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As classic plays often do, it was inevitable that Kaggia would return on stage. The first time the cast brought to life of Bildad Kaggia, a man often described as one who would rather die than sell his soul to the devil, theatre lovers didn’t get enough of him. The second time did little to quench their curiosity either.

Now, director Stuart Nash returns is preparing for the third rerun of the play written by John Sibi Okumu that offers an in-depth narration of one of Kenya’s unsung heroes.

In its earlier runs with the Phoenix Players, the play featured a cast of four. The late Harry Ebale played the lead role in the first production, a part now taken over by Martin Kigondu, a talented, prolific, and refined performer who has a unique gift for making the stage feel like his playground. ‘I took on the role of Kaggia to honour the memory of my brother, the late Ebale. And of course, this is John Sibi’s work; anyone would want to be part of it. This time, however, the play takes a different form. The cast is no longer just four as originally written. Stuart Nash’s superpower is bringing visual aesthetics and spectacle to life. I saw his vision and agreed to join the team,’ says Kigondu.

In this latest rerun, Kigondu is the only returning cast member, though he says that has not changed his approach to the role.

‘When you go back to a show you have done before, you always approach it with fresh eyes and maturity. The good thing is that Stuart and I have worked together for so long that we understand each other. The biggest challenge is that we are performing in both English and Kikuyu, with the same cast alternating across different runs. The exciting part is that each day brings a unique version of the play, rather than cramming both versions into a single day.’ For Stuart, directing Kaggia has been a profound learning experience.

‘It is fascinating to uncover so much about a historical figure people rarely acknowledge. During our research, we found that nobody under 25 knew who he was. Those who did, only remember that he was part of the Kapenguria Six and nothing more. Yet he lived such an extraordinary life, full of surprises and challenges, that people will be astonished at what he went through,’ Stuart said.

What can audiences expect from the play?

‘I think they will discover more about Bildad Kaggia than they ever knew. When I first watched the play a few years ago, I walked out of the theatre wanting to know more about him. I think John would love people to walk out of the theatre thinking of how Kenya would be now if they had followed Kaggia’s ideals. It is a thoughtful and sophisticated piece of theatre,’ Stuart said.

For John Sibi Okumu, choosing to write about Kaggia instead of the other five Kapenguria detainees was inspired by an encounter in a bookshop.

‘I came across Kaggia’s autobiography, which he abandoned midway. It was later completed by a Dutchman in collaboration with one of his children. I was vaguely aware of the Kapenguria Six from my schooling, but I found Kaggia’s story fascinating, especially because he was a man who truly walked the talk. He lived with integrity and a strong moral compass. He was detained alongside the others and even shared a cell with Jomo Kenyatta at one point. For me, there was a compelling contrast: what might Kenya have looked like if his ideals had guided its leadership?’ Sibi Okumu posed.

He added, ‘Bildad Kaggia was what we would today call a left-leaning figure, while Kenya has largely remained aligned to the right. His life offers a case study of what might have happened had the country taken a different political path. As a playwright, I am committed to exploring the evolution of Kenyan society before and after independence. My next play will focus on the pre-independence period of the 1950s.’

Kaggia will be staged at the Kenya National Theatre from October 11 to 19.

I live in an apartment where neighbours really don’t talk to – or know – each other. The typical 21st Century snobbery. A real tragedy really because what happens when you run out of salt at 9pm?

By chance we struck a conversation with the Indian fellow who lives below me; a younger outdoorsy fellow with a raggedy Mitsubishi that is always caked in dust of mud every Monday morning.

After a brief conversation we learnt that we both love the outdoors and whisky. After almost six months of planning (we are busy), a plan was hatched to share a whisky at the nearest haunt. It rained that evening. I arrived early and nursed a Fernet Branca as I waited, staring into the busy courtyard. Outside, music blasted from the nearby bar teeming with a younger crowd.

When he finally showed up he started with 12-year-old Aberlour while I did the 15-year-old Dalwhinnie. He orders his whisky by the single. One rock. He told me about his camping adventures on silent hills in Amboseli and northern Kenya.

For the second round we both settled for the 12-year-old Balvenie. We talked about our neighbours; who knew who. I don’t know anyone personally except my next door neighbour’s elegant cat that sits across on the kitchen windowsill each morning, staring at my son while he prepares his breakfast.

