Reprive for Motorists as Court Halts NTSA's Instant Traffic Fines System
The High Court has put the brakes on Kenya’s newly launched automated traffic fines system, issuing conservatory orders that suspend its enforcement while a legal petition challenging its legality is heard and determined.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye of the High Court granted the orders on Thursday, following a petition by lawyer Shadrack Wambui who challenged the directive introducing the system. The orders bar the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and all related parties — including those operating within a multi-agency enforcement framework — from issuing, generating, demanding, or enforcing instant or automated traffic penalties until the case is fully resolved.
Specifically, the court restrained authorities from deploying algorithm-based or other automated systems to issue traffic fines under the contested Instant Fines Traffic Management System.
A Strict Legal Timeline
The court has set clear deadlines for the legal battle ahead:
March 13, 2026 — Petitioners must serve the court order to all respondents.
March 20, 2026 — NTSA and the State Law Office must file their responses.
April 9, 2026 — The matter will be mentioned to confirm compliance and schedule an expedited hearing.
Justice Mwamuye indicated the court is targeting a final determination within 90 days of the mention date.
What the System Does
NTSA announced the fully automated system earlier this week, describing it as a tool to enhance transparency, efficiency, and accountability in traffic enforcement — operating entirely without human intervention.
Under the system, smart cameras installed along major roads — including the Thika Superhighway, Mombasa Road, and the Southern Bypass — capture traffic violations in real time using both fixed and mobile units. Detectable offences include speeding, lane indiscipline, driving on pavements, illegal PSV boarding, mobile phone use while driving, and failure to wear seatbelts.
The system then uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to cross-check vehicle plates against NTSA’s database and the owner’s e-driving licence, before sending an instant SMS notification to the vehicle owner with full details of the violation and the fine amount.
Fines range from Ksh 500 to Ksh 10,000 depending on the offence, and must be settled within seven days through KCB branches, M-Pesa, or USSD codes. Unpaid fines accrue interest after the seven-day window, and defaulters are blocked from accessing NTSA’s digital services — including vehicle inspections, logbook applications, and ownership transfers.
The system is also linked to the Smart Driving Licence framework, where repeat offenders may face demerit point deductions, licence suspension, or mandatory retraining.
Controversy and Pushback
The launch of the system triggered immediate debate among motorists and transport stakeholders, raising concerns about due process, the legality of automated enforcement, and the fairness of a system that issues fines without human oversight.
The petition by Wambui appears to crystallise those concerns into a formal legal challenge, questioning whether NTSA has the legal authority to implement such a system without proper legislative backing or public participation.
The case forms part of NTSA’s broader Usalama Barabarani road safety initiative, which aims to modernise traffic enforcement and reduce reliance on manual processes.
The outcome of the petition is expected to have significant implications for the future of automated law enforcement in Kenya. For now, motorists can breathe easy — the cameras may be watching, but the fines are on hold.
A Nairobi pastor has written to Chief Justice Martha Koome demanding that a magistrate handling his dispute with multinational beverages giant Diageo PLC be removed after declining to certify as urgent an application seeking permission to privately prosecute executives of East African Breweries Limited (EABL).
JILK Construction Company Limited, which is owned by Pastor Sammy Maina Kamau of Ridgeways Pentecostal Church, accuses the magistrate of bias after the court ruled last week that its application seeking leave to institute private criminal proceedings against Diageo officials was not urgent.
In a letter signed by lawyer Kibe Mungai on behalf of JILK, the company now wants the magistrate barred from hearing the matter and replaced with another judicial officer.
The dispute between JILK and the brewer stretches back nearly a decade. In 2016, the construction firm was contracted to undertake civil works related to the expansion of a brewing facility in Kisumu under Kenya Breweries Ltd, a subsidiary of East African Breweries Limited (EABL), which is majority owned by Diageo PLC.
The relationship later deteriorated after disagreements over the execution of the project, and JILK eventually abandoned the construction site. The contractual dispute subsequently moved to arbitration.
