Category: Business Daily

The Court of Appeal has allowed a Dutch firm to pursue a debtor in Kenya, overturning an earlier decision by a lower court which blocked it from doing so, because it wasn’t locally registered under the Companies Act.

The appellate court reinstated a debt recovery suit by Stichting Rabobank Foundation against AVA Chem Limited-reinforcing a ruling by a High Court in 2025 that foreign companies incorporated abroad can sue and enforce contracts in Kenyan courts without local registration under the Companies Act.

At the heart of the dispute was whether a foreign company that is not registered in Kenya is barred from accessing Kenyan courts and whether extending a cross-border loan to a Kenyan company amounts to “carrying on business in Kenya” within the meaning of the Companies Act.

“Parliament prohibited an unregistered foreign company from carrying on business in Kenya. It did not prohibit such a company from instituting proceedings, maintaining an action, recovering a debt or enforcing a contract. Had Parliament intended to impose such a litigation disability, it could easily have said so expressly.”

The court emphasised that enforcing an existing legal right through litigation is not necessarily the same as carrying on business.

The dispute arose from a financial support arrangement entered into in October 2016. According to court records, Stichting Rabobank Foundation, a Dutch entity, agreed to provide financial support amounting to $180,116(Sh23.31million) to AVA Chem Limited.

Under the Financial Support Agreement, Christopher Irungu Mwangi, a director of AVA Chem Ltd, executed a personal guarantee through a deed of suretyship to secure the company’s obligations. The Foundation told the court that AVA Chem later defaulted on its repayment obligations.

Mr Mwangi allegedly acknowledged the company’s indebtedness and agreed to honour the guarantee should the company fail to pay.

When the debt remained outstanding, the Foundation filed a suit in the High Court in September 2022 seeking recovery of $230,868.51(Sh2.98billion), together with interest and costs.

Ava Chem filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the Foundation lacked the legal capacity to sue because it was a foreign company that had not registered under Part XXXVII of the Companies Act.

The High Court agreed with that argument, holding that the Foundation lacked locus standi because it had failed to register as required under Section 974 of the Companies Act. The court consequently struck out the suit without hearing its merits.

The Foundation moved to the Court of Appeal arguing that while Section 974 prohibits an unregistered foreign company from carrying on business in Kenya, the provision does not state that such a company loses its legal personality or is barred from filing or maintaining court proceedings.

It further argued that whether it was actually carrying on business in Kenya was a factual issue that could not properly be determined through a preliminary objection.

The respondents, however, maintained that the Foundation was carrying on business in Kenya through the financial arrangement and, having failed to register, lacked the legal capacity to institute proceedings.

The Court of Appeal said foreign companies may legitimately approach Kenyan courts for a variety of reasons, including protecting property, defending claims, enforcing arbitral awards, obtaining conservatory orders or recovering debts arising from international commercial transactions.

The Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Group Managing Director, Hillary Wachinga, wants the High Court to dismiss a petition seeking his removal from office over alleged recruitment interference and procurement irregularities.

Dr Wachinga says the hiring of a dozen senior management and professional positions, which the court recently halted, was lawful, transparent and independently managed by an external consultant under the supervision of the Board of Directors.

In a replying affidavit, Dr Wachinga says the contested recruitment followed Kenya Re’s Human Resource Policy, which received board and Treasury approval, and was outsourced to Eagle HR Consultants.

The affidavit comes days after the court halted the recruitment, barring Kenya Re from interviewing candidates, processing applications and issuing appointment letters, pending determination of a petition filed by Mr Brian Ochieng.

The suspended recruitment covers General Manager positions for Reinsurance Business, Legal Services and Corporate Services, Chief Financial Officers for Kenya Re Tanzania and Zambia and the CEO/Principal Officer for Kenya Re Tanzania.

It also includes vacancies for Assistant Manager for Internal Audit, Senior Underwriter for Life, Senior Underwriter for Internal Business Facultative and Treaty, Senior Underwriter for West Africa, Senior Project Officer and Executive Analyst.

Dr Wachinga disputes claims that he controlled the hiring or had exclusive access to the applications.

He says Kenya Re hired Eagle HR Consultants to receive applications, profile candidates, prepare longlists, conduct aptitude and psychometric tests and submit final shortlists to the corporation.

“At this stage, the Group Managing Director of the Corporation has no role in the process, except to receive progress reports of the exercise from Eagle HR Consultants,” he says in the affidavit.

He also rejects an allegation that a recruitment email account was created to facilitate interference. According to Dr Wachinga, the corporation’s IT Department established the account to safeguard the recruitment, while the consultant received special access credentials to review applications.

“The corporation’s IT department created this email in good faith with a view to promoting good governance and transparency of the recruitment,” Dr Wachinga says in his affidavit.