For the third round we wanted a specific Glenmorangie but it was missing. I settled for the same 12-year-old Balvenie while he tried something I don’t recall. He told me about his university days in the UK, and his gruesome MBA about to conclude.

I told him about my early career, working in a medical lab. ‘Did you know you could write?’ he asked, laughing. I said, ‘you always know but you are scared. Change is scary.’ Sierra seems to serve that kind of a drink up; a quick snappy beer, a bite to eat, a conversation that doesn’t get diluted by a long night.

A forged court order was used to lock out businessman Paul Ndung’u from participating in a dispute over the fight of betting firm SportPesa, placing a top lawyer under criminal investigations for forgery.

The details emerged in a judgment where the Court of Appeal reversed its earlier ruling that had blocked the businessman from participating in pending cases over control of SportPesa’s assets and shares.

The High Court has frozen the newly revised park entry fees by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), dealing a blow to the State agency, which banked on the higher charges to bridge a Sh12 billion annual budget deficit.

Justice John Chigiti issued the conservatory order following a petition by the Kenya Tourist Federation, representing tourism industry stakeholders, arguing that the move would affect the country’s global position as a safari destination.

‘I’ve been happy most, if not all, of my life,’ Ambassador Macharia Kamau says. ‘My dad always slipped a shilling under the pillow when the tooth fairy came. So I grew up believing in a magical world.’

Magical indeed-for few Kenyans have carried their flag into as many global rooms. Over nearly four decades, he has served for 14 years as Kenya’s top diplomat, including nine years as Ambassador to the United Nations and five years as Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

Eighteen saccos have converted Sh660 million worth of claims in Kuscco Mutual Assurance Limited (KMAL) into an undisclosed stake in the entity ahead of the planned sale of a majority ownership in the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives Ltd (Kuscco)-owned insurer.

Kusccco managing director Arnold Munene said in an interview the sealing of a deal to dispose of a key stake of Kuscco Mutual Assurance to strategic investors is likely to conclude in November and saccos have been supporting this through the claims-to-equity transactions.

After Parliament approved the plan to sell 65 percent of the government stake in Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), the deal now looks like a foregone conclusion. The National Treasury expects to raise approximately Sh100 billion from the transaction.

The language used by officials to frame the policy is telling. This is not ‘privatisation’ in the ideological sense of rolling back the frontiers of the state. Instead, it is described as ‘liability management;-a tool to raise cash, restructure the balance sheet, and contain public debt. The narrative is that Kenya is not selling assets out of conviction but out of necessity.

As reported in the Business Daily this week, the Trade ministry has at last acknowledged the devastating impact of the 17.5 percent Export Promotion Levy on clinker and steel billet imports. This policy, in place for over two years, has severely hindered two crucial economic sectors.

Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui’s appeal to Parliament for its repeal is not merely a policy reversal; it represents a vital lifeline for thousands of jobs, a clear rejection of monopolistic cartels, and a demonstration of decisive leadership. For this, we express our profound appreciation.

Introduced in July 2023 under the guise of boosting local production, the levy was presented as a patriotic measure to foster domestic industries. However, it quickly devolved into a classic case of policy capture, where powerful interests within government and the private sector manipulated public policy to solidify their dominance. Clinker, a crucial raw material for cement, has become prohibitively expensive for cement manufacturers. This led to factories operating at a mere 60 percent capacity, resulting in a staggering 7.9 percent drop in national cement production last year alone-a loss of 763,500 tonnes (over 15 million, 50kg bags equivalent annually).

Exports to key East African markets like Uganda and Tanzania plummeted by nearly 50 percent, eroding Kenya’s competitive edge and inflating building costs.

The same 17.5 percent levy on billets and other imports stifled downstream manufacturing, drove up prices for reinforcement bars and rods, and triggered widespread job losses as mills scaled back operations.

What was touted as an ‘export promotion’ tool benefited only a select few, creating artificial scarcities and unhealthy rivalries that disadvantaged smaller players and betrayed the very industries it claimed to protect. The official statistics, while alarming, only hint at the true extent of the damage. They fail to capture the hundreds of micro, small, and medium enterprises that were utterly destroyed by this levy, particularly in the production of steel wire products like nails, barbed wire, and mesh.

The monopolistic environment it fostered forced these small operators to procure raw materials in extremely large, dollar-denominated minimum order quantities, effectively pricing them out of existence overnight.

