War on Corruption : The Mistakes at the courtroom

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November 12, 2025

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In today's newsletter, we analyze why grand corruption cases against former governors have been flopping in court. Also, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has approved a major shareholding in the East African Portland Cement Company. We look at how this will change the structure of the region's cement market…

War on Corruption : The Mistakes at the courtroom

By Brian Nzomo

The anti-graft campaign is bleeding credibility, one acquittal at a time. The High Court’s decision to overturn former Samburu governor Moses Lenolkulal’s sentence has deepened the sense that Kenya’s crusade against corruption is running on fumes. Each acquittal chips away at the public’s faith in the state’s ability and will to police power.

Behind the rulings lies a familiar dance of weak investigations, withdrawn charges, and institutional finger-pointing between prosecutors and anti-corruption detectives. The courtroom has become a graveyard for grand corruption cases.

As former county governors walk free, the magnanimous misappropriation that they oversaw remains a blot on the devolution experiment.

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Capital Markets

By Harry Njuguna

Greenlight for the Tanzanian Cement Tycoon

Regulators have cleared a Tanzanian tycoon to acquire a controlling stake in one of Kenya’s oldest cement firms, bypassing the usual takeover rules. Minority shareholders are left on the sidelines as the deal proceeds almost silently, shifting influence without fanfare. The move consolidates his power across multiple major cement manufacturers, quietly redrawing the region’s industrial map. For observers of East African markets, the transaction reads like the first act of a longer and consequential story.

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KenGen on Parliament's Spotlight

KenGen executives faced lawmakers this week over questions surrounding hiring practices and delayed asset transfers. Lawmakers wanted answers on how the state power producer hires its engineers and why a billion-shilling substation still sits in bureaucratic limbo. Executives defended the company’s actions, citing project deadlines and procedural compliance. The hearing ended, as such parliamentary hearings often do; with the comforting hum of official self-assurance but will anything be resolved?

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ABSA, I&M Hit Record Highs, CMA Clears Kalahari EAPCC Stake

ABSA, I&M and Car & General hit new highs on Wednesday, with I&M valued first time at KSh 80B. CMA approved Kalahari Cement’s 26.3M-share EAPCC deal.

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CBK Announces 8th Treasury Bond Reopening to Raise KSh 40Bn

Kenya has opened its 8th bond reopening of FY25/26, offering 15 and 25 Year to raise KSh 40B and extend long-term domestic funding in its front-loaded strategy.

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NSE Gainers & Losers

“Wait for the Nuts to Mature!” — Gov't Tells Farmers

By Fred Obura

Kenya’s macadamia season is on pause. The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has ordered a temporary halt, warning that too many of the country’s prized nuts are being plucked before their time. It’s a protective measure, meant to preserve both quality and reputation in an industry that trades as much on flavour as on image. The move underscores a quiet tension in Kenyan agriculture sector, where farmers are torn between short-term gains and long-term value.