The Unstoppable Debt Tide

Hi 👋🏽 It's Brayo from The Kenyan Wall Street.

Wednesday morning began in a gloomy hush across Kenya as Raila Odinga, the indomitable opposition leader who shaped and defined decades of Kenya’s political life, was pronounced dead at 80. He collapsed during a morning walk in an Indian Hospital, doctors citing cardiac arrest.

President William Ruto has announced seven days of national mourning for Raila Odinga, calling him “a giant of democracy”. Ruto also said he would suspend all public engagements as a mark of respect, promising a state funeral for the man who had spent a lifetime challenging and shaping the country’s democracy.

For decades, Odinga’s career was punctuated by both triumph and torment. His death is not merely the passing of a statesman; it is the dimming of a enigmatic fire.

From all of us at The Kenyan Wall Street, we extend our deepest condolences on the passing of Raila Amolo Odinga.

The Unstoppable Debt Tide

Kenya’s debt clock has inched perilously close to KSh 12 trillion, a figure that once seemed unthinkable.

Harry Njuguna analyzes…

In August alone, the Treasury added nearly KSh 200 billion to the tab, much of it from domestic borrowing as foreign inflows slowed. Multilateral lenders like the World Bank and IMF remain the country’s financial lifeline, while China’s exposure quietly ticked upward again.

The shilling held steady, but stability now feels less like progress and more like a pause before another wave. For the first time in months, commercial debt dipped, a small mercy in an otherwise relentless rise.

Yet the appetite for government paper remains insatiable, with investors pouring KSh 614 billion into August’s bond auctions. Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio now sits above 67%, a number that sounds clinical until you imagine what it means for every taxpayer.

Read the full analysis here >>>>>

NCBA Stocks : Anticipating for a Merger

By Harry Njuguna

Rumors of a banking shake-up sent NCBA’s shares soaring to record heights, valuing the lender at KSh 124 billion.

Stanbic Holdings acknowledged media reports on a potential deal with NCBA but said it doesn’t comment on speculation, adding any developments will be announced through official channels.

This has not stopped investors from pouncing on NCBA stocks, outpacing its rivals with enviable consistency. Beneath the market noise, the bank’s fundamentals tell their own story: rising profits, cleaner loans, and quiet confidence from management. Whether this rally marks the start of a new banking giant or just another fevered rumor, the market is already betting big.

Read more here >>>>>

More Stories

Interview

Richard Okello : The The Art of Seeing What Others Miss

By Andrew Barden

Richard Okello speaks like a man who has seen Africa’s promise misunderstood too many times. From his perch at Sango Capital, he insists the continent’s mid-sized firms (not the flashy unicorns or state behemoths) hold the real keys to transformation. The firm’s creed is patient capital and trusted local intelligence, an antidote to both foreign cynicism and domestic haste. In his telling, Africa’s overlooked companies aren’t risky; they’re merely waiting for investors with the nerve, and the time, to understand them.

Read the interview here »»»»»

What you missed

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

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✅ 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 »»»»»

On Your Watchlist

Yesterday’s Poll Results 

Do you think a merger between Stanbic Bank and NCBA will be good for the banking sector?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (75%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No (25%)

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