The petitioner moved to court last month alleging that job applications were being processed through an opaque system accessible only to the managing director, creating room for “canvassing, compromising and interference.”

The petition seeks declarations that Dr Wachinga violated the Constitution and statutory duties, is unfit to hold public office, and should be disqualified from holding such office.

Dr Wachinga further argues that the recruitment was necessary because the board had approved the positions to strengthen Kenya Re’s operations and support regional expansion. He says the insurer has subsidiaries in Uganda, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and India and is establishing another in Tanzania while expanding its international life reinsurance business.

He says the corporation remains financially strong, citing audited 2025 results showing assets of Sh72.2 billion, shareholders’ funds of Sh54.5 billion and profit after tax of Sh3.9 billion.

The affidavit also argues that several complaints raised in the petition belong before specialized statutory bodies instead of the High Court.

Dr Wachinga says procurement grievances should first be lodged with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, while allegations of workplace harassment and abuse of power fall within the mandate of the Commission on Administrative Justice.

He further contends that some procurement issues cited by the petitioner have already been determined by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board and the High Court, while the dispute over payment of a Commission on Administrative Justice fine is currently before the Court of Appeal.

The affidavit also confirms that Kenya Re complied with the court’s interim orders.

Dr Wachinga says he instructed Eagle HR Consultants to stop reviewing and longlisting candidates who had applied under the June 4, 2026 advertisement after the interim orders were issued. The suit is scheduled for judgment on October 1, 2026.

Kenya Re is a publicly listed reinsurer in which the Kenyan government holds a majority stake.

Safaricom, Equity Group, KCB Group, EABL and Co-operative Bank of Kenya now account for 62 percent of the Sh3.991 trillion investor wealth at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), down from 66 percent at the beginning of the year.

At peak of their dominance in 2021, the top five firms accounted for 81 percent of the NSE’s market capitalisation, the measure of investor wealth.

Concentration risk refers to the likelihood of investors losing money as a result of having a large portion of their holdings in a particular investment, asset class or a given stock relative to their overall portfolio.

Now, companies such as Stanbic Holdings, DTB, I and M Group, Absa Bank Kenya and Kenya Power have clawed back market share following a surge in their share prices, which rose faster compared to the top five firms over the past year.

Stanbic and DTB have seen their valuations grow by 47 percent and 33 percent to Sh115.3 billion and Sh42.6 billion in the six months.

Absa Bank Kenya has added 35 percent to Sh180.9 billion, while I and M Group’s valuation has jumped by 60 percent to Sh117.9 billion.

Notable gains have also been seen on Kenya Power and BAT Kenya, whose valuations are up 54 percent and 24 percent this year to Sh40.9 billion and Sh56.9 billion, respectively.

On the small stocks, Car and General has recorded the biggest jump in valuation this year at 207 percent to Sh12.6 billion.

This has improved wealth distribution at the bourse, especially to local retail investors who have seen their holdings in the mid and small cap counters appreciate after a prolonged bear run.

It reflects growing appetite by investors of placing their hopes on a wider number of counters, including the fresh listings.

The dominance of the five firms had made it difficult for investors to measure the true performance of the bourse due to the companies’ outsized influence on key market indicators.

The NSE had two significant listings of KPC and Family Bank in 2026, which added a combined Sh217.7 billion in new investor wealth to the bourse.

KPC’s valuation stands at Sh165.38 billion, while Family Bank has a market cap of Sh52.3 billion.

The NSE has now added Sh1.47 trillion in investor wealth over the past year, beating asset classes like bonds, cash deposits and property on returns.

A 14-year listing drought at the NSE between 2011 and 2025 was identified as one of the causes of the market concentration in a select group of blue chips that were seen to offer steady dividends, making them attractive to high-net-worth and foreign investors.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has been highlighting market concentration as one of the NSE’s main risks, saying that adverse performance or failure of the top firms would have a disproportional impact on overall market stability.

“This has underscored the need for continued efforts to deepen the market, enhance and encourage investor profile diversification, and support the growth and visibility of smaller and mid-cap issuers,” the CMA said in its latest market soundness report.

“The authority continues to promote investor portfolio diversification and initiatives aimed at broadening market participation, with a view to encouraging listings across a wider range of companies and enhancing overall market resilience.”

As more investors come into the market, a wider range of stocks have recorded double-digit percentage gains, cutting across sectors such as banking, manufacturing and energy.

Since the beginning of the year, Co-operative Bank of Kenya has been the leading gainer this year among the top five stocks at 46 percent to Sh34.85 per share, adding Sh64 billion to its valuation.

Equity has added 30 percent or Sh75.5 billion in valuation to Sh327.4 billion, while KCB is up 31 percent or Sh65 billion to Sh276.4 billion.

