Insights

Legal Update: Kenya’s New Rules on Income Tax Exemption for Charitable Organizations

Kenya recently gazetted the Income Tax Act (Charitable Organizations and Donations Exemption) Rules of 2024 (the Regulations), which repeals the Income Tax (Charitable Donations) Regulations 2007. These Regulations come into effect shortly after the gazettement of the Public Benefit Organizations Act, 2013 (which repealed the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act, 1990) illuminating an evolving legal and […]

G&A Speak 2nd Edition September 2024

On behalf of the Editorial Board, we are pleased to present the 2nd Edition of G&A Speak “Kenya’s Vision 2030: The 4th Medium Term Plan”. This Edition’s theme is aligned to Kenya’s Vision 2030 – the long-term development blueprint for the country and is motivated by a collective aspiration for a better society by the […]

LEGAL UPDATE: COURT DISMISSES THE ENVIRONMENTAL PETITION CHALLENGING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVE LIFTING THE 10-YEAR BAN ON OPEN CULTIVATION AND IMPORTATION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GMO) MAIZE.

We successfully led the Honourable Attorney General in Environment & Land Petition No. 2 Law Society of Kenya versus the Hon. Attorney General & 3 others wherein we demonstrated and the Court agreed, that there is a robust institutional and legal framework regulating importation and cultivation of GM crops in Kenya, to ensure that they […]

Advanced Electronic Signatures: Applicability and Prospects in the Kenyan Financial Market

The digital age is here with us and the Kenyan financial market is not left behind. The technological revolution has altered the traditional mode of doing things from communication to the exchange of documents between transacting parties.   In that response, the President assented to the Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 (the “Act”). The Act […]

The rights of minority shareholders in Kenya

  A minority shareholder is a shareholder who holds less than 50% of the shares in a corporation. A minority shareholder can also be defined as a shareholder who does not hold majority control over a company (less than 50%).   Minority shareholders in Kenya find it difficult to protect themselves from the excesses of majority […]

Closure Of Old Registers and Migration to New Registers

On 31st December 2020, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning published a special issue of the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 11348 of 2020 (the Notice) notifying the general public of the conversion of specific old land registration numbers for certain properties in Nairobi, to new parcel numbers. A further series of Gazette Notices […]

Case commentary on Maritime delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia vs. Kenya)

Somalia and Kenya share a land boundary in East Africa which meets the Indian Ocean to the south-east. This maritime area supposedly holds large reserves of hydrocarbons which both States have been eager to exploit.  On 28th August 2014, Somalia filed an Application instituting proceedings against Kenya with regard to the dispute concerning the delimitation […]

Direct Marketing vis-à-vis the Right to Privacy

The increased usage of digital media by consumers and the ever-continuous growth of users joining the digital age have necessitated businesses to use digital direct marketing to reach their target markets more effectively. However, for direct marketing to be successful, marketers need to address a target audience and, in order to accomplish that, they need […]

Intellectual Property and the Digital Era – Intellectual Property in Software in Kenya

New technologies are created daily in Kenya, Africa and, indeed, the world. One may even be right to claim that our lives are run by technology, from the humble mobile phone to sophisticated solutions such as biotech, blockchain, IoT, autonomous driving, and advanced robotics. Developers of these technologies often intend to eventually commercialize them. To […]

Image rights as Intellectual Property. A case for Influencer marketing in Kenya

Images are a key component in most social media networks and, with the rise of the use of social media, the issue of image rights and how they can be protected as intellectual property is a conversation that cannot be avoided. Specifically, images have been used by commercial enterprises as a marketing tool, predominantly images […]

Regulation of Digital lending in Kenya. Proposals for reform

Microfinance is endorsed by many governments across the world as a strategy for alleviating poverty. It is the money loaned to low-income persons and small-scale enterprises that lack access to funds through the formal lenders. The Central Bank of Kenya (hereinafter ‘CBK’), through the Microfinance Act, defines a microfinance institution (MFI) as one that offers […]

Syndicated loans in International Trade

With the globalization of the economy, a new divide has been set into motion where trade has moved away from the more common localized trade and into the sphere of the international market. This birthed what has evolved into the phenomenon that is international trade which simply put is an exchange of goods and/or services […]

Contracts of Affreightment

The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (the Act) defines the contract of carriage as a contract covered by a Bill of Lading or any similar document of title, in so far as such document relates to the carriage of goods by sea, that regulates the relations between a carrier and a holder of the […]

Towards Reforms in Marine Insurance in Kenya.

