Insights

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has developed a set of regulations aimed at governing various aspects of upstream and midstream petroleum operations. These…

The Finance Bill 2025 has been approved by the National Assembly, with the contentious data access clause granting KRA unrestricted access to taxpayers’ financial data…

The High Court delivered a significant ruling in a commercial IP dispute between two major players in Kenya’s school shoe market—Bata and Umoja Rubber Products.…

The draft Guidance Notes issued by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) provide crucial regulatory clarity for various sectors (Children’s data, Public Sector,…

Key Highlights The Bill proposes amendments to the existing Kenya Information and Communications Act (Cap 411A) by expanding the definition of a ‘Telecommunication Operator’ to…

HIGHLIGHTS In April 2025, the following were the major Legal and Policy developments we tracked: CBK released a consultative paper reviewing the Risk-Based Credit Pricing…

HIGHLIGHTS • Court of Appeal in Kenya clarifies that VAT is applicable to Commercial Property Transactions. • Supreme Court in Kenya reaffirms its previous decision…

HIGHLIGHTS In February 2025, the following were the major developments in the PPPs, Infrastructure and Transport sector in Kenya: •The Ministry of Roads and Transport…

The 2024 National Building Code came into operation on 1st March, 2025, one year after it was published as Legal Notice No. 27. The 2024…

HIGHLIGHTS Major trends and developments in the financial services sector in February 2025 include: •Kenya has secured its first debt-for climate swap with Germany involving…

HIGHLIGHTS In February 2025, the following were the major developments in the Energy and Natural Resources sector in Kenya: • The Ministry of Energy and…

In less than 7 months after the Finance Bill 2024 withdrawal, it seems that provisions from the original Bill have been subtly reintroduced in the…

HIGHLIGHTS In 2025, the following are likely to be the major trends and developments in the infrastructure, transport, PPPs and Construction industry: The principles of…

HIGHLIGHTS The Energy Sector in Kenya is poised to make significant developments this year following the passage of several key regulations in 2024. In 2025,…

HIGHLIGHTS In 2025, the following are likely to be the major trends and developments in the Trade and Investment sector in Kenya: Increased e-commerce activities…

HIGHLIGHTS In 2025, the following are likely to be the major trends and developments: • Reform of several state corporations through merger, dissolution, divestment, declassification…

HIGHLIGHTS In 2025, the following trends and developments are likely to be witnessed: Increased vigilance by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. Data protection…

HIGHLIGHTS In 2025, major trends and developments in the financial services sector are likely to include Tighter regulation of all non-deposit taking credit business providers…

In the last few years, Kenya has been in a state of fast-paced property registration and land management transformation.  In 2020, the Sectional Properties Act…

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly critical for businesses in Kenya. Beyond financial disclosure, ESG considerations are essential for project development, profitability,…

Conversion is the process of updating title deeds to follow the current Land Registration Act. Old title deeds are canceled and replaced with new ones…

Climate resilience-building and adaptation is expensive. According to the Africa Development Bank, Africa requires $2.8 trillion to implement its commitments as set out in the…

In 2024, good corporate governance and sustainability are essential for businesses. This article explores key focus areas driving the agenda for promoting these practices. We…

The Kenyan Government is restructuring government services and entities as a means to transform the country’s economy and promote its Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).…

Due to the dynamic nature of the legal landscape, we anticipate various regulatory changes and shifts in legislation and compliance for various corporate structures for…

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, the laws that govern it must also evolve. From data privacy and artificial intelligence to cybersecurity…

The Kenyan government's Affordable Housing Project was developed as a means of safeguarding the right under Article 43(1)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 to…

To promote and transform the effective delivery of Government Services, the Government of Kenya has progressively invested in the improvement of land registration services and…

Devolution is one of the most noticeable changes brought about by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which has been characterized as progressive and transformative on…

As we embark on a new year, it is essential to reflect on the evolving landscape of the legal industry and anticipate the trends that…

Kenya adopted REITs in 2013 to provide people with a way to invest in real estate. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) regulates REITs in Kenya.…

This is a review of the proposed Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2023 and its potential impact on the telecommunication sector. The bill seeks…

The ELRC clarified that Cabinet Secretaries should not treat State Corporations as government departments. The State Corporations Act and Mwongozo Code recognize the autonomy of…