Separately, a female employee of JILK has told the court that she reported a sexual harassment complaint to Muthaiga Police Station in 2020. By that time, the alleged perpetrator had already left the country.
Those allegations now form the basis of the private criminal prosecution application filed by the company. JILK is seeking permission to prosecute EABL executives, arguing that the company’s officials failed to assist in bringing the alleged perpetrator to justice.
On Friday, March 6, the magistrate directed that the application be served on the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before the matter can proceed.
Court filings also reveal that the issue had been raised years earlier, but was postponed on Pastor Sammy Kamau’s direction.
In an affidavit filed in support of the JILK’s case,the alleged victim states that she had wanted to pursue the matter in 2019 but was advised by Pastor Sammy Kamau, the CEO and owner of JILK, to delay pursuing the complaint while his commercial dispute with the brewer was ongoing.
The dispute has now resurfaced at a time when Diageo PLC is in the process of selling its controlling stake in EABL to Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings, a transaction valued in the billions.
JILK is seeking to halt the proposed sale, arguing that the ongoing dispute and its allegations against EABL officials should first be resolved before the ownership of the brewer changes hands.
Before the Nobel Prize, before the Green Belt Movement, Kenya’s courts, press, and patriarchy conspired to destroy her. They failed.
She is remembered as the Nobel Laureate who planted trees and toppled tyrants — the indomitable Wangari Maathai, whose courage reshaped Kenya’s landscape, literally and politically.
But before the prizes and the praise, before the world knew her name, Wangari endured a different kind of battle: a very public, very deliberate campaign by a former husband, a compliant press, and a patriarchal judicial system to strip her of her name, her career, her children, and her dignity. They nearly succeeded.
A Meeting at the Mission Station
When Wangari returned from the United States in 1966, having completed her Master’s degree, she arrived into a newly independent Kenya hungry for educated professionals. Discrimination on grounds of gender and ethnicity had cost her one opportunity already, but she found her footing as a research assistant at Nairobi University’s Department of Veterinary Anatomy.
Around the same time, a young man named Mwangi Mathai was courting her. He too had studied in America and had a businessman’s eye — he had helped Wangari’s sisters establish a shop in Eastleigh. They got engaged. Then, in 1967, a German professor offered her a chance to continue her doctoral research abroad. She took it, spending a period she would later describe with great fondness — her last stretch of life as a free, unencumbered woman. Mwangi wrote anxious letters urging her to come home and start a family.
She returned in 1969. In two ceremonies that reflected the beautiful duality of their lives — a traditional ceremony at her father’s farm in Nakuru, and an elegant English-style wedding — she married Mwangi Mathai. She was reluctant to take his surname, knowing it was a European convention grafted onto African elite life, but she relented. She even registered all but one of her properties in his name. That single retained property would, years later, save her from homelessness.
Wangari Maathai’s children in the 70s. Muta, Wanjira, and Waweru (left to right)
Mwangi soon set his sights on the Parliamentary seat for Langata. In those years, a politician’s home was also his campaign headquarters — a revolving door of supporters, strategists, and well-placed gossips, all of whom expected to find a properly “African” wife presiding over the household.
Wangari saw the paradox with crystalline clarity. These men had adopted European dress, European religion, European surnames — and then depended entirely on their wives to perform an Africanness they had otherwise discarded. She wrote of it candidly in her autobiography, Unbowed:
“I was very conscious of the fact that a highly educated woman like me ran the risk of making her husband lose votes if I was accused of not being enough of an African woman… They were often surprised that I spoke Kikuyu, as well as Kiswahili and English, and that they were received warmly by a woman they knew was a lecturer at the University.” — Wangari Maathai, Unbowed
She played the role with remarkable grace — adjusting her wardrobe, welcoming visitors personally, making every caller feel honoured. Many came expecting a remote, Westernised academic and left charmed. Despite her efforts, Mwangi narrowly lost the 1969 election, 3,030 votes to his opponent’s 3,591. That same period brought better news: she delivered safely at Nairobi Hospital, and soon after became the first woman in East and Central Africa to receive a Doctorate degree.
