.

The former MP rejected claims that he owed rent, insisting that no landlord-tenant relationship had ever existed between him and the widow.

Instead, he maintained that the property was lawfully sold to him by Mr Gakuru under a sale agreement dated November 24, 1999, for a purchase price of Sh3.2 million.

Mr Nguyai told the court that he fully paid the agreed amount and that the deceased acknowledged receipt of the money and undertook to facilitate the transfer of the property.

He said the transfer process was never completed because of circumstances affecting the deceased’s advocates, despite him having already taken possession of the land.

He further testified that he had extensively developed the property and occupied it with his family for more than 12 years without interruption.

In the alternative, Mr Nguyai argued that even if the sale transaction was found to be invalid, he had acquired ownership through adverse possession, having remained in open, exclusive, continuous and uninterrupted occupation of the property for more than 12 years.

He also argued that Ms Gakuru had never been in possession of the land and that her claim was, in any event, time-barred.

Court findings

The court noted that Mr Nguyai had produced extensive documentary evidence to support his case, including banking records, escrow account documents and a written acknowledgement allegedly signed by the deceased confirming receipt of the purchase price.

‘Although the plaintiff challenged the validity of the transaction, she did not tender evidence capable of dislodging the documentary trail produced by the defendant regarding payment,’ the court said.

As a result, the court ordered Ms Gakuru to transfer the property to Mr Nguyai within 60 days of the judgment.

Should she fail to do so, the Deputy Registrar will execute all documents necessary to complete the transfer on her behalf, effectively bringing the long-running dispute to an end.

The High Court has dismissed an application by Bonfire Adventures and Events Ltd co-director Sarah Njoki Nyaga seeking to stop her estranged husband and fellow co-founder Simon Waithaka Kabu from accessing or using 48 mobile phone lines registered with Safaricom and used in the tour firm’s operations.

The ruling marks the latest chapter in a bitter dispute between the estranged couple, who are also embroiled in divorce and matrimonial property proceedings, over ownership and use of the telephone lines.

At the centre of the case is a demand by Mr Kabu for Sh1.86 billion, which he says is owed for the company’s use of the lines that are registered in his personal name.

While Bonfire Adventures and Ms Njoki argued that the lines were registered in his name merely for administrative convenience and that he held them in trust for the company, the court found no evidence to support that claim.

‘As the defendant is the registered subscriber, the plaintiffs have no privity of contract with the telecommunications provider, Safaricom, regarding those lines and without evidence to the contrary, they remain, at least on a prima facie basis, the property of the Defendant,’ the court said.

The judge noted that Ms Njoki had not produced any trust document, board resolution, written agreement or other contemporaneous evidence showing that Mr Kabu agreed to hold the lines on behalf of the company.

The court further observed that a demand letter sent by Mr Kabu’s lawyers on November 3, 2025, acknowledged that the lines had been used by the tour company but did not seek to take them away from the company.

According to the court, the letter sought compensation for their use rather than deactivation.

The court also noted that the disputed numbers account for only 48 of approximately 154 telephone lines used by the company. Of those, 102 lines are registered in the company’s name, while Bonfire Adventures continues to acquire additional lines.

Rejecting claims of corporate sabotage, the court said there was no evidence that Mr Kabu had deactivated any of the numbers.

‘He only issued a demand for payment, which he is legally entitled to do considering the subject lines are registered in his name,’ the court said.

In dismissing the application, the judge found that Ms Njoki and the company had failed to establish a prima facie case.

The dispute arose after Mr Kabu demanded Sh1.86 billion from Bonfire and Ms Njoki, claiming accrued monthly licence fees for the use of the lines. He also sought an additional Sh14.4 million per month for their continued use. Ms Njoki had asked the court to issue temporary orders restraining Mr Kabu from tampering with the lines in the suit.

‘In the end, I find that the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a prima facie case with a probability of success as they have admitted the lines are registered in the defendant’s name, produced no trust document, board resolution, or written agreement showing that the lines are registered in the defendant’s name in trust for the company, they have not shown any direct financial contribution toward purchase of the lines themselves and they have not rebutted the statutory presumption that the registered subscriber is the owner,’ the court ruled.

She further sought orders barring him from accessing, copying or using company data and client information linked to the numbers, and compelling him to surrender SIM cards, passwords, login credentials and digital access codes.

She also requested a forensic audit and backup of company telephone records, WhatsApp Business accounts, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, email servers and client databases.