Section 12B of the Income Tax Act provides for the payment of the fringe benefits tax. Pursuant to this section, fringe benefits tax is payable…

Section 8 (2) of the Competition Act No 12 of 2010 grants the Competition Authority the power to regulate its internal procedures and conduct of…

Magnate Ventures, a local economic giant, has successfully converted Credit Bank’s liability towards a Chinese firm, into an asset as Credit Bank was ordered by…

On 4th September 2023, the Cabinet Secretary (Treasury and Economic Planning) through the Commissioner General (KRA) published the Draft Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Rules, 2023…

This review explores Kenya's implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations to promote sustainable waste management. The review examines the legal framework, key regulations, and…

A consolidated appeal arising out of a judgment and decree from the Employment and Labour Relations Court was presented before the Court of Appeal. Central…

Chief Government Valuer publishes and appoints accredited private valuers in line with the Stamp Duty (Valuation of Immovable Property) Regulations, 2020 to operationalize various provisions…

Following the determination of the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No. 656 of 2022 The National Social Security Fund Board of Trustees v Kenya Tea…

The Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No. 656 of 2022 The National Social Security Fund Board of Trustees v Kenya Tea Growers Association & Another…

The Physical and Land Use Planning (Development Permission and Development Control) (General) Regulations 2021.  These Regulations govern the submission of applications for development permissions highlighting…

The Copyright Act establishes the Copyright Tribunal (the Tribunal) which hears and determines disputes related to a dispute over the registration of copyright and appeals…

1.1 Introduction The Court of Appeal in Transparency International-Kenya v Teresa Carlo Omondi (Civil Appeal No.81 of 2018) pronounced that the doctrine of legitimate expectation…

Justice Gakeri’s decision that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, can be sued in Kenya is a significant ruling for the tech giant and the multinationals operating…

The Startup Bill, 2022 seeks to establish incubation programmes for startups and basically foster the startup ecosystem in Kenya. Generally, incubation programmes seek to provide…

Effective 1st January 2023, the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), the principal government agency mandated to prohibit trade in counterfeit goods in Kenya, started the implementation of Recordation…

The Competition regulators from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius and Egypt in 2022 signed a memorandum of understanding to work together under the Africa Heads…

Transitional provisions under the Ministry of Lands remain despite protest on the general impact on transactions and the economy. In the previous regime, Title Deeds…

Globally, electric mobility (E-mobility) is rapidly picking momentum with massive technology and capital deployed by investors on electric vehicles (EVs). Pursuant to the latest EV…

The CMA vide Gazette Notice No. 12325 issued guidelines for listed companies that intend to undertake share buybacks. Some of the salient directives in the…

The Startup Bill, 2022 seeks to establish incubation programmes for startups and basically foster the startup ecosystem in Kenya. Generally, incubation programmes seek to provide…

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) is a statutory body established by section 3 of the Anti-Counterfeit Act, No. 13 of 2008 with the mandate to prohibit…

The Copyright Act establishes the Copyright Tribunal (the Tribunal) which hears and determines disputes related to a dispute over the registration of copyright and appeals…

Africa has a reason to smile after trading within the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA”) began on 1 January 2021, marking a significant milestone…

The government has identified key areas of priority and measures are already in place to champion the implementation of the policies in the government’s agenda.…

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has moved to implement by public notices new powers introduced through the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act of 2018 under Section…

The World Bank recently published the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) which sets out the World Bank Group’s (WBG) strategy for supporting Kenya’s Vision 2030 and…

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) is a statutory body established by section 3 of the Anti-Counterfeit Act, No. 13 of 2008 with the mandate to prohibit…

KRA Commissioner General is required under the Excise Duty Act, 2015, and Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act, 2016 to adjust annually, the specific rates of…

The National Treasury and Economic Planning released the Draft 2023 Budget policy statement (BPS) on 18th January 2023. The policy statement prepared under the new…

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning published the draft Excise Duty (Excisable Goods Management System) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 in accordance with Section…

Many enterprises are looking at how the implementation of environmental social and governance (ESG) measures will contribute to the long-term success of their businesses. ESG…

Recently, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) announced the introduction of fractional investing in Kenyan stocks. Fractional investing allows people to buy less than a whole…

