Blog

By Hadrine Joyce
Monday, 5 October 2026

NAIROBI, Kenya — The High Court has given the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) a final opportunity to explain how it plans to settle more than Sh2.1 billion owed to Swiss contractor SBI International Holdings (Kenya).

KeNHA Director-General Luka Kimeli has been directed to personally appear before the court on October 27, 2026, to explain how the authority intends to meet the financial obligations from the 2026/2027 financial year.

The debt arose from five court decrees linked to disputes over road construction works. The decrees, issued in June 2021, were followed by court orders in September 2023 requiring KeNHA to pay a combined amount of about Sh2.11 billion.

According to the court record reported by Daily Nation, SBI said only about Sh90 million had been paid by July 27, 2026, despite the outstanding amount.

The court rejected an attempt to involve other government officials in the payment process, saying responsibility for settling the decrees rests with KeNHA’s accounting officer.

The judge also warned that interest continues to accumulate as the debt remains unpaid.

The case has now placed pressure on KeNHA to demonstrate how it will comply with the court orders and settle the outstanding amount.

PHOTO CAPTION: Kenya National Highways Authority Director-General Luka Kimeli.

Photo Credit File|Nation Media Group

Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife were killed in a helicopter crash, with burial arrangements announced this weekend. The couple died with other passengers.

President William Ruto sent condolences to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and to the families.
The crash has drawn wide attention in southern Africa because of Chivayo’s public profile.

In Kenya, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua used a diaspora meeting in Boston to claim, without presenting evidence, that Chivayo had held large sums linked to President Ruto and the 2027 race. Those claims have not been independently verified.

Investigators in Zimbabwe are expected to examine the cause of the accident separately from the political claims now circulating in Kenya.

The Kenya Revenue Authority has reminded taxpayers that the 2026 Tax Amnesty Programme closes on 31 December 2026. The relief waives 100 per cent of penalties, interest and fines on qualifying tax debts accrued on or before 31 December 2025, but only if the principal tax is paid in full by the deadline.

The window opened on 1 July 2026. Taxpayers who cannot pay the principal in one sum may use a payment plan on iTax. The entire principal under that plan must still be cleared by 31 December 2026 for the waiver to apply.

People with unfiled returns for periods up to 31 December 2025 are advised to file during the amnesty period. KRA is urging businesses and individuals not to wait until December, when portal traffic and payment delays usually rise.

The Port of Lamu recorded its biggest single-vessel container discharge yet when the 366-metre MV Hamouna offloaded about 5,200 twenty-foot equivalent units on Saturday, 3 October 2026. Port managers said even Mombasa has not handled more than 5,000 TEUs from one call.

The vessel, reported as arriving from China, has a total capacity of about 14,500 TEUs. Part of the cargo is to be transshipped to other destinations by smaller feeder ships. It approached through Lamu’s Eastern Channel before berthing.

The call comes as the government promotes Lamu as a logistics hub along the LAPSSET corridor and as the site of the planned Dangote East Africa refinery. President William Ruto has said the government will put about Sh7.5 billion into 3,000 housing units in Lamu to support related development.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has secured a key step in building a new political vehicle after the Registrar of Political Parties approved the reservation of the name Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM). The approval, in a letter dated 1 October 2026, follows a Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruling that set aside an earlier refusal.

Registrar John Lorionokou said the name is reserved for up to 90 days. The reservation does not mean LMM is a fully registered party. Sifuna’s team must still meet the remaining legal requirements before it can field candidates. The timing matters ahead of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission deadline for parties that want to take part in the 2027 election.

Linda Mwananchi has been associated with Sifuna since his break with the Orange Democratic Movement. A recent Politrack Africa survey placed President William Ruto at 45.1 per cent, with Sifuna rising in the opposition field, though such polls remain early and contested.

At least 17 Catholic pilgrims died in a multi-vehicle crash at Salama in Makueni County in the early hours of Saturday, 3 October 2026. They were parishioners of St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church, Mikindani Parish, travelling to the National Shrine in Subukia, Nakuru, for the National Prayer Day.

Reports say a lorry lost control after a suspected brake failure shortly after midnight and struck several vehicles, including the matatu carrying the pilgrims.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa named the dead, among them Janet Miito, Florence Atieno, Jane Mwakamba, Josephat Mekonge and Samuel Mwanyasi. One parishioner who missed the van because there was no seat later said the delay may have saved his life.

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir ordered a multi-agency probe, and the National Transport and Safety Authority deployed a team to the scene. Post-mortem examinations were scheduled for Sunday at Sultan Hamud Hospital in Makueni. The crash has renewed calls for stricter checks on heavy commercial vehicles on the Nairobi–Mombasa highway.

NAIROBI, Kenya

 Kenya’s mobile-money market is entering a more competitive phase as Airtel Money steps up its challenge to Safaricom’s M-Pesa with lower transaction fees and new products targeting small businesses.