In her court filings, Ms Njoki said she and Mr Kabu are equal shareholders and co-directors of Bonfire Adventures and that the disputed lines had been used in the company’s business for years, some dating back to 2013.

She argued that the numbers were initially registered in Mr Kabu’s name in 2011 to facilitate the start of operations before the company completed formal registration arrangements with Safaricom.

‘However, the said lines have at all times been used for and on behalf of the company and maintained at the company’s expense,’ she said.

Ms Njoki accused Mr Kabu of asserting personal ownership over communication infrastructure that is critical to Bonfire’s operations.

‘The Defendant has unilaterally asserted personal ownership of the said telephone lines and has threatened to licence, block, transfer or otherwise interfere with them absent any Board resolution, contract, or lawful authority. The Defendant’s conduct is an attempt to expropriate communication infrastructure essential to the company’s business,’ she said.

Mr Kabu opposed the application, insisting that ownership of the lines was clear because they are registered in his name.

‘It is clear that in the absence of any right to be vindicated by the Plaintiff, as well as nothing to show any injury, the balance of convenience heavily tilts towards not granting the injunction,’ he argued.

He maintained that he was not seeking to disrupt Bonfire’s operations or gain access to its databases, WhatsApp accounts, CRM systems or client records, but was only seeking compensation for the use of his property.

Mr Kabu also argued that the company was free to acquire its own lines and migrate its systems if it was unwilling to pay for continued use of the disputed numbers.

Parliament has summoned top Energy Ministry officials over the irregular payment of Sh1.69 billion in wayleave compensation in the acquisition of transmission lines for seven donor-funded projects.

The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale, wants the Principal Secretary for Energy, Alex Wachira and other top officials to appear before it over irregular payment of billions of shillings in wayleave compensation.

A wayleave is a legal right -of-way that allows a utility or infrastructure company to install, operate, and maintain services such as power lines, fibre optic cables across or beneath private land.

A landowner retains ownership, but their right to build or plant trees in that corridor is restricted.

The decision to summon the top officers at the Ministry of Energy was made by Mr Mwale after Mr Wachira failed to appear before MPs to respond to queries raised in a forensic audit report of the Auditor General.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu examined wayleave compensation in seven donor-funded projects implemented by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Ketraco).

The report covered Ethiopia-Kenya transmission line, Kenya-Tanzania transmission line, Kenya-Uganda transmission line, Kenya Power Transmission System Improvement Project, India-funded project (Turkwel-Ortum-Kitale and Machakos Konza transmission line, Nairobi Ring (Suswa-Isinya), and Olkaria-Lesos-Kisumu transmission line.

‘As at June 30, 2023, the value in the compensation schedules for the seven donor-funded projects under review amounted to Sh17,021,117.745, out of which Sh12,986,155,053 had been paid, leaving an outstanding balance of Sh4,034,962,891,’ Gathungu, said in a forensic audit report.

‘Ketraco had identified 2,638 parcels of land that were affected by the project. The total compensation for land and structures and crops that had been encumbered, affected or destroyed respectively, amounted to Sh2.62 billion. Out of this amount, Ketraco had paid Sh2.3 billion as at June 30, 2023, leaving an outstanding balance of Sh314.35 million,’ Ms Gathungu said in an audit of the Ethiopia-Kenya transmission line.

Mr Mwale ordered that all former Principal Secretaries and former Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of Ketraco who served during the implementation of the projects be summoned.

Among those required to appear before the House team are former Ketraco boss and current Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa.

Documents tabled before the committee dated April 17, 2026, show that the former Permanent Secretaries Patrick Nyoike, who served between 2003 and 2013, Joseph Kamau, who served from 2013 to 2021, and Gordon Kihalangwa, who served between 2021 and 2022, had also been summoned to appear before the committee.

‘Pursuant to the committee’s request, the following accounting officers for the State Department of Energy and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company during the period covered by the audit between the financial year 2010/2011 to 2021/22, should appear before the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday,’ April 15, 2026,’ states a letter that was received by the Clerk of the National Assembly Samuel Njoroge on April 21, 2026.

The letter had also directed former Ketraco Managing Directors Joe Kiilu, who served between February 2009 and August 2015, Mr Barasa (August 2015 to February 2022), and Anthony Wamukota (February 2022 to January 2023) to appear before the PAC committee on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

‘We have given the officers at the Ministry and Ketraco enough indulgence. As a committee, we are committed to establishing the genuineness of the compensation claims and whether Kenyans obtained value for money from the projects,” Mr Mwale said.