Safaricom has added Sh326.5 billion to its valuation, equivalent to a gain of 29 percent, valuing the firm at Sh1.46 trillion. EABL has gained the least among the five at 6.4 percent to Sh221.2 billion.

This oversized share of investor wealth meant that any gain or fall in the company’s share price created the impression that the entire market was moving up or down, even though the majority of stocks were largely immobile.

Analysts and the regulator said this was proof of the risk of market concentration on one stock, heightening efforts to bring in new listings to rebalance the market.

Safaricom’s share of investor wealth has now shrunk to 36.6 percent, reflecting the gains made by other firms in the current bullish run that started in 2024.

Among the larger stocks outside of the top five, banks have made some of the biggest gains following increased investor interest in their dividend promise.

Large foreign banks are also actively seeking a share of the local market through equity investment in large lenders, contributing to the price rally.

South Africa’s Nedbank has recently bought a 66 percent stake in NCBA Group for Sh110 billion. Fellow South African lender Absa Group has also bid to increase its stake in its Kenyan subsidiary from 68.5 percent to 85 percent with a share purchase worth Sh30.9 billion.

A company linked to former Vice-President Moody Awori and the family of the late businessman Horatius Da Gama Rose has won a long-running legal battle over a 135-acre prime parcel of land in Karen valued more than Sh8 billion.

The Court of Appeal overturned an Environment and Land Court (ELC) judgment that had nullified all competing titles to the property and ordered the land to revert to the estate of its original owner, Arnold Bradley.

Appellate judges Patrick Kiage, Rachael Ngetich, and Stephen Radido held that Muchanga Investments Ltd had proved it was the lawful owner of the property and faulted the trial court for cancelling its title.

“We think the total sum of the evidence in this matter significantly and unerringly shows that the appellant is the legally registered owner of the suit property and we so find,” the judges said.

The appellate court found that the ELC erred by invalidating Muchanga Investments’ title solely because it had not produced an executed sale agreement for the property.

Instead, the judges said the evidence showed the company had remained in continuous possession of the land from the time it acquired it until the dispute was filed in court.

The court also relied on evidence from an investigator with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), who testified during the trial that investigations established Muchanga Investments was the legal proprietor of the property.

The dispute centres on the vast Karen property, formerly known as L.R. No. 209/3586/3, which has been the subject of competing ownership claims stretching back several decades.

Muchanga directors

Muchanga Investments, whose directors included Mr Awori, his wife and Horatius Da Gama Rose, maintained that it bought the property from Barclays Bank (now Absa Bank) in 1983 for Sh1.25 million. The bank was acting as executor and trustee of Arnold Bradley’s estate.

The company told the court that it had remained in uninterrupted possession of the land, paid all land rent and rates, and in 1985 obtained approvals to subdivide the property. It later cancelled the subdivision and surrendered the new grants and deed plans, restoring the land to its original status.

Muchanga further alleged that rival claimant Habenga Holdings fraudulently obtained a title in 1973 before transferring the property to Jina Enterprises in 1983, which later transferred it to Telesource.com Ltd in 1994, linked to businessman Josphat Konzolo.

According to the company, those transactions were illegal because they were founded on an invalid title.

Telesource denied the allegations, insisting it was the lawful owner after purchasing the land in a bona fide transaction that took several years to complete. The company argued that it had acquired valid title and was entitled to subdivide the property after obtaining all the necessary approvals.

Another claimant, Joseph Kangethe Wanyoike, who represented the estate of the late John Godhard Ichahuria Mburu, argued that the property formed part of Mr Mburu’s estate. He alleged that Francis Da Gama Rose, then acting as the family’s advocate, manipulated documents after Mr Mburu’s death in 1981 to transfer the land to Muchanga Investments instead of the Public Trustee.

Mr Awori, who testified during the trial, told the court that he was a founding director of Muchanga Investments and that the company purchased the land in 1983.

He said the company’s board later resolved to charge the property to Barclays Bank to secure a Sh10.5 million loan for Da Gama Rose Investments Ltd, and the charge was discharged after the loan was repaid.

He resigned as a director after becoming Vice President.

The High Court verdict

In March 2025 judgment, Justice Oscar Angote ruled that all titles issued after Arnold Bradley’s death were tainted by fraud and ordered the Chief Land Registrar to cancel every title and all subdivisions created from the property.

The judge held that the evidence produced by Muchanga Investments was insufficient because the company or Barclays Bank did not produced the sale agreement, proof of payment or transfer documents to demonstrate a lawful purchase from Bradley’s estate.

He further found that correspondence dating back to 1977 suggested that the intended purchaser may have been the late John Mburu rather than Muchanga Investments, and concluded that Francis Da Gama Rose had abused his position as an advocate in causing the property to be transferred to the company.

