Author: David Indeje

A Nairobi resident has taken British American Tobacco Kenya to the High Court, accusing the company of running unlawful marketing campaigns for its VELO nicotine pouches and targeting university students during the June to August holiday period. Vivian Anemba filed the constitutional petition on 22 July 2026 in the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court at Nairobi. The case, HCCHRPET/E484/2026, names BAT Kenya as the first respondent, alongside the Tobacco Control Board, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General. What the Petition Alleges According to the petition, BAT promoters set…

Nation Media Group reported a net loss of KES 357.2 million for the six months to 30 June 2026, up from KES 41.7 million in the same period last year. Total comprehensive loss for the period was KES 401.7 million, compared with KES 47.4 million in H1 2025. The publisher of the Daily Nation, Business Daily and The EastAfrican said group turnover fell 4.8 percent to KES 2.85 billion from KES 2.99 billion. Management attributed the decline to lower print revenues. Revenue and Profit Broadcasting revenue rose 3.0 percent and subscription revenue rose 4.0 percent year on year. Gross profit…

Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 15,245 million as of August 13, 2026, providing 6.3 months of import cover. The Central Bank of Kenya said the position remains adequate, noting it meets the regulator’s statutory requirement to hold at least four months of cover, a threshold the country has now cleared by a wide margin for several weeks running. The figure caps a month in which reserves swung from comfortable to historic. What stands out is how the buffer has held near its peak rather than sliding back, a sign that the recent surge reflects a genuine step change…

The Central Bank of Kenya has trimmed its inflation peak projection by 40 basis points, signaling growing confidence that price pressures will ease faster than earlier expected. Policymakers now expect inflation to top out at 6.8% in January 2027, down from the 7.2% peak the bank projected for February 2027 in its June outlook. The revised path shows inflation easing further to 4.8% by August 2027. CBK projects the entire forecast trajectory will stay within its 2.5% to 7.5% target band, giving the Monetary Policy Committee confidence to hold its benchmark rate at 8.75% at its August 11 meeting, the…

Kenya’s electoral commission has done something political parties spent thirteen years avoiding. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission gazetted the Election Campaign Financing Regulations, 2026 on August 7, along with contribution and spending limits that will apply to candidates and parties contesting the August 10, 2027 General Election. What the gazette notice actually sets The notice, published as Gazette Notice No. 12251 in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette, caps presidential campaign spending at just over KSh6.1 billion. Political parties face a combined ceiling of KSh24.45 billion. The commission calculated these figures using a formula that weighs population at…

Kenya will import 25 million 90kg bags of maize to bridge a widening national deficit and shield the country from a shortage brought on by drought and climate related disruptions in major growing regions. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced the figure on August 19 at the Fifth Joint Consultative Meeting of County Executive Committee Members, saying the government has already arranged the imports. “We will import maize. We have already made arrangements for that. We will manage the country. The country is not going to go hungry,” Kagwe said. The announcement marks a sharp escalation from August 11, when…