‘This committee will also meet accounting officers, both former and current, who were responsible for the projects during the period under review.’

He said the committee is determined to establish the legitimacy of the compensation payments and determine whether Kenyans received value for money.

“As a committee, we are committed to establishing the genuineness of the compensation claims and whether Kenyans obtained value for money from the projects,” Mr Mwale said before adjourning the meeting that was snubbed by PS Wachira and Ketraco management.

The PS, Ketraco, and its senior accounting officers have been fingered by Auditor General.

When President William Ruto announced in October 2023 that at least 50 percent of medicines on the Kenya Essential Medicines List (KEML) would be manufactured locally by 2026, it gave hope to local pharmaceutical manufacturers who had struggled for many years to compete with cheaper imports and unreliable government payments.

The long-term goal was to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign supply chains, cut the annual pharmaceutical import bill by Sh76 billion, and build a domestic industry capable of supplying Kenyans with the medicines they need most.

‘Mark these dates because they are important to you as manufacturers: by 2026, at least 50 percent of the medicines listed in the Kenya Essential Medicines List will be manufactured and available locally,’ President Ruto told manufacturers at a manufacturing expo at the KICC.

However, as of mid-2026, local manufacturers were still supplying between 20 percent and 30 percent of the country’s pharmaceutical demand, with imports, primarily from India, accounting for the remaining 70 to 80 percent.

India alone accounted for between 37 and 45 percent of pharmaceutical imports by value. Similarly, the total import bill has climbed from Sh92.9 billion in 2022 to Sh99.8 billion in 2024, moving in the opposite direction to the target.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines essential medicines as those that ‘satisfy the priority healthcare needs of a population’, selected based on disease prevalence, safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness, and intended to be available at all times at prices that individuals and health systems can afford.

Kenya’s national list comprises 1,096 formulations, including antibiotics, antimalarials, antiretrovirals, insulin, and vaccines- the drugs that treat the diseases responsible for the highest mortality rates in Kenya.

However, local manufacturers produce only 220 of these, accounting for just 20 percent of the drugs deemed essential by the Kenyan government. This leaves the remaining 80 percent subject to global supply chains, foreign currency fluctuations, and the pricing decisions of manufacturers in India and China.

‘When import prices rise, the cost of treatment rises for the government, insurers, and patients paying out of pocket.’ When supply chains break down, as they did during the pandemic, countries without domestic manufacturing capacity have to wait. Kenya waited,’ said Geoffrey King’otho, a health analyst.

According to the just-launched Kenya Health Products and Technologies Local Manufacturing Strategy (2026-2030), a framework valued at Sh194.2 billion that aims to achieve pharmaceutical self-sufficiency by 2028, failure to meet this target is not due to a lack of manufacturing capacity.

It notes that Kenya has over 37 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturers and is the most advanced producer in East Africa, as well as being the continent’s third-largest pharmaceutical exporter.

However, companies such as Beta Healthcare, Cosmos Limited, Dawa Limited, Elys Chemical Industries, Regal Pharmaceuticals, and Universal Corporation primarily produce generic tablets, capsules, creams, and liquids, and still rely heavily on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)-the raw compounds from which medicines are made) from India and China.

‘Kenya continues to lag in the production of complex pharmaceutical formulations and APIs due to inadequate innovation, limited technology and technology transfer opportunities, and weak market assurance mechanisms,’ the strategy stated.

Despite constraints, Kenya remains the most advanced pharmaceutical manufacturer in East Africa and the third-largest exporter of pharmaceuticals on the continent.

Production volume increased by 2.5 percent in 2024 due to higher output of tablets and syrups, and export values grew from Sh12.2 billion in 2022 to Sh19.9 billion in 2024, a 63 percent increase over two years. Tanzania absorbs 21 percent of those exports, Uganda 20 percent, and Rwanda and Somalia 8 percent each.

However, while the government is committed to buying locally, chronic payment delays by public procurement agencies have pushed manufacturers toward the private sector and export markets, where they are paid promptly. Research conducted at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and local universities rarely makes it to commercial production.

‘There is a need to resolve the challenges facing the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry to fully unlock its potential. Addressing high import costs, financing gaps, technology transfer barriers, and regulatory hurdles would strengthen local production, create jobs, save foreign exchange, and enhance access to quality healthcare,’ said Dr Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for Medical Services.