Although the judge acknowledged that Muchanga had occupied the land since 1983 and consistently paid land rates and rent, he ruled that possession alone could not cure defects in the company’s title.

When Bosire Bonyi, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, graduated from law school in 2018, he knew he did not want to be employed. After being admitted to the bar in 2022, he registered his law firm, officially beginning his legal practice.

“It wasn’t easy and because at the time I hadn’t built a name, business wasn’t coming through as fast. Business teaches you that you can get a lump sum payment now and never be paid the rest of the year, at all,” Bosire said.

Unlike salaried employees who can plan around a predictable monthly income, Bosire said he had to adopt strict financial discipline to manage an irregular cash flow.

The value of all stocks at the NSE stood at Sh4.013 trillion at the close of trading on Monday, having gained Sh20.9 billion on the day.

The bourse hit the new valuation milestone just nine months after it crossed the Sh3 trillion mark for the first time on November 6, 2025, offering investors a return of 33 percent or a Sh1 trillion gain over the period.

This reaffirmed the Nairobi bourse as the shortest route to wealth in an economy that has oscillated between strong and soft growth as investors increasingly turn to passive investments instead of pouring money into startups.

The NSE has been on a bullish run since 2024 after snapping a prolonged bear run that had drained investor confidence in the market.

Since the beginning of 2024, the bourse has added Sh2.54 trillion in valuation, equivalent to a gain of 179 percent.

In the period, it has outperformed other investment assets, including government securities, property, cash deposits and unit trusts, leading to higher demand for shares from investors who are seeking to maximise returns on their capital.

This demand, mainly coming from local investors, has driven up share prices of large stocks that dominate the market, such as Safaricom, Equity Group, KCB Group and Cooperative Bank of Kenya, by between 29 and 44 percent since the beginning of this year.

Higher dividends have also prompted demand in the stock market, particularly from local institutional investors, helping it shrug off foreign investor sales caused by global jitters that followed the Iran war.

The two new listings of KPC in March and Family Bank in May, which have added a combined Sh222.6 billion in new wealth to the market, have boosted the market valuation.

“Some of the drivers are broadly strong performance in key sectors such as banking, whose index has jumped by 33 percent this year, the revival of listings on the exchange and announcements of key transactions involving Absa Bank Kenya, Safaricom and NCBA Group, which were priced at a premium,” said Melodie Ndanu, a research analyst at Standard Investment Bank.

“We have also seen reallocation of capital to equities by institutional investors as government yields come down, as well as increased retail investor participation via digital platforms.”

By virtue of their large valuations, the top blue chips have been the biggest drivers of the NSE’s valuation gain.

Safaricom, the largest listed firm at the NSE, has added Sh330.5 billion in its market cap — the measure of investor wealth — in the year-to-date, giving the company a valuation of Sh1.47 trillion. The company’s share price has gained 29.1 percent to Sh36.60 since December 31, 2025.

Safaricom has accounted for nearly a third of the NSE’s Sh1.07 trillion gain in market capitalisation in 2026.

Equity and KCB have added Sh74.5 billion and Sh65 billion, respectively, in valuation this year, closing at Sh326.4 billion and Sh276.4 billion on Monday. Co-operative Bank has gained 44.3 percent or Sh62.2 billion this year, giving the lender a valuation of Sh202.7 billion.

The four firms, together with EABL, account for 62 percent of the NSE’s investor wealth.

They all reported higher dividends for the 2025 financial year, boosting their attractiveness to investors.

Safaricom’s payout rose to Sh2 per share for the year ended March 2026, from Sh1.20 in the previous year, while Equity increased its distribution to Sh5.75 per share from Sh4.25 in 2024.

KCB raised its total dividend to Sh7 per share (inclusive of a Sh2 per share special dividend) from Sh3 in 2024, while Co-operative Bank raised its full-year dividend to Sh2.50 per share from Sh1.50 previously.

Absa Kenya and I and M Group have added 37 percent or Sh49.4 billion and 61 percent or Sh45.3 billion this year, giving them valuations of Sh183.6 billion and Sh119.2 billion as at the close of trading on Monday.

Stanbic has added Sh37.6 billion to Sh115.7 billion, following a 48 percent increase in share price to Sh292.75.

Among the non-banking firms, Britam Holdings has added Sh22.9 billion and Kenya Power Sh15.8 billion to hit valuations of Sh46 billion and Sh42.3 billion, respectively.

These gains have left the equities market unchallenged as the top-performing asset class this year.

Treasury bonds issued in the last seven months offered investors annual interest payments of between 12 percent and 14.2 percent, before withholding taxes of 10 to 15 percent on the interest.