Envirocare – The First Green Dream
When Mwangi ran again and won the Langata seat, Wangari had campaigned alongside him with three children in tow, including a newborn. Victory, however, revealed a troubling side of her husband. He had promised jobs to thousands of unemployed constituents. When she asked what he intended to do about those promises, his reply was dismissive: “That was the campaign. Now we are in Parliament.” And when she pressed further, he said simply: “Don’t worry. They won’t remember.”
Wangari could not let it rest. She designed a project she called Envirocare — unemployed residents of Langata would tend the gardens and lawns of wealthier households for a fair wage. It was an early, instinctive blueprint for the community-based environmental work she would later develop into the globally celebrated Green Belt Movement.
The Seeds of the Green Belt Movement
Envirocare failed — the wealthy clients didn’t pay upfront, Wangari covered costs from her own pocket, and a drought killed the seedlings she’d sourced from Karura Forest. But the essential idea — that environmental restoration could also be a tool for community employment and dignity — would survive and flourish. The Green Belt Movement, born from this same instinct, eventually planted over 51 million trees across Africa.
Mwangi contributed nothing to Envirocare and did not believe in it. Its collapse became a silent “I told you so” in a marriage already cracking at its foundations.
The Divorce – Stripped Naked in Public
The marriage had been eroding for years, corroded by political differences — Wangari supported the parliamentary probe into the assassination of activist J.M. Kariuki, while Mwangi, as a government MP, sat on the opposing side. Then in 1977, she came home from the University one ordinary afternoon to find the house empty. He had packed up and gone.
In 1979, Mwangi filed for divorce. Rather than handle proceedings privately, he made them public — ensuring that everything would be dissected by the Kenyan press. Under the colonial-era divorce law still in force, grounds required cruelty, insanity, or adultery. Mwangi accused Wangari of adultery, and attributed his high blood pressure to her cruelty. The three-week case felt, she later wrote, like years.
Wangari Maathai’s Divorce, The Story They Tried to Bury
Day after day, newspapers recounted the court details. The press reported that Mwangi sought divorce on grounds that she was “too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn, and too hard to control.”
Wangari later said she never heard those exact words from Mwangi directly and suspected the press had embellished freely — but the damage was done. She was being made a public example: a woman who had put her career above her husband’s comfort, and was now being punished for it.
She lost the case. Then came a further twist: a letter from Mwangi’s lawyer informing her she was no longer permitted to use his surname. The same man who had insisted she take his name now ordered her to relinquish it. In a small act of defiant creativity, she added a second ‘a’ to “Mathai.” She became Maathai. A name no one could take from her.
Contempt of Court – The Woman Who Refused to Apologise
A week after the ruling, she gave an interview to Salim Lone, editor of Viva magazine. She said what most people only whispered: that the evidence used against her was hearsay, and that the only way a judge could have upheld it was if he were incompetent and corrupt.
The judge was furious. Attorney General Charles Njonjo ordered her to retract and apologise immediately. Her response was characteristically unrepentant:
“It has been suggested that I should apologise even if I think I am right. In my school days they taught me that honesty is the best policy. I would be dishonest if I were to say that my divorce case was handled competently and honestly.”
— Wangari Maathai, 1979
She was charged with contempt of court alongside Salim Lone. Lone was given a choice: six months in prison or a 40,000-shilling fine. Wangari was given no such option. She was arrested on the spot and taken to Lang’ata Women’s Prison, where her braids were cut off and she was put into uniform.
Three days in those conditions — her mind consumed with worry for her young children — before lawyers and friends applied enough pressure to secure her release. She walked out, famously, with a smile on her face.