Against this backdrop, the 2026-2030 strategy is structured around three pillars. The first of these is to scale up and diversify manufacturing capacity to raise factory utilisation to 70 percent, expand into the domestic production of APIs, and invest in research and development. Technology transfer agreements for at least three priority molecules are planned within the strategy period, which would be a first for Kenya.

The second pillar is regulatory and policy reform. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has introduced a faster product evaluation process and reduced fees for local manufacturers, attracting 13 new companies to the sector.

The strategy also sets the target of achieving the WHO Maturity Level 3 status, which would enable Kenyan-manufactured products to be procured by UN agencies. This status is also a prerequisite for the Kenya Biovax Institute to commercialise locally manufactured vaccines.

Lastly, the strategy introduces a Preferential Procurement Master Roll comprising 347 health products that will be prioritised in public sector tenders. Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) and other government agencies have been instructed to purchase these products locally. It also proposes an escrow mechanism to ensure that manufacturers are paid.

Investment banks have transitioned into fund management, unveiling collective investment schemes/unit trust businesses and joining a ‘gold rush’ underpinned on strong interest in pooled investments among investing Kenyans.

The number of investment banks in the unit trust space has more than doubled over the last five years to 10 from four previously, as existing firms move to establish collective investment schemes (CISs).

As at March 2026, 10 of the 22 licensed investment banks were in the fund management space through unit trusts including Absa Securities Limited, Equity Investment Bank (EIB), Faida Investment Bank, Genghis Capital, KCB Investment Bank, and NCBA Investment Bank Limited.

Others are Stanbic Bank Kenya’s SBG Securities, Standard Investment Bank, Dry Associates Investment Bank and Gulfcap Investment Bank Limited.

This contrasts with just four investment banks in the scene five years ago in March 2021 –NCBA, Dry Associates, Genghis, and Equity.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) notes that existing investment banks have shown great interest in applying to start unit trusts whose assets under management (AUM) topped Sh851.7 billion in March 2026, jumping from Sh756.3 billion in December 2025.

‘Both established and new players, alongside newly approved funds, are attracting significant interest as they expand their portfolios and respond to demand for innovative products,’ the markets regulator said.

‘This is evidenced by an increased number of applications for grant of fund manager license from new players and existing licensed investment banks, initially not in the fund management space, expressing interest and applying to establish CIS businesses.’

Investment banks are already licensed to engage in the business of a fund manager whose primary role is managing securities portfolios on behalf of investors.

Fund managers earn fees on asset management where the revenues are capped at two percent of AUM for traditional funds like money market funds (MMFs).

Special funds meanwhile levy charges of up to six percent of AUM per year as the schemes set costs beyond the average fund manager fee, including charges triggered by high performance and early investor exits, allowing them to draw higher revenues.

Unit trusts that include special funds have earned billions of shillings in fees from clients, making the business lucrative.

Standard Investment Bank (SIB) earned Sh1.4 billion in fees levied on its Mansa X Special Fund in 2024, thanks to growth in assets and re-investments by clients.

Fund managers are extracting higher revenues by growing their funds’ AUMs and retaining clients by managing exits and encouraging reinvestments and top-ups.

At their current scale, unit trusts with Sh851.7 billion in assets can earn their fund managers a minimum of Sh17 billion, assuming only an overall charge of just two percent is applied across the board.

SIB, which started its Mansa X Special Fund in 2019, joined the CIS ecosystem as CMA included special funds as part of unit trusts in 2024.

Faida Investment Bank started its Oak Special Fund in the same year after also receiving regulatory nod.

Stanbic started the Stanbic Unit Trust Funds in September 2024 and attributed its foray into the asset management system to customers shifting part of their bank deposits to external players in fund management.

‘Our clients are becoming much more sophisticated and asking for more investment options with higher yields. They are moving away from the traditional savings and fixed deposit accounts,’ said Anjali Harkoo, the Head of Insurance and Asset Management at Stanbic Bank Kenya.

Other financial sector players are also making a foray into the fund management business by seeking licensing as an investment bank which allows a wide range of offerings including advisory, stock brokerage and securities dealing.

Stockbroker AIB-AYS Africa recently transitioned to become a fully-fledged investment bank as it sets its sight on wealth management.

In December last year, the firm launched offshore funds including the Axiom Africa Equity Fund dominated in US dollars and Euros and offered investors exposure to top equities across the continent.

The firm further plans to launch global equity and fixed income funds and Shariah-compliant funds.

An overwhelming 98.2 percent of Kenyan internet users accessed the net through a smartphone between January and March 2026, as the devices cement their position at the centre of the country’s expanding digital economy.