Investors in Treasury bills have earned between 7.4 percent and 9.2 percent in annualised interest as rates remained low despite the rise in inflation in the second quarter of the year due to higher energy prices on account of the war in Iran.

Those opting to keep cash in fixed deposit accounts in banks saw their rate fall to 6.84 percent in June 2026 from 7.03 percent in December 2025, as the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) lowered the base rate to 8.75 percent from 9.0 percent in December.

In the property sector, rental and sales prices in Nairobi and its satellite towns were in the single digits of up to 5.1 percent in the first quarter of the year as demand for new units remained muted due to challenging economic conditions.

On a 12-month basis, the rental and sale prices grew by 4.5 percent and 1.1 percent respectively as at March, as per data compiled by real estate firm HassConsult.

Returns from investments made through collective investment schemes have also trailed equities, owing to the falling returns in their underlying assets such as Treasury bills, bonds and cash deposits.

Shilling-denominated money market funds are now paying annual rates of between 5.2 percent and 11.2 percent, depending on the fund manager.

Collective investment schemes have risen in popularity as investors open up to professional investment services, reaching Sh851.7 billion in assets under management from Sh164.3 billion three years earlier.

Money market funds account for the largest share of unit trust assets at 51.9 percent, ahead of special funds at 23.9 percent and fixed income funds at 23.4 percent.

There are lessons Kieran Godden tells about his life. Don’t go to a foreign country if you don’t know exactly where you’re going. Food at Cinque Terre in Italy is best served outdoors, in the heat, with the late-afternoon Mediterranean sunlight twirling through the stem of your wine glasses. Make only the promises you are willing to fulfil. That last one, especially, used to irritate him-the double speak, how people can say this and mean that, the exact opposite.

But as life goes, he got daughters, and they remind him, ‘Dad, it’s not that deep.’ Now he labours away as the Group CEO of Liberty Kenya Holdings Plc, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. ‘The job will still be there when you come back to the office,’ he says. ‘I can work tonight, but I can’t be present for my child tonight.’ Even at work, he remains a good sport-which is perhaps the only way he survives as a Tottenham Hotspur town crier in an office full of Arsenal devouts.

What moment of your children’s lives passed faster than you were prepared for? With small children, they say the days are long but the years are short, and I think as they get older the days aren’t quite as long. I don’t think we missed anything, but it feels like it went by really quickly. Having adult children with opinions is really entertaining. You can’t tell them what to do anymore. But I have good children.

How has it been to be a father? I’ve really enjoyed being a dad to girls. When they were born, we didn’t find out what we were having, so it was a little bit of a surprise when they arrived. I was very happy that they were both girls. With the third one, we decided to check the gender because by then the novelty had worn off. I’ve never had a burning desire to have a boy. It is amazing how the same recipe can bake three different cakes!

What would you teach your father about fatherhood? Haha! My dad was a lot older than my mum, and he got married quite late. He had very little contact with his dad because he was in boarding school. My dad was not quite as hands-on as I have been with my children. Perhaps it is the era he grew up in.

Which one has exposed your weaknesses more, fatherhood or leadership? Fatherhood [chuckles]. There’s no doubt about that. It is important to me to be myself, but I think you control your reactions in leadership. I’ve definitely lost my temper more with my children than I have with anyone I’ve ever led. They see me at my real core when I get home at the end of my energy levels. My wife has criticised me about this multiple times.

What kind of father are you trying to avoid being? I don’t want to be a helicopter parent. I’ve tried to set my children up for success, but I don’t want to meddle in their lives or make decisions for them. If they ask for advice, I’ll give it. If they make a decision I don’t like, I accept even if I don’t agree with it [chuckles]. I strive to love them for who they are and not who I want them to be.

Do you feel guilty for not being available for your children? For the big things, I’ll put them first. My eldest graduated in May, and with me, if it’s in my diary, it happens. If it’s not in my diary, it doesn’t happen. My children’s things go into the diary early, and I plan my life around it. If my middle one has a play at school, I’ll do my level best to turn up. Work matters, but you won’t get the time with your children back. The job will still be there. I can work tonight, but I can’t be present for my child tonight.

Surrounded by women, how do you show yourself, love? That’s not on top of my agenda. It can be a very lonely existence. I’m an off-the-chart introvert. So, at the end of the day, I’m very peopled out. I need me-time, which means disappearing into my own thoughts by myself. Other people can be physically present in the room; we just mustn’t interact. I need a few hours to reset.

What’s a spontaneous thing you’ve done lately? Spontaneity is not my thing. Recently in London, I sent a friend who lives in the Middle East a picture of a beer I was drinking, and said I was chilling with my daughter. He happened to be in London at the same time, so we met for breakfast, which was quite nice.