Wangari Maathai’s Divorce, The Story They Tried to Bury
Key Dates in Wangari Maathai’s Early Life
1966 – Returns from US with a Master’s degree; takes up research post at Nairobi University
1969 – Marries Mwangi Mathai in dual ceremonies. First child born. Narrowly loses Langata seat alongside her husband.
1971 – Becomes the first woman in East and Central Africa to receive a Doctorate degree
1974 – Envirocare collapses. Marriage deteriorates further over political differences.
1977 – Mwangi leaves without warning. Wangari founds the Green Belt Movement.
1979 – Divorce is finalised publicly. She is imprisoned for contempt of court — and walks out smiling. Adds an ‘a’ to her name: Maathai.
2004 –Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — the first African woman to receive it.
2011 – Dies of ovarian cancer. Mwangi Mathai escorts her hearse — a final, quiet reconciliation.
The Tree That Would Not Fall
The divorce and its aftermath cost Wangari her job at the University of Nairobi and the home she had shared with her family. Since she had registered nearly all her properties under Mwangi’s name, she was left with almost nothing — almost. One small house in South C, held prudently in her own name, remained. She moved in and, from that modest base, built the Green Belt Movement into one of the most consequential environmental organisations in African history.
The patriarchal machinery that had tried to reduce her — the estranged husband, the compliant press, the biased courtroom, the Attorney General, the prison — had instead forged someone unbreakable. Every humiliation had been a test, and she had passed each one without once surrendering her essential self.
Mwangi Mathai escorting Wangari’s remains after her death in 2011
In 2004, the Nobel Committee awarded Wangari Maathai the Peace Prize — the first African woman to receive it. In 2011, she died of ovarian cancer. At her funeral, Mwangi Mathai, the man who had tried to erase her, escorted her hearse. It was, perhaps, his most honest acknowledgement of who she had always been.
“She added an extra letter to his name and made it her own — because her story would always be larger than the man who tried to end it.”
The Hidden Life of Lena Moi, Kenya's Forgotten First Lady
A Stranger at Her Own Children’s Weddings
For twenty-four years, as Daniel arap Moi ruled Kenya with an iron fist, his ex-wife Helena — known to all as Lena — barely existed in the public eye. She watched her own children’s church weddings not from the front pew, but from a television set in her modest home in Eldama Ravine, as a stranger might. No invitation. No acknowledgement. As if she had never been.
It was a remarkable erasure — all the more so because Lena Moi had once been a woman who loved public life. In the 1960s and 70s, she regularly graced official occasions, sometimes alone, sometimes on the arm of the man who would become one of Africa’s most consequential leaders. She had opinions, presence, and ambition of her own.
Then, around mid-1974, she vanished. The marriage had collapsed. By 1979 — just months after Moi was sworn in as President following the death of Jomo Kenyatta — the divorce was formalised, and Lena retreated into near-total invisibility. Security agents monitored her home. She channelled her days into church work. The woman who had helped shape a future president became, in official Kenya, nobody at all.
Two Young People, One Mission Station
To understand Lena, you have to go back to a red-earthed mission station in Eldama Ravine — and to a lanky, orphaned boy who turned up seeking shelter and an education. Daniel Toroitich arap Moi had grown up 160 kilometres away, in Sacho, Baringo. His father, Kimoi arap Chebii, had died in 1928 when Daniel was just four years old. His elder brother Tuitoek became his guardian, and in 1934 young Moi was among the herdboys recommended to attend the new Africa Inland Mission school at Kabartonjo.
The Mission had been established by Albert Barnett, an Australian who had left his homeland in 1907, convinced God was calling him to Kenya. He settled first among the Tugen near what is today Kabarnet — a town that would eventually bear a version of his name — before moving to Eldama Ravine.
The Barnett family became the lodestar around which Moi’s early life orbited. Students rose at 6am to work in the gardens and haul water. Afternoons were spent with Barnett’s Swedish wife, Elma, learning numbers. The young Moi became the mission’s Sunday school teacher, and by 1942 he was school captain, with Paul and Erik Barnett — the missionary’s sons — as his peers.