This was up from 97.9 percent in the previous quarter and 97.6 percent in the three months to September 2025, according to the latest audience data by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

Smartphones have become the primary gateway to the internet for millions of Kenyans. In contrast, the use of other devices like desktop computers and feature phones continues to decline.

Laptop usage fell to 5.8 percent in March from six percent in December, while smart TV usage dropped from 1.4 percent to 1.2 percent over the same period.

CA data also shows smartphone connections rose to 50.2 million in the three months to March, up from 48.7 million in December, marking the first time Kenya has crossed the 50 million smartphone threshold.

‘It is noteworthy that the number of smartphones connected to the network increased during the quarter, while the number of feature phones, which primarily support basic voice calls, text messaging and low-speed data services, declined,’ the regulator says.

The CA expects the trend to continue, citing falling device costs, expanded high-speed mobile network infrastructure and the growing importance of mobile-based economic and social services.

Heavy investments by Safaricom, Airtel Kenya and other operators in the faster 4G and 5G networks are accelerating the shift.

This has sparked economic activity powered by smartphones and mobile internet, from e-commerce and fintech to digital banking, ride-hailing services, and online content creation.

In the digital creator economy alone, recent data from the research firm OdipoDev estimates that Kenya’s top content creators earned a combined Sh296 million from brand-sponsored posts in 2025, helping push total creator economy payouts beyond the Sh1 billion mark.

Sectors spending the most on digital advertising include beauty and personal care, food and beverage, telecommunications, financial services, consumer electronics and fashion.

Similarly, another Ipsos report commissioned by ride-hailing firm Bolt estimates that Kenya had 1.54 million gig workers as of June 2025, with e-commerce contributing 42 percent of the activity, and ride-hailing 20 percent.

It said widespread smartphone access has pushed Kenya’s gig economy to grow into a billion-dollar market.

Income tax returns will be filed in phases starting January 1, 2027, in a strategy aimed at easing congestion, a shift from the present scenario where all taxpayers are obligated to do so by June 30 every year.

According to the Finance Act 2026, which was signed into law by President William Ruto on Tuesday, individuals will now be required to file their income tax returns by the last day of the fourth month following the end of their year of income, while every person other than individuals will be required to file their returns by the last day of the sixth month.

This means that individuals, who are defined as natural persons in the Income Tax Act, will now have April 30 as their deadline for filing their income tax returns, while corporates will do so by the June 30 deadline.

‘Every individual, chargeable to tax under this Act, shall furnish the commissioner a return of income, including self-assessment of their tax from all sources of income, not later than the last day of the fourth month following the end of their year of income’, the Finance Act 2026 states in its amendment to Section 52B of the Income Tax Act.

‘Every person, other than an individual chargeable to tax, shall for any accounting period furnish to the Commissioner a return of income, including a self-assessment of tax on such income not later than the last day of the sixth month following the end of the accounting period,’ Finance Act 2026 further states.

Particularly on the radar for the new April 30th deadline will be Kenyans on Pay As You Earn (PAYE) who represent the segment that contributes the largest proportion of tax revenue collected in the country.

According to the National Treasury, the realignment of the Income Tax Return filing schedule is designed to ensure that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has ample time to cross-check the veracity of what individual taxpayers have filed.

The National Treasury argues that with KRA now pre-populating returns for taxpayers following the start of Incomes and expenses validation effective January 1st, 2026, a shorter filing timeline for individuals should be feasible since the data will already have been captured by the taxman.

‘We are talking about filing returns for the previous financial year. The income tax that Kenyans are now filing returns on refers to the year of income ended December 31, 2025, which refers to what was earned until the end of December last year. So, we are saying that for individuals, you will have January, February, March and April to file. This will mean we don’t wait until towards June, and that’s when everybody is trying to file, and KRA has no time to check on the accuracy of what has been filed,’ National Treasury CS, John Mbadi, says.

In the financial year 2024/25, which ended on June 30th, 2025, KRA was compelled to grant taxpayers an extension of the deadline for filing tax returns to July 5th after encountering system hitches that locked out many willing taxpayers from filing by the prescribed June 30th.

A section of analysts now opine that the phased-out filing provided for under the Finance Act 2026 should help KRA stave off the risk of recurring system-related challenges with all taxpayers chasing the June 30th deadline.

‘This will help tier Kenya’s taxpayers and ease the administrative burden and system congestion that typically happens in June,’ NCBA Group’s Economic Research desk states in a note to investors.