Consider the heartbreaking example of a company in Kikuyu Constituency, where the owner had invested Sh300 million from his retirement savings and the sale of properties. Employing 300 people and contributing significantly to local livelihoods, this company was forced to shut its doors after the levy hit, leaving its workers jobless. This is just one of thousands of employees whose dreams were deferred due to misguided policy.

This was no innocent oversight. Previous occupants of the Trade docket, armed with extensive data on the levy’s destructive ripple effects, chose inaction and convenience.

The minister’s forthright admission that the levy has created an unfair market marks a refreshing departure from this pervasive malaise.

Globally, blue economy, covering everything from fisheries and aquaculture to shipping, offshore energy, biotechnology, and coastal tourism, is valued at more than $ 1.5 trillion annually and is projected to double by 2030.

Beneath these sweeping figures, however, lies a stark truth: the bulk of activities is carried out by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). They are the fishers, processors, boat builders, seaweed farmers, and eco-tourism operators who keep local economies alive.

Yet, these enterprises struggle to secure the financing that would allow them to scale, modernise, and compete fairly in a changing economy. Traditional banks often view MSMEs as high-risk clients, especially because many operate informally, with few financial records or collateral to secure loans.

Seasonal earnings tied to fishing cycles or tourism flows do not match rigid repayment schedules. High interest rates and bureaucratic requirements end up shutting out many entrepreneurs before they even begin the loan process.

This financing drought has consequences. Without affordable credit, MSMEs cannot invest in modern storage facilities, ice plants, or processing equipment that would cut losses. They cannot adopt climate-smart practices such as solar-powered cold rooms or sustainable aquaculture techniques.

As a result, livelihoods remain precarious, post-harvest losses remain high, and unsustainable practices persist. The gap between the promise of a blue economy and the lived reality of coastal communities continues to widen. Yet, there are glimpses of what is possible when finance reaches the grassroots.

Seychelles pioneered the world’s first sovereign blue bond in 2017, raising funds to support small-scale fisheries. Belize and Cabo Verde have pioneered debt-for-nature swaps, freeing up resources for marine conservation and community enterprises. Across East Africa, digital platforms are emerging to connect fishers directly to buyers, giving them stronger bargaining power and building financial records that make them more attractive to lenders.

In West Africa, solar-powered cold storage hubs, funded through blended finance, are reducing spoilage, increasing incomes, and creating creditworthy business models.

What these examples show is that innovative financing for the blue economy is possible when systems are designed with MSMEs in mind.

Banks and investors can adapt their products to the unique rhythms of coastal businesses, offering flexible repayment schedules that align with seasons, or using community-based savings groups and warehouse receipts as alternative forms of collateral.

Development partners and governments can step in with credit guarantees and concessional financing that lower the risks for lenders, making small loans more viable.

At the same time, capacity building is essential. Many coastal MSMEs lack the bookkeeping or formal business plans that lenders require.

Training in financial literacy, support for cooperatives, and digital record-keeping tools can help small enterprises become more bankable without stripping away the resilience that comes with their community-based structures. Investing in shared infrastructure, such as cold storage hubs and processing facilities, could also help reduce risks and attract financing.

Beyond financing instruments, enabling ecosystems are vital. Governments can strengthen policy frameworks that prioritise MSMEs, while impact investors and blended finance vehicles can design products that balance risk with sustainability outcomes.

Technology such as mobile money, blockchain traceability, and digital marketplaces can improve transparency and build credit histories, while better data on MSMEs’ contributions will make their value more visible to financiers.

Crucially, financing must also be inclusive, ensuring that women, the youth, and indigenous communities, often at the heart of coastal economies, gain equal access to opportunities in the blue economy.

The blue economy is already a reality, but it remains fragile under pressure from overfishing, climate change, and rising sea levels.

Expanding access to finance for MSMEs delivers a dual benefit: more resilient livelihoods and healthier ecosystems. Targeted investments in fisher cooperatives, women-led seaweed enterprises, and sustainable aquaculture creates ripple effects that strengthen communities, safeguard marine resources, and build a more resilient global economy. Policymakers and financiers have a choice to make. They can continue to overlook MSMEs in favour of large-scale projects, or they can recognise that the future of blue economy rests on small enterprises.

They may be modest in size, but their collective impact is vast. With the right financing, MSMEs can truly anchor the blue economy ensuring that the ocean remains a source of wealth, culture, and opportunity for generations to come.