Into this world came Helena Bomett — Lena — born in 1926, daughter of Paul Bomett, a pioneering African Inland Church elder. She and her siblings William and Dina were among the earliest AIM converts; together, the group of young believers would tour local churches, singing hymns and preaching the Gospel. It was in this context — amid faith, music, and shared mission — that Moi and Lena fell in love.
The Hidden Life of Lena Moi, Kenya’s Forgotten First Lady
A Marriage of Heifers and Hope
By the time Moi returned from Kagumo Teachers College, he had been recommended for a teaching post at Tambach through the good offices of Moses Mudavadi — father of a man who would later serve as Moi’s own vice president, Musalia Mudavadi. He was known in the community as a teacher and a preacher, dependable, devout, and rising.
In 1950, Moi married Lena in a ceremony conducted by Reverend Erik Barnett at the AIC mission in Eldama Ravine. The bride price was two heifers, one ox, and four sheep, paid to the Bomett family. His long-time friend Francis Cherogony stood as best man. Paul Barnett himself later baptised Lena and helped Moi build his first house.
Those who knew Moi in those years imagined a future for him in the church — perhaps a preacher in the mould of his Barnett mentors. But he was drawn more powerfully to teaching. Lena left her own teaching career to raise their family at Tambach Government School, where their first two children, Jennifer and Jonathan Kipkemboi, were born in 1952 and 1953. Friends who visited described a household that was warm, ordered, and deeply religious — Moi never missed a Sunday service.
“I owe her much of my success in the service of my people and my country. She has always been an encouraging factor in all aspects of my political life.”
— Daniel arap Moi, 1967
Politics Changes Everything
The quiet domestic life changed abruptly in 1955, when colonial authorities appointed Moi to the Legislative Council as representative for the Rift Valley, replacing an inefficient predecessor. He bought a Land Rover, opened a posho mill in south Baringo, and began crisscrossing the vast region. The family traded their school compound in Tambach for Nairobi. Suits and ties replaced shorts and long socks. The children were photographed alongside a remarkably well-groomed, handsome man — already a different figure from the mission schoolteacher.
For Lena, the elevation was not without complications. The Bomett family’s relationship with Moi was not always smooth. In 1961, her brother Eric Bomett stood against Moi as an independent candidate in the general election — a contest Moi’s KADU party won convincingly over KANU. “It was not personal. It was a matter of principle,” Eric would later say. He eventually entered Parliament as a Specially Elected Member on a KANU ticket, but the family fracture had begun.
Yet as late as 1967, a profile of Lena painted a picture of a devoted and contented woman. She told journalist Faraj Dumila that children needed to be raised by their own mothers to grow up healthy in mind and body. Dumila noted that she was equally dedicated to her husband, who ate outside the home only when necessary and valued her cooking.
Disappearance and Silence
What happened between 1967 and 1974 remains largely opaque. Moi moved out to his farm at Kabarak. Lena remained at Eldama Ravine. He raised their children without her — and when those children married, he ensured she was absent from the celebrations. No explanation was ever given publicly. No statement. No acknowledgement of any kind.
The divorce was finalised in 1979. By then, Moi was president of Kenya, one of the most powerful men in East Africa. Lena, who had been there at the very beginning — who had married him when he was a schoolteacher with a Land Rover and a posho mill — was an official non-person.
The silence endured until her death. Even then, there was a final indignity: plans had been made to bury Lena at her Eldama Ravine home. At the last minute, Moi intervened and had her interred at Kabarak — the farm she had never slept at. Even in death, she was moved without her consent to a place that was his, not hers.
A Legacy Quietly Reclaimed
History remembers Moi — for his longevity in power, his authoritarian grip, his complex legacy. It has been slower to remember Lena. Yet she was there for the formative years: the mission station education, the early faith, the humble marriage ceremony, the first children, the first political campaigns. She was the steady domestic centre around which Moi’s public ambition expanded.