Kenya now joins jurisdictions such as South Africa, which rely on a phased income tax return filing schedule for their taxpayers.

Family Bank handed its founder, Titus Muya, Sh231.3 million in 2024 and 2025 as goodwill payments in recognition of his previous service as an executive and chairman of the lender.

Disclosures in the bank’s 2025 annual report for the first time gave a breakdown of the emoluments per director, revealing the payments to Mr Muya.

Ex-gratia payments to former executives are made as a gesture of goodwill -meaning that there is no obligation on a company to do so- in recognition of long service or to preserve a good relationship with the recipient.

Family Bank handed its founder, Titus Muya, Sh231.3 million in 2024 and 2025 as goodwill payments in recognition of his previous service as an executive and chairman of the lender.

Disclosures in the bank’s 2025 annual report for the first time gave a breakdown of the emoluments per director, revealing the payments to Mr Muya.

Ex-gratia payments to former executives are made as a gesture of goodwill -meaning that there is no obligation on a company to do so- in recognition of long service or to preserve a good relationship with the recipient.

The court, however, found no evidence that the estate had been mismanaged, wasted or unlawfully handled: “The prayer for an injunction to restrain the respondents from managing the properties and the prayer to appoint Ark Consultants Ltd are hereby dismissed.”

The court further directed that management of the properties should remain under Sansora Group of Companies Ltd, saying the arrangement had been authorised by Nyachae before his death and subsequently approved by a majority of the executors named in his Will.

The dispute arose after Nyachae died on February 1, 2021, leaving behind a Will dated September 9, 2015.The Will appointed Charles, Eric Maina Nyachae and Angela Nyarangi Nyachae as joint executors of the estate. The High Court issued them with a grant of probate in May 2022.

Soon after, disagreements emerged over the management of rental properties that form part of the estate.

Charles argued that Grace and Leon had illegally taken over administration of the assets and were collecting what he described as colossal rental income without authority. He further accused his co-executors, Eric and Angela, of abdicating their duties and aiding the alleged interference with estate affairs.

Through his court filings, Charles maintained that administration of the estate should rest with the executors and not with a private company.

But the respondents told the court that Sansora Group was not a stranger to the estate. They said the company had been appointed by the late Nyachae himself under a written agency agreement signed in December 2015 and had managed the properties for years before his death.

Leon told court the arrangement continued with the consent of the majority of executors. Eric and Angela also defended the arrangement, citing a clause in the Will that allows decisions to be made by a majority of executors whenever disagreements arise.

The court agreed, holding that the late Nyachae had expressly anticipated possible disagreements among executors and provided a mechanism for resolving them through majority decisions.

“To override this clause on the application of a single dissenting executor would be to defeat the testator’s clear intention,” the judge said.

The court also noted that audited statements prepared by HLB Cezam and Associates had been provided and showed the estate’s rental income was being accounted for and held in interest-earning accounts.

The ruling comes weeks after the grant relating to the estate was confirmed on June 2, 2026, a development the court said effectively overtook some of the complaints raised in the application. The court held that executors had already met their accountability obligations and should proceed with distribution of the estate.

“Overall, this application stands as dismissed,” the judge ruled.

The decision marks a significant step toward winding up one of the most prominent succession cases and distributing the assets and business empire the politician built over decades.

Setting up a business in a foreign country comes with a long list of fears, like unfamiliar regulations, a different consumer culture and probably the uncertainty of whether the customers will embrace your product. But for Dutch couple Maaike Joenje and Hans Meijers, fear was never part of the equation.

The couple had grown accustomed to starting over, having spent nearly three decades moving across continents and living in different African countries.

What they did not anticipate was that their constant relocation would lead them to a business.

Today, the pair are directors of the local Kenyan franchise, BBROOD Bakery and Coffee House, a Nairobi-based artisan bakery that has grown from two outlets and about 30 employees in 2016 to six branches across the city. The bakery currently serves about 1,000 bread and 1,000 pastry products daily.

‘We started with an investment of above half a million euros,’ the couple says.

BBROOD operates as an international franchise and the journey started in Amsterdam.

‘It started with BBROOD in Amsterdam in 2008 and from Amsterdam, we opened a bakery in Kampala. Since we were living in Kampala at that time, I got involved in the bakery, setting it up together with a colleague baker who was a Kenyan. We then moved to Nairobi,’ Ms Joenje says.

The bakery concept then was already proving successful in Uganda, but it seems the timing was not right for Nairobi.

