By Matthew Magare, Anita Otieno The Financial Markets Conduct Bill aims to promote a fair, non-discriminatory financial market, conducive for credit access by: Establishing uniform practices and standards for providers of financial products and services; Regulating the cost of credit; and, Establishing the Financial Markets Conduct Authority (the “Authority”), the Financial Sector Ombudsman and the...
By Anita Otieno The Small Claims Act established a subordinate court known as the small claims court to be presided over by an adjudicator, and the pecuniary jurisdiction of the court limited to Ksh. 200,000. The nature of claims addressed by the court include: A contract for sale and supply of goods or services; A...
By Anita Otieno The National Council on the Administration of Justice had earlier suspended the execution of civil decrees and orders as a means of scaling down court activities due to Covid-19. However, the Chief Justice recently gave an order lifting the suspension, directing courts to facilitate parties seeking the extraction, issuance and execution of...
The Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (the “Bill”) was assented to by the President on 25th April 2020, as one of the measures to cushion citizens from the negative economic effects of COVID-19. The Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 (the “Act”) amends provisions on the following: Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Pay As You Earn...
A. CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL The Companies Act The stake required for an acquiring party to purchase, before enforcing a squeeze-out, has been restored to 90% from the current stake of 50%. This increase in the squeeze-out threshold seeks to restore the protection of the rights of minority shareholders, especially in listed companies. Companies no longer...
The key reforms introduced by the CRB Regulations on 14th April 2020 include: A minimum threshold of Ksh.1,000 has now been set for negative credit information submitted to CRBs by lenders. Borrower’s information regarding non-performing loans of less than Ksh.1,000 will therefore not be submitted to CRBs, and borrowers that were previously “blacklisted” only for...
By Victor Orandi and Matthew Magare In Kenya, ultra high net-worth individuals are defined as those having a net worth of more than Ksh. 3 billion. In 2018, the number of such individuals increased to 125. Meanwhile, by 2023, a 24% increase is expected amongst those whose worth exceeds Ksh. 100 million.[1]It is estimated that...
By Victor Orandi, Matthew Magare Adequate Healthcare is a global concern and Kenya is no exception. Increasingly the world is turning to ICT to improve healthcare service delivery. Kenya alongside other East African countries increasingly embraces telemedicine. Telemedicine can be defined as the provision of healthcare services, through ICT, whereby the health personnel and the...
By Purity Ngigi An employee’s poor performance is a common reason for the termination of their employment. The Employment Act No. 11 of 2007 of Kenya (the “Act“) provides that the employer must detail every allegation of poor performance before any disciplinary hearing. An employer should support allegations of poor performance with evidence such as...
By Victor Orandi The Employment (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (the “Bill”) seeks to amend the Employment Act 2007 to provide for Pre-adoptive Leave. In its current form, the Employment Act provides for maternity leave to coincide with the birth of a child and does not contemplate adoption. Pre-adoption in this case, as considered under section 157...