That Moi himself credited her publicly — “I owe her much of my success” — makes the subsequent erasure all the more striking. The reasons remain unknown. No official account exists. What we are left with is the outline of a woman who was essential to one chapter of Kenyan history and then, as that history grew larger, was quietly written out of it.
At the African Inland Church in Eldama Ravine — where a young Helena Bomett once sang hymns and caught the eye of an orphan boy from Sacho — people still remember her. That may be the truest memorial she has.
Based on historical research into the life of Daniel arap Moi and the Bomett family of Eldama Ravine.
President William Ruto Condemns Iran Over Middle East Strikes, Calls for Urgent De-escalation
President William Samoei Ruto has strongly condemned Iran following reported strikes targeting several countries in the Middle East, warning that the escalating conflict poses a serious threat to global peace and security.
In a firm statement, Ruto said Kenya “strongly condemns the strikes on the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain in the evolving conflict in the Middle East.”
The President expressed concern that the widening scope of the confrontation risks destabilising the broader region, noting that the regionalisation of the conflict carries grave implications for international stability.
“It is evident that the regionalisation of this conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security,” he said, describing the current situation as a defining and perilous moment in global history.
Ruto underscored the importance of multilateral diplomacy, emphasising that established international institutions remain critical in resolving complex geopolitical crises. He said longstanding multilateral frameworks must play a central role in managing tensions and preventing further escalation.
“At this defining and perilous moment in global history, longstanding multilateral institutions remain indispensable frameworks for the resolution of the current crisis in the Middle East,” the President stated.
Kenya has now called for urgent, inclusive dialogue involving multiple stakeholders to halt the rising tensions. According to Ruto, coordinated diplomatic engagement is essential to de-escalate the conflict and safeguard international peace.
“Kenya calls for urgent multi-stakeholder engagement towards de-escalation,” he added.
Kenya has consistently advocated for peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, aligning its foreign policy with principles of international law and collective security.
Top international entrepreneur Vasundhara Oswal sues police officials over alleged arbitrary detention
The High Court of Uganda has been petitioned in a landmark human rights case filed by 27-year-old global industrialist Vasundhara Oswal, who accuses senior security officials of arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and inhumane treatment stemming from her October 2024 incarceration.
In court documents submitted in Kampala, Oswal — executive director of PRO Industries and Oswal Group Global — alleges she was held for 21 days without evidence, despite a court release order, in violation of constitutional guarantees and international human rights law.
The petition names several high-ranking officers within the Uganda Police Force, including Assistant Inspector General of Police and Interpol Director Joseph Obwona and former Commissioner of Police for Interpol Allison Agaba. Also cited are Joseph Kyomuhendo, head of the Human Trafficking Division in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), police detective Thomas Bbale, CID officer Annette Karungi, and a former employee, Santosh Dwibhashi.
According to the filing, Oswal was detained for three weeks without formal evidence being presented and was allegedly denied access to legal counsel and medication. The petition further claims she was subjected to degrading treatment, including being forced to kneel and strip in front of officers, and was deprived of basic necessities such as food, water and hygiene facilities.
Her legal team, the international firm Volterra Fietta, described the case as “an egregious breach of both Ugandan legislation and international human rights law,” stating that the petition seeks accountability and systemic reform rather than confrontation.
Constitutional and international law claims
The petition argues that her detention violated Article 23 of Uganda’s Constitution, which safeguards personal liberty, and Article 24, which prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It also cites Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on protection against arbitrary detention.
In addition, Oswal alleges that judicial orders authorising her release were disregarded, raising concerns about the enforcement of court decisions and the integrity of due process. The petition also seeks the return of personal property, including jewellery and bond money amounting to $200,000, which it says has not been returned despite repeated requests to the ODPP.
The family had separately petitioned the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to review Uganda’s handling of the matter.
Investment climate implications and ongoing commitment
Oswal, described in the release as one of the youngest female industrial leaders operating in Africa’s bioethanol sector, said she was confident that the judiciary would uphold the rule of law and hold those responsible accountable.