‘My husband has always worked in the oil and gas (sector), and that’s why we moved regularly. We had once moved for his job to Nairobi, and considered starting up a bakery here but that never happened.’

‘Then we moved to Ghana and Cameroon, but we felt like Nairobi needed a real baker. I started looking around for locations to set up the bakery, and after years, we found this location,’ Ms Joenje says.

That decision ushered them to Kenya after years of living in what many would consider a nomadic life. The couple left their home in the Netherlands in 1998. They have lived across East Africa, West Africa, and Asia, moving countries every few years to wherever Mr Meijers was working.

‘We go to the Netherlands to visit family but for us, home is here, where we live,’ they say.

Greater flexibility

That lifestyle also changed a personal choice that gave them flexibility.

‘We have no children, only chickens,’ Ms Joenje laughs.

‘With children, it would not have been possible to travel around the world as we have done. While moving every four years, how can you educate your child? In our environment, many people with children go back to the Netherlands at some point for their children’s schooling. Without children, we had a flexibility to just keep moving around.’

That same mobility that defined their personal lives helped them identify a business opportunity.

‘We were also confident of our brands, the quality and consistency. We like healthy, sourdough bread. The bread we make has no preservatives or additives. It is fresh and meant to be consumed within a short time.’

Market gap

‘We have also lived in many places across Africa and everywhere we went, we struggled to find good bread,’ she adds

Their prior experience in Nairobi between 2011 and 2013 convinced them that the city was ready for a premium artisan bakery.

‘We had seen a demand in Nairobi because the major food chains at that time were still more of bakeries than Grand Cafés like they are now, but they made sourdough bread as well. That was an indication that there is a market.’ Ms Joenje says.

From the outset, BBROOD, Kenya focused on what it believed was its strongest differentiator, the authentic sourdough bread.

‘We started the bakery in 2016 and partnered with the international franchise. We have bread, pastry and coffee but the bread part is the most important. The basis of the sourdough bread, like the spelt, corn, the white oval, is the brown multigrain. It is the same across the BBROOD chain,’ Ms Joenje says.

They have expanded their menu to include the Farmer’s Bread, and Tamar Bread with millet and oat sourdough.

Growth acceleration

The company’s growth accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Since Covid, we have also been growing at 10 to 15 percent yearly, and we are still growing. When it comes to profit, it is a very difficult number to look at since we are reinvesting a lot of the money in the bakery,’ Mr Meijers says.

‘When it comes to the volumes, initially it was relatively small, a couple of hundred loaves, a couple of hundred pastries. The number of employees has also grown to more than double what we started with,’ he adds.

The clientele

BBROOD’s customer base, the directors say, also reflects a growing segment of health-conscious consumers who are willing to pay for premium products.

‘Our clientele is mostly middle class and wealthy Kenyans and also expatriates. Our customers are the people who want a healthy product and can afford it. We are not the cheapest bakery, but we are one of the better ones.’

The freshness promise is still central to the brand.

‘Everything that we sell in the shop, in terms of products, except for cookies that have a longer shelf life and a few others, has been baked the night before. So, if you buy a loaf right now, it’s guaranteed to be fresh.’

A sustainability touch

The company has also woven sustainability and social responsibility into its business model. Their unsold bread is collected daily and donated to Don Bosco, an organisation supporting disadvantaged children.

‘Don Bosco tailor workshop make nice flour bags which we buy.’

Being conscious about environmental sustainability helps them cut on the cost of energy.

‘The bakery runs on solar power. We have quite a significant volume of solar panels. Everything runs on solar during the day,’ Mr Meijers says.

The challenges

Among the challenges the couple has faced is consistently producing high quality bread.

‘Whenever we get new staff, we make sure that they have the same focus because the quality needs to be the same.’

For Mr Meijers, joining the business was a personal turning point.

‘I had to quit my job in the oil industry to join my wife here in 2017. At some point we thought, let’s chart our own destiny. We got an investor’s work permit which allows us to stay here rather than being dependent on an employer. We never had the fear of setting up a business in a foreign country,’ he says.

What about succession?

‘We are thinking very actively about that. We don’t have an answer yet. We will still be running this for a number of years, but it’s something that we now have to start to work on. We must find the right person or the right company to ensure continuity.’

Expansion beyond Nairobi

The directors argue that the economics of artisan baking require scale and close oversight.