The Finance Act, 2022 amended Section 3(2) of the Income Tax Act, to introduce income tax on gains accrued in or derived from Kenya by…

Case Law: Music Copyright Society of Kenya v Kenya Copyright Board and 2 others (Constitutional Application E435 of 2020) The brief facts were as follows.…

The Nairobi Securities Exchange derivatives market (NEXT), was launched on 4th July 2019, with the aim of facilitating the trading of the futures contract on…

Recently, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) proposed reforms on the global corporate tax regime. These reforms seek to end the “race to the…

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has started a crackdown on firms under-declaring their payrolls in what will see employees pay taxes on items like overtime, leave…

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa has secured a fresh injection of $.64 million in grant funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)…

Climate finance committed by major multilateral development banks (MDBs) rose in 2021 with over USD. $. 19 billion committed to climate change adaptation finance, according…

The Sustainable Waste Management Act, No.31 of 2022, was signed into law on 7th July 2022. It was developed by the Ministry of Environment and…

The current business landscape has been transformed by various initiatives geared towards combating climate change, calls for racial equity, improvement of labour standards coupled with…

Banking institutions in Kenya are expected to have complied with full capital requirements introduced through the International Financial Reporting Standards 9 (IFRS 9) by the…

Kenya approved the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops on Monday, 3rd October lifting a 10-year ban on biotechnology foods in the country. This is…

AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative was officially launched on 7th October 2022 in Accra by the AfCFTA secretariat. The Guided Trade Initiative intends to achieve its…

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is tax that is levied on sale or transfer of property situated in Kenya. If property, such as land, buildings, stocks and shares,…

The African Energy Chamber and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) launched the Africa Energy Market Dashboard pilot on 19th October 2022 at…

The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference more commonly referred to as COP27 was held from 6 November to 20 November 2022 in Sharm El…

The Small Claims court was created by the Small Claims Court Act, 2016 to reduce the backlog of case through creating an alternative avenue to…

The President, Dr. William Ruto in his manifesto pledged to rollout the KES 50 billion hustler fund dedicated to the capitalization of micro, small and…

A. Causes of the rising cost of loans by commercial banks The Central Bank of Kenya Act grants the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) numerous…

President Ruto’s administration has indicated its commitment to leveraging Kenya’s trade relations with various countries in order to create opportunities for Kenyan citizens, businesses and…

Trade Principal Secretary Johnson Weru in a statement released on 14th September stated that UK is demanding that its exports to Kenya be exempted from…

The United States has overtaken Uganda to become the largest market for Kenyan goods. According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya’s exports to…

Kenya officially began trading under Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with Associated Battery Manufacturing EA Ltd being the first Kenyan company to export its…

In a notice dated 26th July 2022, the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning (‘Ministry’) notified the public of the change of the transition date…

On 18th March 2022, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) published the Central Bank of Kenya (Digital Credit Providers) Regulations, 2022 that seek to regulate digital…

AIDA ATIKU vs CENTENARY BANK, HCCS 754 of 2020 (Uganda) Recently, High Court in Uganda ruled that the risk of loss for an unauthorized transaction…

The Data Protection (Registration of Data Controllers and Data Processors) Regulations, 2021 (hereinafter “the Regulations”) took effect on 14th July 2022. The implication of this…

The first schedule to the Excise Duty Act 2015 was amended by inserting the following proviso, “excise duty on fees charged by digital lenders at…

In late July 2022, the Ministry of Energy issued the Energy Sector White Paper which puts forward a transformational agenda for accelerating Kenya’s low-carbon transition…

In 2019, the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board (KNEB) transitioned to the Kenya Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) to undertake preparations for the development of…

The Finance Act, 2022 (the Act) was signed into law by the President on 21 June 2022, published on 23 June 2022 and gazetted on…

On 28th July 2022, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Plc (Kenya Power) and Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to…

Google Kenya Limited -Vs- Commissioner of Domestic Taxes: Civil Appeal No. ITA E004 of 2021  This was a judgment of the High Court following the…

Rift Valley Water Services Board & 3 Others -Vs- Geoffrey Asanyo & 2 Others: Civil Appeal No. 60 Of 2015  The appeal was lodged following…

The Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) in Federation of Kenya Employers v National Health Insurance Fund Management Board & Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Health…