Safaricom remains the dominant player, controlling 88.8 percent of Kenya’s mobile-money subscriptions as of June 2026, compared with Airtel Money’s 11.1 percent.

But Airtel has significantly increased its market share over the past three years, rising from just 2.8 percent in June 2023. 

Airtel Money recently introduced Bizna Wallet, aimed at small traders, and offered the service without transaction fees as it seeks to attract merchants away from established competitors.

The company has also reduced charges on several other transactions, including payments, bank transfers and transfers between mobile-money networks.

Safaricom has responded by reducing some M-Pesa charges and increasing the threshold for fee-free transactions on its Pochi la Biashara service.

The competition is significant because mobile money is a major source of revenue for Safaricom. In the financial year ended March 2026, M-Pesa revenue in Kenya rose 13.4 percent to Sh182.7 billion, accounting for 45.6 percent of Safaricom’s Kenyan revenue. 

For consumers and small businesses, the emerging price competition could mean lower transaction costs and more choices.

For the two telecommunications companies, however, the battle is increasingly about more than mobile transfers. Digital payments, merchant services, banking partnerships and financial technology are becoming key battlegrounds in Kenya’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

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Source: Business Daily Africa

photo: Courtesy

NAIROBI, Kenya.

The United States has overtaken Uganda as Kenya’s leading export destination, highlighting a sharp recovery in Kenyan shipments to the American market following the restoration of preferential trade access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Kenya’s exports to the US reached Sh63.59 billion between March and July 2026, nearly doubling from Sh32.51 billion during the same period last year, according to data from the Kenya Revenue Authority published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Uganda, meanwhile, imported Kenyan goods worth Sh60.54 billion during the five-month period.

The surge in exports to the US has been driven largely by renewed demand for Kenyan apparel and agricultural products. American buyers resumed orders after AGOA preferences were restored, following months of uncertainty after the previous arrangement expired in September 2025. 

Kenyan manufacturers have also benefited from the fact that several competing Asian apparel-producing countries have faced additional US tariffs, giving Kenyan exporters a cost advantage.

The apparel sector remains particularly important, with Kenyan factories supplying international brands including H&M, Levi’s, JCPenney and Wrangler.

The development comes as Washington has extended AGOA through December 2028, giving Kenyan manufacturers and investors a longer planning horizon.

For Kenya, the growing US market could provide an important boost to foreign-exchange earnings, manufacturing employment and investment in export-oriented industries.

However, the figures also underline the importance of Kenya diversifying its export base and maintaining preferential access to major international markets.

SOURCE: Business Daily

NAIROBI, Kenya

Plans for a proposed $16 billion Dangote refinery project in Kenya have come under fresh scrutiny after a consumer-rights organisation filed a legal challenge over transparency surrounding the investment.

Reuters reported on 2 October 2026 that the consumer group has challenged the project, raising concerns about the disclosure of important information relating to the proposed refinery.

The development comes shortly after renewed attention on the proposed refinery project, which is expected to have significant implications for Kenya’s energy and industrial sectors if implemented.

The project has also attracted attention over a proposed Kenyan stake. A report published on 2 October said the Consumers Federation of Kenya had petitioned the Public Private Partnerships Petition Committee over Kenya’s proposed 10 per cent stake, reportedly valued at approximately $500 million, or about Sh65 billion. The petition seeks clarification on how the stake would be financed and whether the funds have been budgeted, committed or already paid.

The legal and transparency questions could become an important part of discussions surrounding the project’s financing, public participation and implementation.

For Kenya’s business sector, the refinery is significant because of its potential implications for the country’s petroleum supply chain, industrial development and investment environment. However, the project’s eventual implementation will depend on regulatory, legal and financial processes.

Photo:courtesy

NAIROBI, Kenya

Commercial banks increased lending to Kenya’s agricultural sector by Sh53.1 billion in the year to June 2026, reflecting growing credit flows into one of the country’s key economic sectors.

Data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows that agricultural credit increased by 35.1 per cent to Sh204.2 billion during the period. The growth was significantly higher than the 10.6 per cent increase in total private-sector credit, which expanded to Sh4.29 trillion.

The increased lending comes as agriculture remains an important source of employment, household income and economic activity across the country. For banks, the expansion also represents an opportunity to grow lending in a sector traditionally considered relatively risky.

Improved farm incomes and cash flows have contributed to the increased attractiveness of agriculture to lenders, according to reporting based on CBK data.

The development could have implications for farmers and agribusinesses seeking financing for activities such as purchasing farm inputs, acquiring equipment, expanding production and improving value addition.

Kenya’s broader economy also continues to receive significant support from agriculture. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported that agriculture, forestry and fishing expanded by 3.1 per cent in 2025 and accounted for more than 20 per cent of the economy.

In the photo, are Kenyan farmers working in a crop field.