Despite the fact that modern insurance has been practiced in developed economies since the early 20th Century, it is a fact that insurance uptake is still very low in third-world countries compared to developed economies. Specifically, the lack of development of the marine insurance sector is a matter of concern as this sector can contribute […]

Tax Planning and Ship Registration in Kenya. What it Means to a Prospective Maritime Investor

This article examines two key thematic issues. First is the concept of Tax Planning in light of the rapidly developing maritime industry not just in Kenya but globally. It highlights salient tax and economic considerations that any maritime investor and business owner ought to tick. Secondly, it examines the procedure, process and requirements for registering […]

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination: to adopt or not as a policy in the workplace?

In March 2020 the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak a pandemic. As a mitigating factor, there was a rallying call to all governments and societies to take action by way of detecting, testing and isolating to reduce the rate of infection. In the last two (2) years, new variants of the coronavirus have […]

The procedure of maritime dispute resolution in Kenya

In the realm of globalization in which we exist today, a large number of transactions are facilitated by players that trek the 7 seas of the globe. Given the complexity of issues that arise in the sea such as jurisdiction, border disputes and piracy, it is thus no wonder that disputes arise given the inability […]

Advanced Electronic Signatures: Applicability and Prospects in the Kenyan Financial Market

The digital age is here with us and the Kenyan financial market is not left behind. The technological revolution has altered the traditional mode of doing things from communication to the exchange of documents between transacting parties. In that response, the President assented to the Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 (the Act). The Act has, […]

Legal Alert On The Employment (Amendment) Act 2020

President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law two important pieces of legislation; the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill of 2021 and the Employment (Amendment) Bill of 2019. The former Bill, now Act, amends several statutes in an effort to facilitate the ease of doing business in Kenya while the latter amends the Employment Act 2007 to accord […]

Memorandum to National Assembly – Business Laws Amendment Act (No.2)

On Friday, February 12th, 2021 the Clerk to the National Assembly published in the local dailies an invitation for public participation and submission of memoranda on the Business Laws (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2020 (National Assembly Bill No. 50 of 2020)(hereinafter referred to as “the Bill”) in line with Article 118 (1) (b) of the […]

Legal Alert – Conversion Of Titles And Closure Of Registers

The promulgation of the Land Registration Act (LRA) in 2012 heralded the commencement of efficiency in land registration systems that had hitherto been segmented in varying legal regimes. The Land Registration Act was the legislative framework that was expected to collate the land registration process in one law. However, the process of conversion has been […]

The Business Laws Amendment Act, No.1 Of 2020: The Flaw In The Law

The Business Laws Amendment Act, Number 1 of 2020 (BLA) was enacted to bring the cost of doing business down and enhance efficiency in business transactions. The World Bank in its Ease of Doing Business Report, 2020 noted that Kenya ranked 134th with regard to the registration of properties. In response, the Government, through the […]

Registration And Use Of Domain Names

A recent decision by an arbitral panel appointed invoking Kenic’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy (ADRP) has affirmed the rights of exclusive use of trademarks when registering domain names. The decision is based on a dispute by a Claimant seeking a transfer of a domain name registered by the Respondent on the grounds that:- The Respondent […]

Summary Guidance For Conducting Virtual And Hybrid Meetings

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected different Kenyan businesses and sectors in diverse ways. Faced with various unprecedented challenges and the absence of a clear legal framework, many of the businesses so affected have resorted to novel and innovative methods of progressing their key operations. The restrictions on movement and public gatherings as part of the […]

Legal Opinion on the Doctrine of Force Majeure

Force-majeure is a term that has its origin in French language with its literal meaning being superior force. In the context of contract law, Force-majeure is defined as an event or effect that can neither be anticipated nor controlled; especially, an unprecedented event that prevents someone from doing or completing something that they had agreed […]

Legal Alert – Reforms In The Registration Process In Lands Registries

Coming hot on the heels of the recent closure of the Central and Nairobi Registry in Ardhi House, Nairobi, the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning has announced improvements in the registration process aimed at facilitating expeditious and efficient registration of Transfers of property. Registration of land-related transactions has usually been marred by delays, loss […]