On the 13th of April 2022, the Kenya Revenue Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (“the Bill”) was published. The Bill seeks to inter-alia amend the Kenya…

The Land Control Bill, 2022 which was gazetted on 25th February 2022 seeks to repeal and replace the Land Control Act (Cap 302). The main…

Recently, the court in Mugo & 14 others v Matiang’i & another; Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission of Kenya & 19 others (Interested parties) [2022]…

On 26th April 2022, the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development gave an update on the moratorium on trade in scrap metal which was…

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has launched rules on social impact reporting for firms, underlining ESG’s growing importance. By issuing these rules, the NSE aims…

Monica Munira Kibuchi & 6 others v Mount Kenya University; Attorney General (Interested Party) [2021] eKLR  http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/217394/ A. Brief Facts The Respondent advertised in the Daily…

The Bill seeks to gives reprieve to job seekers by requiring employers to only ask for relevant clearance or compliance certificates “upon granting an offer…

The Bill seeks to amend the Employment Act of 2007 (the “Act”) to introduce and provide for the right to disconnect; the right of employees…

The CMA commenced a 30-day public exposure of the Draft Capital Markets (Public Offers and Listing of Securities) Regulations 2022 running from May 2nd to…

The Physical and Land Use Planning (Development Permission and Development Control) (General) Regulations 2021. These Regulations govern the submission of applications for development permissions highlighting…

Benefit Schemes need to review and align their trust deeds and scheme rules to the new Regulations. The Retirement Benefits (Umbrella Retirement Benefits Schemes) (Amendment)…

The Controller of Budget Regulations, 2021 provide a subsidiary framework that facilitates the exercise of the powers of the Controller of Budget. The objective of…

The bill proposes that at the time of registration, new LLPs must reveal their initial beneficial owners. Existing LLPs must also reveal who their beneficial…

We bring your attention to Section 93A of the Companies Act, 2015 that requires a company to keep a register of its beneficial owners. The…

The Attorney General vide Legal Notice No. 32 gazetted the amendments of the Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations, 2022. The Regulations are on the disclosure…

The CMA vide Gazette Notice No. 12325 issued guidelines for listed companies that intend to undertake share buybacks. Some of the salient directives in the…

The president signed the Nairobi International Financial Centre Act, providing the legal framework to facilitate the development of an efficient and globally competitive financial services…

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, digital platforms have emerged as important financial inclusion tools across the world. To reap the full benefits…

The National Treasury has been working towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Public Finance Management (PFM) in Kenya. The Integrated Financial Management Information System…

The technology start-up ecosystem has proved to be challenging with a number of technology startups in Kenya shutting down their operations in the last few…

The Data Protection Act Draft Regulations include the Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021, the Data Protection (Complaints Handling and Enforcement Procedures) Regulations, 2021, and the…

The National Assembly passed the Information Communication Technology Practitioners Bill, 2020 on 8th June 2022. First introduced in 2016 by the Majority Leader, Aden Duale,…

On 15th January 2022, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (‘EPRA’) through a gazette notice designated the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (‘KETRACO’) as the system…

In October 2022, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (Kenya Power) made a tariff review application to EPRA for higher energy charge tariffs that are expected…

On 13th January 2023, EPRA gazetted the Draft Energy Draft Energy (Solar Water Heating) Regulations (‘Draft Regulations’) for public comment. The Draft Regulations seek to…

On 13th January 2023, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (‘EPRA’) gazetted the Draft Energy (Net-Metering) Regulations (‘Draft Regulations’) for public comment. The main objective…

E-Government is the use of a range of information technologies by government agencies with the aim of transforming government operations to provide better services for…

The end of 2021 saw the sunset for the London Interbank Offered Rate (‘LIBOR’), the most widely used interest rate benchmark in the world, Kenya included.  In…

In a move regulate the sector and deal with concerns raised, the Central Bank of Kenya (Amendment) Act, 2021 was passed on 7 December 2021.…

The Data Protection (General) Regulations (the “Regulations”) set out the procedure for enforcement of the rights of data subjects and further, elaborate on the duties,…

Regulation 3 of the Data Protection (Compliance and Enforcement) Regulations 2021 provides that the object and purpose of the Regulations is to give effect to…