What do people often get wrong about you? I think people think I’m grumpier than I am. People are almost afraid to engage me. While I’m not naturally gregarious, I’m not unfriendly. My youngest daughter always says her friends are scared of me, which will help when the boys start coming [chuckles]. I think people underestimate the strength of my resolve. If I’ve decided something, the decision is made. I’m worse than a mule. I will not change.

What has been the best part about growing older? Haha! I think you’re more carefree. You worry less about what people think, and whether they like you or not. Because of my introverted nature, I’ve learned the value of relationships and interacting with people. My default position would be, I’m not going to chat to this person, but I’ve tried not to let that stop me because there’s huge value in maintaining relationships with people. Another thing is that those relationships are not always transactional, because maybe when you’re younger you tend to think about relationships as such. The true value of relationships is when you don’t need something from someone, but you maintain the relationship with them.

How are you remaining like a child so that you keep saying yes to life? Fortunately, my wife is really good at this. I am a creature of habit and routine. I love to do different things, just not everything. My wife has been a great influence. She is a free spirit. She loves to explore and try new things and travel. And having children in the house, there’s always something going on anyway, but if you break my routine, it kind of upsets my apple cart. I heard a saying, ‘You have to think to yourself at the end of the day, have I earned my salary today?’ Routine is how I focus.

What’s your top travel tip for long haul flights? [chuckles] If you can afford it, don’t book economy class. I have long legs, so I’ve always hated it. The most important thing is to be organised. Just knowing what’s coming, when it’s coming, what you need and when-it just makes the experience smoother.

Do you have a memorable travel meal? Twenty years ago, my wife and I visited Italy’s Cinque Terre, a region comprising five villages in a row, situated within a national park or reserve. You can walk between the villages, making it a unique experience. The idea is for the walking to earn the meal. We were wandering down the park over lunchtime, and there happened to be this little restaurant perched halfway up the cliff above one of these villages. You walk through this door and onto the little patio, and you’re looking out over the Mediterranean. We sat there and had a beer and a glass of wine and just ate Italian food; tomato, cheese and pasta. The view in that sunshine and the amazing food? I can’t forget that moment. It was that good. I’ve also learned that as you grow older, your metabolism slows down. [chuckles]

What’s your biggest travel regret? Croatia. Phenomenal place. We were flying from London, and my wife was doing some work to earn some pounds so we could pay for the holiday. We decided we had time, flew to Budapest for 24 hours, then caught the train to Split in Croatia. 24 hours in Budapest is just seriously not enough time. It was rainy and cold, and we didn’t have a great time [chuckles]. Later that same holiday, we went from Croatia across to Italy. We had arrived in the city of Ancona, got a rental car and drove out of the city. But in Italy they don’t mark the freeways, so we had no idea how to get out of the city. What they do is put the biggest city on that long highway on the sign. We spent about an hour and a half driving around the inside of this city, trying to figure out how we would get to the freeway. I was driving, and she was navigating. It wasn’t pretty. This was pre-GPS. Lesson: Don’t go to a foreign country if you don’t know exactly where you’re going [chuckles].

What dreams have you let go of? Oh, wow. I’ve always wanted to teach, and it’s something I used to do at university. I want to go back to it in my next phase of life, because I like to explain things. But don’t ask my eldest daughter that, because I’ve tried to explain maths to her, and she threatened to hurt me [chuckles].

What’s your pet peeve? When people don’t do what they say they will do. If someone says, I’m going to call you, and they don’t, it really irritates me. If you’re not going to do it, then just say so.

What has life taught you about life? My daughter has a saying: It’s not that deep, and I think that’s a truism, right? I think you shouldn’t take yourself so seriously. It doesn’t mean that things can’t be right, or that there aren’t bad situations or whatever, but it’s important to hold lightly to things. And two, people who sound convincing don’t always know what they’re talking about. Be wary of them.

If you had a dessert named after you, what would it be and why? Oh. Look, comfortably. My favourite dessert is a baked cheesecake, New York style. And don’t put fruit on the top of my cheesecake, especially granadilla.

What’s your screen time? Honestly or what I want it to be? Haha! It’s far too much, about four and a half hours a day. And that’s just the phone. I spend my whole life on the laptop. What I really try to do is to get away from the screen if I’m away on holiday or even on the weekends. Luckily, I am not big on social media so I don’t doomscroll.

How are you stopping to smell your roses? My wife and I haven’t gotten away, just us, for too long now, but we do try and get away for weekends. I like to cook and will bake the occasional cake for her birthday. Sourdough bread is my thing; I bake it, and that process just allows you to slow down because baking sourdough bread takes 24 hours, from when you take the flour out of the cupboard to the bread getting sliced. In the mornings, I spend time reflecting and praying.

