The Debt Treadmill that Won't Stop

Howdy!

It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street…

As we usher in the weekend, here are some top stories we lined up for you today. From the current state of Kenya's debt, to a plea deal that involves asset forfeiture…

The Debt Treadmill that Won't Stop 

By Harry Njuguna

Kenya has entered a new phase in its debt story. For the first time, the cost of servicing domestic obligations has crossed the trillion-shilling mark, an alarming figure. What it represents is not merely fiscal strain, but a deepening entanglement with lenders at home, where the state now spends more to satisfy past borrowing than to fund present ambition.

The shape of this burden matters. A growing share of the debt is short-term, leaving the government exposed to the volatility of markets and the shifting appetites of its own banks and pension funds. What was once a tool to bridge budget gaps has become a treadmill: money raised today simply pays for yesterday, while private enterprise is crowded out and fiscal space narrows. In such a climate, the economy risks bending itself around the needs of debt, rather than the other way round.

The more revenue swallowed by debt service, the less room leaders have to set priorities or fund promises.

Read the full article here >>>>>

“We Cannot Deal with it!” - Supreme Court to StanChart 

By Harry Njuguna 

Standard Chartered’s long-running fight with its former employees has ended not with a vindication but with a reckoning. The Supreme Court has shut the door on its final appeal, leaving untouched a tribunal’s finding that billions in pension surpluses were mishandled. What began with a 1997 actuarial review has now swelled into a liability that could reach well beyond the KSh 1.1 billion explicitly ordered refunded. For retirees, it means long-delayed recalculations of benefits, allowances, and arrears dating back more than a decade. For the bank, it is a costly reminder that numbers buried in old valuations can return as binding obligations. Read more here >>>>>

Kenya Re Suspends its Managing Director 

By Brian Nzomo & Harry Njuguna

Kenya Re has abruptly sidelined its Managing Director, Dr. Hillary Wachinga, handing him a three-week suspension while the board cites the need for a “thorough review.” An acting head has been installed, even as the reinsurer enjoys soaring profits and a stock price that has more than doubled this year. Wachinga, a risk-management veteran elevated in 2023, has faced whispers of mismanagement and excess from employees and consumer groups alike. The board’s silence on those allegations leaves the suspension hanging somewhere between routine governance and a deeper reckoning. Read more here »»»»»

Ex-Governor Obado Trades Millions For Freedom

By Brian Nzomo

Former Migori governor Okoth Obado has struck a plea bargain with prosecutors that trades criminal charges for property worth KSh 235 million. The haul includes prime land, Nairobi homes, and rental blocks across Migori. But the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is already bristling, saying it was sidelined in the deal. The court must now decide whether this compromise marks progress in asset recovery or it is simply another loophole in Kenya’s war on graft. Read more here »»»»»

PARTNERSHIP : Capital Club East Africa, The Kenyan Wall Street Sign Deal to Drive Conversations on Economics and Finance

The Capital Club East Africa (CCEA), East Africa’s premier private Member’s club, and The Kenyan Wall Street (TKWS), Kenya’s fastest-growing news media brand for business and finance, have signed a strategic partnership to table the conversations that inform the decisions necessary to enhance Kenya’s economy. The two institutions will leverage their synergies in support of each other’s missions. This will include co-branded events such as closed-door roundtables and themed networking sessions. Read about it here »»»»»

NSE Gainers & Losers 

The NSE Investment Challenge is a fun, interactive, and educational platform designed to teach you how to invest on the Kenyan Stock market using a real-time trading simulation.

✅ Virtual capital to trade

✅ Live market data

✅ Learn real investing skills

✅ Open to students & young professionals

💰 Cash prizes for the top performers 

Click here to join this amazing opportunity 🎉

For up-to-date market insights and data from the NSE, join our Whatsapp channel here »»»»»

Opinion 

How to Navigate Africa’s Energy Transition

By Anibor Kragha

Africa’s energy transition won’t succeed by copying Europe or America: it has to be designed in Africa, for Africa. The real task is not just about cutting emissions, but about widening access, powering industries, and securing energy systems that match the continent’s realities. Projects in solar, hydro, and gas show progress, yet without smarter financing, regional integration, and predictable policies, they risk stalling at the pilot stage. The transition will happen but the pace will depend on whether Africa can align ambition with action and whether the world is ready to back it on African terms. Read more here »»»»»

Also Read 

Stories you missed 

♦️ Economy. The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August 2025 indicates slight easing of the private sector’s contraction.

♦️ Public Finance. The Controller of Budget has advised the National Treasury to fast-track verification and settlement of more than half a trillion shillings in pending bills.

♦️ Investment. IXAfrica Data Centre has secured a multi-tranche funding package from Rand Merchant Bank to expand its Nairobi campus, its CEO Snehar Shah said on Thursday.

♦️Tech. Truecaller has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its service to provide users with ‘deeper contextual insights’ on incoming calls.

On your watchlist

Keep up with what’s happening on our X and LinkedIn pages. Stay updated with the latest financial news on our website The Kenyan Wall Street.