“Our investment in PRO Industries reflects our long-term confidence in Uganda,” she said in the statement, adding that she retains faith in the judiciary to uphold investor rights.
However, the petition underscores potential reputational risks for the country. Oswal warned that the case could be interpreted negatively by foreign investors, particularly from India, who have historically approached Uganda’s market with caution.
She also emphasised, “It’s important that the court addresses the conduct of the individuals involved and reaffirms that this matter does not reflect a failure of the system itself, but rather the actions of a limited number of individuals. We have full faith in Uganda’s judiciary to safeguard international investors and to reinforce our commitment to continued investment in the country’s development.”
The statement also expressed gratitude to President Yoweri Museveni, who visited the PRO Industries plant in late 2025, signalling, as the family described it, ongoing presidential support for the company’s industrialisation efforts.
Relief sought
The petition calls for the prosecution of officials involved in what it terms an unlawful arrest and detention; a formal declaration that her constitutional rights were violated; compensation for psychological and reputational harm; and restitution of confiscated assets.
The case now places Uganda’s judiciary under scrutiny as it weighs serious allegations against senior security officials.
Neither the Uganda Police Force nor the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of filing.
As proceedings commence at the High Court, the outcome is likely to resonate beyond the personal grievance of a single investor, testing Kampala’s assurances on judicial independence, investor protection and the rule of law at a time when the country is actively courting foreign capital into its energy and manufacturing sectors.
Duchess of Edinburgh, Her Royal Highness Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones after a meeting with President William Ruto at State House on February 25, 2026/PCS
President William Ruto on Tuesday held talks with Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at State House Nairobi, reaffirming the strong diplomatic and economic ties between Kenya and the United Kingdom.
The meeting underscored the longstanding relations between the two nations, with both leaders committing to deepen cooperation under the renewed 2025–2030 Kenya–UK Strategic Partnership framework.
Expanding Trade and Investment
President Ruto said the refreshed partnership will prioritize expanding trade, attracting new investments and strengthening collaboration in key sectors that drive economic growth and job creation.
He noted that Kenya and the UK will work to unlock fresh investment opportunities, particularly in flagship infrastructure projects such as the Nairobi Railway City. The transformative development is expected to modernize urban mobility in the capital while stimulating commercial activity and investment.
Ruto emphasized that the government remains committed to creating a conducive environment for business and investment, positioning Kenya as a competitive destination for international capital.
Kenya, UK Reaffirm Strong Ties as Ruto Hosts Duchess of Edinburgh
Strengthening Green Growth and Security Cooperation
Beyond trade and infrastructure, the two countries agreed to enhance collaboration in green growth initiatives. These include climate action, clean energy development and broader sustainable development goals.
The leaders also pledged to reinforce security cooperation to promote regional stability and safeguard shared strategic interests.
Growing Trade Volumes
Trade between Kenya and the UK continues to show steady growth, delivering mutual economic benefits. In 2025, Kenya exported goods worth Sh243 billion to the UK, compared to imports valued at Sh133 billion — resulting in a favourable trade balance for Kenya.
President Ruto described the strong performance as a clear indication of the UK’s importance as one of Kenya’s key economic partners.
Deepening Bilateral Engagement
The visit by the Duchess of Edinburgh reflects deepening bilateral engagement between the two countries as they seek to broaden cooperation across trade, investment, climate action and development.
With the renewed strategic partnership now in place, both Kenya and the UK signaled their intention to translate diplomatic goodwill into tangible economic opportunities that benefit their citizens.
Chief executive officers across Kenya are projecting improved business performance in 2026, citing a more stable economic climate marked by easing inflation and a relatively steady shilling.
Findings from the latest survey by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) show that corporate leaders are encouraged by falling lending rates, expectations of favourable weather, and sustained public investment in infrastructure.
