An investment company linked to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Lamu Governor Issa Timamy has agreed to pay about Sh3 billion to buy majority stakes in two insurance companies from South Africa’s Absa Group. The deal returns control of the businesses to the investors who sold them to the lender a decade ago. People familiar with the transaction said First Assurance Investments Limited will pay Absa an estimated Sh3 billion for its 63.3 per cent stakes in Absa Life Assurance and First Assurance Kenya Limited. The price values the two insurers at about Sh4.77 billion. Absa announced the agreement…
Author: Davin Muthoni
President William Ruto has announced plans to decentralise the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (New KCC) and hand dairy farmers greater ownership and control of its factories. He also pledged to raise the price farmers are paid for milk to Sh65 per litre as part of reforms aimed at turning the state-owned processor into a profitable business. Speaking in Kapsabet, Nandi County, on Sunday, October 18, 2026, during the launch of development projects in the county, the President said the government would also clear about Sh400 million owed to dairy farmers by the end of October. He said the changes would…
Motorists and households will pay more for fuel over the next month after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) raised the pump prices of all three main petroleum products in its monthly review announced on the afternoon of October 14, 2026. In Nairobi, the price of super petrol rose by Sh12.93 to Sh226.96 a litre, diesel by Sh9.90 to Sh227.76, and kerosene by Sh28.49 to Sh219.87. The new prices took effect at midnight on October 15, 2026, and will apply until November 14, 2026. In Mombasa, which is closest to the port of entry, a litre of super petrol…
A retail firm has asked the High Court to stop New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (New KCC) from disposing of any of its assets while a Sh420 million contract dispute goes through arbitration. It says the dairy processor’s planned restructuring could leave it unable to recover the money. Naipa Supermarkets Limited says it is not clear how creditors will be paid if New KCC changes its ownership structure. It is asking the court to keep the company’s assets intact until the arbitration ends. The court has ordered both sides to maintain the status quo while it considers the application. It directed…
Kenya has secured its place on the World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar for another year after the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Motor Sport Council confirmed the Safari Rally as part of its 15-round 2027 season, putting to rest months of uncertainty over the event’s future in the country. President William Ruto announced the confirmation on Thursday, October 8, ending speculation over whether Kenya would retain its slot on the calendar beyond 2026. “Fellow citizens, the Safari Rally stays home. I am delighted to confirm that Kenya will host the WRC Safari Rally in 2027,” he said, adding, “The…
Equity Group chief executive Dr James Mwangi has been appointed to a new international commission seeking to reshape cooperation between developed and developing countries. Dr Mwangi is among 20 commissioners appointed to the South-North Commission on Development, an independent body established by the German government in June 2026 to rebuild trust between the Global North and Global South and strengthen multilateral cooperation. The commissioners were unveiled in Berlin on October 5 by the commission’s co-chairs, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla. The commission brings together senior figures from politics, academia, civil society, development, international…
A passenger aboard a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Lagos died on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, after suffering a medical emergency roughly 20 minutes before the aircraft was due to land at Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Kenya Airways confirmed the death in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Kenya Airways PLC (‘KQ’) confirms that on Tuesday, 06 October 2026, our flight from Nairobi to Lagos experienced a medical emergency on board at around 21:20 hrs local Nigerian time,” the airline said. According to Kenya Airways, the passenger’s condition deteriorated while the aircraft was still airborne, prompting the crew to activate…
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private investment arm, is set to acquire a 6.5 per cent stake in Quickmart through the retailer’s initial public offering (IPO), committing Sh1.94 billion ($15 million) to the supermarket chain. The investment marks the IFC’s return to Kenya’s retail sector four years after it exited a minority investment in Naivas after recording a substantial gain. Quickmart has named the IFC as a cornerstone investor in its Sh15 billion IPO, which places the supermarket’s total valuation at Sh30 billion. The IFC will acquire 258.67 million Quickmart shares, representing about 13 per cent of…
The family of former Central Bank of Kenya governor Philip Ndegwa is set to regain full ownership of ICEA Lion Insurance Holdings after First Chartered Securities received regulatory approval to buy back a 24.1 per cent stake in the insurer for Sh8.5 billion. First Chartered, the Ndegwa family’s investment vehicle, currently owns 75.9 per cent of ICEA Lion and will acquire the remaining stake from LeapFrog Strategic Africa Investments, which bought the shares for Sh2.4 billion in 2021. The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approved the transaction, paving the way for First Chartered to take full control of the…
Kenyan investors will soon be able to participate in Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s ongoing initial public offering (IPO) for as little as Sh490 through a new Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed investment vehicle awaiting regulatory approval. The investment will be structured through global depository receipts (GDRs), which will give local investors exposure to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Freezone Enterprise without having to trade directly on Nigeria’s stock market or open offshore brokerage accounts. Each GDR will represent underlying Dangote refinery shares and will be priced at about Sh49 per share. Renaissance Capital Kenya will sponsor and issue the receipts, while Stanbic…