What does balance look like for you? I think it depends on the time frame you’re measuring it on. Weeks are typically work, so my family suffers Monday through Friday. But if I stretch out the period, the balance is better. You have to be deliberate. Work isn’t something you prioritise, because it just exists. It is important to actually flick a switch on the way home for family. I am deliberate about my six friends, about sending a WhatsApp asking ‘How are you?’ My wife’s got a great habit of phoning people on their birthdays. I try to copy that.

Give us some good advice. Haha! Always ask why. Never take the first answer as the truth. People will give you their perspective on something. It doesn’t mean that they are being dishonest, but you need to question till you hit the bedrock.

Breakfast has for long been described as the most important meal of the day. Yet in the rush of modern life, it is often the first casualty of busy schedules. Some grab a quick snack, others skip it altogether, and many wonder: does indulging in unhealthy food early in the day make it any less damaging than eating it later?

According to Valentine Idah Lagat, a clinical nutritionist at AIC Kijabe Hospital, both the quality of your diet and when you eat matter.

“Your overall diet has the greatest impact on your health, but meal timing also influences how your body processes food,” she explains.

Research in chrononutrition, the study of how meal timing affects metabolism, shows that our bodies generally process food more efficiently earlier in the day when insulin sensitivity is higher. However, she cautions that this does not mean unhealthy foods suddenly become healthy simply because they are eaten in the morning.

“A diet consistently high in ultra-processed foods, sugar, saturated fats and excess calories increases the risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease regardless of the time of day.”

Evidence suggests that consuming large, calorie-dense meals late in the evening is metabolically less favourable because the body’s metabolic rate slows, insulin sensitivity decreases and glucose tolerance worsens. This means the body becomes less efficient at handling sugar and fat, leading to higher blood sugar levels after meals and potentially greater fat storage over time.

So does when you eat matter? “Our circadian rhythm regulates many aspects of metabolism, including hormone release, digestion, insulin production and energy expenditure,” says Valentine. “During daylight hours, the body is naturally better prepared to digest and utilise nutrients. As evening approaches, insulin sensitivity decreases, and digestion slows.”

She adds that eating in line with the body’s biological clock may support better metabolic health.

The body also processes carbohydrates more efficiently in the morning than late at night. Even so, foods high in added sugars and refined carbohydrates can still trigger rapid blood sugar spikes, even when eaten at breakfast. Choosing minimally processed, fibre-rich foods instead helps maintain steady energy throughout the morning.

Valentine says a healthy, balanced breakfast should combine a high-quality protein, high-fibre carbohydrates, healthy fats, and fruits or vegetables. This could look like oats cooked with milk topped with groundnuts and fresh fruit, whole-grain bread with eggs and avocado paired with plain yoghurt with fruit and nuts added, or sweet potatoes served with boiled eggs and vegetables.

Is breakfast essential for everyone? ‘It is important, but it is not equally essential for everyone,’ she says. ‘For children, adolescents, pregnant women and many adults, a nutritious breakfast supports concentration, nutrient intake and energy levels. Research also suggests that people who regularly eat balanced breakfasts tend to have healthier overall dietary patterns.

“The quality of the meal eaten for breakfast is more important than the timing itself,” she says, adding that eating breakfast depends on an individual’s routine, but generally, within one to three hours after waking up is reasonable.

What about skipping breakfast?

Some people experience increased hunger, reduced concentration or fatigue or end up overeating later in the day. Others adapt well and maintain stable energy levels.

For those practising intermittent fasting, which involves planned schedules for eating, some may even skip breakfast.

“Intermittent fasting can be an effective weight management strategy for some adults because it may reduce overall calorie intake and improve insulin sensitivity,” she explains.

However, she notes that success depends on what is eaten during the eating window.

“Skipping breakfast does not automatically lead to weight loss if unhealthy foods or excess calories are consumed later.”

Still, she cautions intermittent fasting is not for everyone. These include children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, individuals with eating disorders and some people with diabetes unless medically supervised.

“Nutrition should always be individualised rather than based on one rule,” she says.

Additionally, she advises that foods that provide large amounts of added sugar and little nutritional value should be limited in the morning.

These include sugary breakfast cereals, doughnuts, cakes, pastries, sugar-sweetened beverages, energy drinks and highly processed fast foods.

‘These foods can cause rapid rises and falls in blood sugar, leaving people hungry again shortly afterwards, even before lunchtime. Starting the day with protein and fibre is more likely to support sustained energy.’

Why late-night eating can be harmful

Large meals high in fat or sugar shortly before bedtime may delay digestion, worsen acid reflux and reduce sleep quality.

‘Poor sleep itself affects hormones that regulate hunger, increasing cravings for energy-dense foods the following day,’ she says. ‘This creates a cycle that may contribute to weight gain and poor metabolic health.’