Earlier this month, the CBK reduced its benchmark lending rate to 8.75 per cent, down from 9 per cent, as part of efforts to stimulate private sector borrowing amid improving macroeconomic fundamentals and exchange rate stability.
The rate adjustment followed a slight decline in inflation, which edged down to 4.4 per cent last month from 4.5 per cent in December 2025, reinforcing confidence that price pressures remain under control.
According to the survey, business optimism is largely anchored on growing demand within key service industries such as professional services, financial services, hospitality and ICT. Expansion into new customer segments—particularly through digital marketing strategies—has also contributed to the upbeat sentiment.
The poll, conducted between January 12 and 23, 2026, gathered views from CEOs of private sector firms, including members of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).
Despite the generally positive outlook, executives highlighted persistent hurdles, notably high operating expenses and intense market competition.
The report further indicated that wholesale and retail trade remains subdued due to weak consumer spending. Meanwhile, growth in the health sector continues to face headwinds stemming from mounting pending bills and transitional challenges associated with the rollout of the new health insurance scheme, which has slowed activity across the industry.
Gospel Star Jimmy Gait Hospitalised After Being Attacked By Robbers in Runda
Renowned gospel artist James Ngaita, widely known as Jimmy Gait, is recovering in hospital after surviving a violent robbery incident on Sunday morning.
The attack occurred at around 10 a.m. on February 22 in Runda. News of the incident was shared by fellow gospel entertainer DJ Mo, who confirmed that Gait had been assaulted by armed thugs and robbed of his phone.
In a social media post, DJ Mo called on fans to pray for the singer and cautioned the public against any potential misuse of his stolen device.
“Very sad manze. Guys, let’s pray for @jimmygaitofficial. He was brutally attacked by thugs this morning at around 10 a.m. around Runda. His phone was taken. Be aware of any exploitation because they took his phone. Now receiving treatment at St. Teresa Thindigua,” he wrote, sharing a video of the injured musician.
The video showed a shaken and bloodied Jimmy Gait recounting the terrifying ordeal. He revealed that the attackers severely injured his hands during the assault.
“They have hurt me so badly. They’ve cut my fingers and my hand is cut,” Gait said. “It is only by God’s grace that I have survived. I saw death with my own eyes.”
The incident has sparked widespread concern online, with fans and fellow celebrities expressing sympathy and alarm over rising insecurity.
Media personality Willy Tuva wrote, “Pole sana Jimmy. Insecurity is now getting out of hand,” while entertainer Silva Mistarish added, “Prayers up @jimmygaitofficial pole sana.”
Jimmy Gait, born James Ngaita, rose to national fame with his breakout hit “Muhadhara.” Over the years, he has cemented his place as one of Kenya’s most influential gospel musicians with popular songs such as “Hurai,” “Appointment,” and “Kuna Day.”
Celebrated for blending contemporary urban sounds with uplifting spiritual messages, he has remained a household name in Kenya’s gospel scene for more than a decade.
Tourism Fund Launches Upskilling Program to Boost Hotel Management in Kenya
The Tourism Fund has launched an upskilling program aimed at enhancing professional capacity in Kenya’s tourism sector, equipping hotel managers and staff with practical knowledge in staff management, financial planning, and operational efficiency.
Industry players have welcomed the initiative, highlighting tangible benefits for business operations.
“The upskilling programme by the Tourism Fund has been very impactful for us as hotel managers here in Kiambu County. It has equipped us with practical knowledge on staff management and financial planning, helping us run our hotels more professionally and efficiently,” said Geofrey Njuguna, Manager at Hotel Saape.
The Tourism Fund emphasized its commitment to expanding access to quality training and capacity-building programs, aiming to strengthen Kenya’s tourism sector and promote inclusive economic growth.
Program highlights include practical training in hotel and staff management, financial planning for improved operational efficiency and inclusive capacity-building opportunities for tourism professionals across Kenya.
The initiative reflects ongoing efforts by the Tourism Fund to foster professional development, service quality, and competitiveness within Kenya’s hospitality industry.