‘To make this bakery work in Nairobi, you need to have a certain customer base. If we would start a new bakery, probably in Naivasha or Nakuru, the investment would not likely fit with the customer base there.

‘If we would have a bakery in Mombasa, for instance, we would be running it remotely, meaning we would not have been able to guarantee the quality without constantly travelling.’

Even so, their customers from outside Nairobi find their way to BBROOD’s products through courier deliveries.

Lessons in the journey

Their advice to those who want to set up a similar business, especially if they are foreigners?

‘You should know the country you want to do business in. Apart from not being there, you also need to understand the business. In the beginning, focus on the bottom line. It’s very easy to start a business and then see many other opportunities to pursue. We are not falling into that temptation. For example we are not likely to become a grand café with hot meals, pastas and what have you,’ Mr Meijers says,

A decade-long battle over a Sh205 million land sale deal in Murang’a has escalated to the Supreme Court, setting the stage for a showdown between billionaire John Kibunga Kimani and a manufacturing firm over a deal that collapsed in 2013.

Dr Kimani’s Rural Development Services signed an agreement to sell 51.28 hectares in Makuyu to African Cotton Industries in July 2013. A 10 percent deposit of Sh20.5 million was paid, but the transaction did not progress.

African Cotton Industries is seeking to revive its bid to acquire a 126.7-acre property from Dr Kimani after losing the fight in the Court of Appeal.

Rural Development Services wants the Supreme Court to throw out the case, arguing that it is an ordinary contract dispute disguised as a constitutional appeal.

In papers filed before the Supreme Court, Rural Development Services has raised a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction. The company argues that the dispute is a commercial land transaction that does not involve constitutional interpretation and therefore falls outside the Supreme Court’s mandate.

It says African Cotton is effectively seeking a fourth round of litigation after the matter was fully determined by the Environment and Land Court and later by the Court of Appeal.

‘The petition is, in substance, an appeal against the factual findings of the Court of Appeal, which this court is not entitled to entertain,’ Rural Development Services says in its submissions.

It adds that the case before the Supreme Court does not involve the interpretation or application of any provision of the Constitution.

The company further argues that African Cotton failed to obtain the certification required for appeals involving matters of general public importance and is attempting to transform a contract dispute into a constitutional case.

Deal collapse

The fight stems from a sale agreement signed on July 2, 2013, for Kakuzi/Kirimiri Block 7/281, a 51.28-hectare (126.7-acre) parcel in Makuyu, Murang’a County. The agreed purchase price was Sh205.3 million.

African Cotton paid a 10 percent deposit of Sh20.5 million. The transaction, however, was never completed.

According to court records, Rural Development Services later sought to refund the deposit after deciding not to proceed with the sale. African Cotton returned the money and issued a notice requiring completion of the transaction.

The buyer’s director, Mohamed Abdulkadir Mohamed Esmail, maintains that the seller failed to obtain Land Control Board consent despite undertaking to secure the approval as part of the agreement.

After the deal collapsed, African Cotton moved to the Environment and Land Court in Murang’a seeking an order compelling completion of the sale. In the alternative, it sought damages for losses arising from the failed transaction.

In February 2021, the lands court ruled in favour of African Cotton and ordered specific performance, requiring Rural Development Services to transfer the land.

Appeal victory

That victory was short-lived. On March 25, 2026, the Court of Appeal in Nyeri overturned the decision and freed Rural Development Services from completing the transaction.

The appellate judges found that the prompt refund of the deposit weakened African Cotton’s claims of loss and faulted the company for failing to mitigate losses arising from the abandoned deal.

‘The respondent had the opportunity to give notice of termination of the contract and to seek a refund of the deposit,’ the court said.

‘Further, it is unacceptable that a party stays put without mitigating its loss, if any, for the reason that it cannot find suitable land comparable to the appellant’s land.’

The appellate court also heard evidence that family members opposed the disposal of the entire property and placed a caution before the Land Control Board.

Lawyers for Rural Development Services argued that the land hosts a rural and matrimonial home and that selling the entire parcel had consequences that were not fully appreciated at the time.

Supreme test

African Cotton is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn the appellate judgment. It contends that the Court of Appeal failed to properly address constitutional issues raised in the dispute and occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

The company has also sought conservatory orders to preserve the land pending determination of the appeal.

It warns that the property could be sold, charged or otherwise transferred, rendering the appeal meaningless if it eventually succeeds.

Rural Development Services rejects that position and insists the matter raises no constitutional question deserving the Supreme Court’s intervention.

The case is pending determination.