Moreover, sleep and gut health have a two-way relationship. Poor sleep can alter the composition of the gut microbiome, while an unhealthy gut may influence sleep quality through the gut-brain axis.

Centum Investment Company has become a debt-free holding company after completing a multi-year balance sheet restructuring programme that began in 2020, offering room for higher dividends to shareholders.

The firm’s latest disclosures show it closed the financial year ended March 2026 without any debt, compared with Sh690 million borrowing it had in the previous year and Sh1.95 billion in 2024. The company’s debt stood at Sh7.48 billion in 2020 and Sh16.14 billion in 2019.

However, at the group level, the borrowing reduced to Sh17.08 billion from Sh17.85 billion, showing that some of its subsidiaries and associate firms still carry credit facilities in their books.

Centum CEO James Mworia said the full repayment of debt at the holding company level provides the company with ‘considerable financial flexibility’ to enhance returns to shareholders while increasing investments.

‘The balance sheet restructuring programme that commenced in 2020 has now been successfully completed. Management’s focus now shifts towards accelerating cash generation, expanding recurring annuity income, recycling capital efficiently across the portfolio and progressively enhancing shareholder returns,’ said Mr Mworia.

At a group level, Centum announced an 8.4 percent decline in net profit to Sh743.91 million from Sh812.81 million posted in the previous financial year. However, net profit rose 87 percent to Sh1.02 billion from Sh547.13 million at a company level.

The firm explained that consolidated earnings include businesses at different stages of their investment lifecycle and may not always match with cash distributions received by the holding company, leading to the difference in bottom lines at company and group level.

Centum has announced a dividend of Sh521 million with nearly half of it being a special distribution coming on the back of several investment exits in the financial year ended March 2026.

The dividend is made up of an ordinary payout of Sh0.42 per share amounting to Sh281 million and a special distribution of Sh0.36 per share totalling Sh240 million.

The proposed distribution, subject to approval at the upcoming annual general meeting, is 2.5 times higher than the distribution made in the previous year when it paid an ordinary dividend of Sh0.32 per share amounting to Sh210 million.

‘The special dividend reflects the successful realisation into cash of value created across the portfolio over a number of years. Centum frequently recognises increases in value through fair value movements before those gains are ultimately realised through strategic transactions or investment exits,’ said Mr Mworia.

The energy sector regulator, Epra, has no role in determining compensation to victims of power surges whose claims arising from damaged electrical equipment will be reviewed by the courts.

This follows a landmark ruling that held such claims amount to negligence and fall outside the jurisdiction of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra).

The Milimani Commercial Court ruled that claims arising from alleged negligent electricity supply are tortious claims or compensation claims that should be heard by civil courts rather than by Epra or the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal.

The decision could heighten pressure on Kenya Power to exercise greater care in the supply of electricity.

The case was filed by Placid View Properties Ltd, which owns and operates the four-star Ole Sereni Hotel, after a voltage fluctuation allegedly damaged the hotel’s electrical equipment.

The hotel sued Kenya Power on March 3, 2025, seeking Sh4.2 million in compensation, saying unstable electricity damaged its voltage stabiliser and submersible pump.

Kenya Power, however, argued that the suit had been filed in the wrong forum, insisting disputes relating to electricity supply, outages and power surges fall within the exclusive mandate of Epra and the dispute resolution framework established under the Energy Act.

Principal Magistrate Linda Akosa Mumassabba rejected that argument, holding that the dispute was an ordinary civil claim founded on negligence rather than a regulatory dispute under the Energy Act.

“The Defendant has further failed to demonstrate that there exists a statutory dispute resolution mechanism under the Energy Act capable of adjudicating the Plaintiff’s negligence claim and granting the reliefs sought in the Plaintiff,” the court ruled.

The court added that the doctrine of exhaustion-which generally requires litigants to first pursue remedies before specialised tribunals before moving to court-did not apply because Kenya Power had failed to show that Epra or the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal had legal authority to hear negligence claims, assess damages and award compensation for destroyed property.

The doctrine of exhaustion requires parties to first exhaust statutory dispute-resolution mechanisms established by Parliament before approaching the courts.

However, courts have consistently held that the doctrine only applies where the alternative forum has jurisdiction and can grant the relief sought.

A tortious claim is a civil action brought by a person seeking compensation after suffering loss or injury as a result of another party’s wrongful conduct.

In negligence claims, a claimant must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach directly caused the damage complained of.

The magistrate noted that these are classic elements of the tort of negligence and have historically been determined by ordinary civil courts.

The ruling means the Ole Sereni suit will now proceed to a full hearing on its merits.

The court declared that it has jurisdiction to hear the matter, directed the parties to appear on August 26, 2026, for pre-trial directions, awarded the hotel costs of the preliminary objection and gave KPLC 30 days to appeal.