"You're the Regulator! Do your homework!"

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It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street…

In today's edition, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has been faulted for carrying out a defective corporate governance report for listed beverages firm, Limuru Tea. Also…

• A Former Safaricom Manager loses compensation claim in court

• Plans to make power providers pay for unexplained outages

• Why the world is scrambling for Africa's rare earth minerals.

“You're the Regulator! Do your homework!” – Tribunal to CMA

By Brian Nzomo

The Capital Markets Tribunal has clipped the CMA’s wings, ruling that the regulator cannot lean on newspaper reports to judge corporate governance.

The case stemmed from CMA’s 2021 report on Limuru Tea, which flagged boardroom gaps but also cited adverse media stories as proof of weakness. While the Tribunal upheld that Limuru’s board lacked enough independent directors at the time, it faulted CMA for overstating other deficiencies, including claims about board skills and conflicts of interest.

It said that regulators have sweeping investigative powers under the law and must build cases on evidence, not speculation. The decision cements that governance assessments are binding determinations subject to appeal, setting a precedent that will shape how the CMA will handle scrutiny going forward.

Read more here >>>>>

A New Compass for Lenders : How it Works… 

By Harry Njuguna

The Central Bank of Kenya has rolled out the KESONIA Compounded Index, a new benchmark designed to track lending costs more closely to market activity.

Starting at 100.0000 on September 1 and inching to 100.2862 by mid-month, the index translates small overnight rate shifts into an annualized picture of borrowing costs, about 9.36% in its first stretch.

KESONIA itself is the overnight rate at which banks lend shillings to one another, and by compounding it daily, CBK hopes to produce a smoother, more transparent guide for pricing loans. From September, new variable-rate facilities must peg interest to this index plus a bank’s premium and charges, with existing loans switching over early next year.

Fixed-rate and foreign currency loans remain exempt, but the change effectively sidelines the Central Bank Rate as the base for shilling loans.

Read more here >>>>> to learn how this new model works…

Reinforcing Accountability: Penalizing Power Blackouts

By Brian Nzomo 

Kenya’s draft energy regulations are set to make blackouts an expensive affair for power providers, linking reliability directly to their bottom line.

Fines and compensation obligations would hit every segment of the electricity supply chain, from distribution to independent power producers, with industrial consumers poised to receive payments reaching hundreds of thousands of shillings per incident.

Utilities will now face tight deadlines to respond to complaints, report outages, and validate claims, while lapses in technical standards carry financial penalties and potential license suspensions. The rules, however, recognize circumstances beyond a company’s control, from vandalism to fallen trees, leaving operators responsible only for disruptions within their sphere of influence.

As outages have surged in recent years, with system losses above regulatory limits, the reforms aim to enforce accountability while adding a new layer of compliance costs for an already strained sector.

Read more here >>>>>

Join us for an exclusive Live conversation on Thursday 18th September 2025 hosted by The Kenyan Wall Street in partnership with Tatu City.

Our panel of experts will unpack why more businesses are choosing Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the opportunities they create, and what this shift means for Kenya’s industrial future.

Click here to register for this insightful conversation

When Self-Belief Flops…

By Fred Obura

A Safaricom strategy manager who once gave himself a glowing self-assessment, scoring above 130 percent, has learned that confidence alone does not outweigh a paper trail.

Francis Mwaura, earning more than KSh 800,000 a month, was fired in 2021 after failing to meet key performance targets despite several rounds of improvement plans. He sued for over KSh 210 million, claiming lost bonuses, shares, allowances, insurance, and even airtime. The Employment Court dismissed nearly all of it, ruling that documented shortcomings mattered more than personal evaluations. In the end, Mwaura left with only his pension, a reminder that self-belief is not always bankable in the labour market.

Read the story here »»»»»

Opinion 

Why There is a Geopolitical Scramble for Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements

By Nicasio Karani Migwi 

The global race for critical minerals is no longer a distant narrative. It’s playing out squarely in Africa. From cobalt in the DRC to manganese in South Africa and graphite in Mozambique, the continent holds the keys to clean energy, digital tech, and defense supply chains. China already dominates processing and Washington, Brussels, and others are scrambling to lock in access, with new strategies and laws emerging every few months. For African governments, the opportunity lies in turning this scramble into leverage: insisting on local beneficiation, fairer deals, and environmental safeguards before the mineral rush cements yet another cycle of dependency.

Read the full article here »»»»»

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NSE Gainers & Losers 

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On your watchlist

In this episode of the Her Leadership Series, we sit down with Nelly Gesare, the visionary founder of Green Thing, a pioneering social enterprise at the intersection of sustainability, business, and art.

Yesterday's Top Hits 

♦️Commerce. Kenyan shipments to Kigali fell sharply in the second quarter of 2025, with the value of imported goods between April and June dropping to US$ 78.2 million from US$ 245.1 million a year earlier; a decline of more than 68%. (By Brian Nzomo)

♦️ Education. Kenya’s higher education is fraught with risks as enrolment outpaces investments in resources and quality. According to the latest University Statistics 2024/2025 Report by the Commission for University Education (CUE), enrolment in degree programmes rose to 628,541 students in 2024, up from 559,191 the previous year. (By Chelsy Maina) 

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.