The office of the Attorney General published Guidelines to assist public and private entities in the Preparation of Procedures for the Prevention of Bribery and Corruption (“the Guidelines”). The Guidelines were published following the enactment of the Bribery Act, 2016 (“the Act”), and should be read together with the Act. The Act widened the scope of the fight against bribery and corruption by extending the fight to the private sector. Prior to the enactment of the Act in 2016, the law against corruption only targeted the public entities and state organs thus detaching itself from the realities of the expanded private sector. The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003, defines corruption as any act of bribery, fraud, embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office, breach of Trust, and an offence involving dishonesty in connection with any tax, rate or levy imposed by any written Act or law. The Guidelines require each State officer, public officer or person holding a position of authority in a private entity, to report knowledge or suspicion of an act of bribery or corruption within twenty-four hours of their discovery of such information. It provides that the entity or its directors, senior officer or other responsible person shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or both, for the offence of failing to report any such activities within the specified duration. Additionally, a private entity commits an offence of bribery if a person associated with it, bribes another person intending to obtain or retain business for the private entity or obtain advantage in the conduct of business by the private entity. The Guidelines also provide for the elements to be considered when developing procedures for prevention of bribery and corruption including assessment of the risk of bribery and corruption within an entity, language to be used in the procedure, and establishment of implementation and enforcement structures. Notably, failure by an entity to establish the Procedures also amounts to an offence under the Act.

The Voluntary Tax Disclosure Program (VTDP) was introduced by the Finance Act, 2020, as part of the changes made to the Tax Procedures Act (TPA). The VTDP is a program which allows taxpayers to voluntarily disclose any tax liabilities, which were previously undisclosed to the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, for the purposes of tax compliance where relief will be granted on penalties and interest on the tax disclosed. The aim of the VTDP is to encourage voluntary disclosure of undeclared taxes and payment of principal taxes by avoiding the imposition of punitive penalties and interest. This will (i) enhance tax compliance, (ii) improve revenue collection and (iii) bring more taxpayers under the tax net. Under the VTDP, the taxpayer is required to review total tax compliance and apply for amnesty on all areas of non-compliance. The program covers the period from 1st July 2015 to 30th June 2020 where undeclared tax liabilities were accrued by the taxpayer. However, there are exceptions where (i) the taxpayer is under audit, investigation or is a party to on-going litigation in respect of the tax liability or any matter relating to the tax liability; or (ii) the taxpayer has been notified of a pending audit or investigation by the Commissioner. This programme is set to run from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2023. Applications must be made within this period for applicants to be eligible. The Commissioner has granted the following: (i) reliefs of 100% waiver for 100% remission of penalties and interest where the disclosure is made in the year 2021; this is scheduled to expire at the end of December, 2021, and (ii) 50% and 25% remission of penalties and interest where the disclosure is made in the years 2022 and 2023; this is scheduled to expire at the end of the years 2022 and 2023 respectively.

As a general rule, an employee does not have the right to unilaterally withdraw his/her resignation. However, there are special circumstances where this rule does not apply. The High Court in Edwin Beiti Kipchumba v National Bank of Kenya Limited [2018] eKLR observed that the existence of special circumstances, such as the pressure on the employee, lack of a cooling off period and the short time taken to withdraw the resignation constituted a valid reason for the withdrawal of his resignation. In making its determination, the court cited two other cases: McManus V. Brian Mccarthy Contractors, in which the Irish Employment Tribunal found that a letter withdrawing a notice of resignation made by an employee was binding to the employer after considering the context in which the resignation was made; and Kwik-fit (GB) Limited V. Lineham (1992) where it was held that the factors that the court considered for the withdrawal of the notice of resignation included whether an employee made the decision in the heat of the moment, existence of special circumstances such as pressures on the employee or the employee’s personality, and whether the situation was reversible. The court also held that the withdrawal of the notice of resignation ought to be communicated to the employer, as soon as possible, and within a reasonable time from the date of resignation, for such withdrawal to be acceptable. As such, Kenyan employers should investigate circumstances underlying resignation of employees as well as the time taken to withdraw the resignation notice before making a determination of whether or not to accept the withdrawal of resignation presented before them.

On 20th September 2021, the High Court of Kenya ruled that the amendment to section 12D of the Income Tax Act which introduced minimum tax, is unconstitutional. Minimum tax was introduced under the Finance Act, 2020 to be charged at the rate of one per cent (1%) of the gross turnover of a business beginning from 1st January, 2021. However, individuals and companies remitting employment tax and PAYE, rental income tax, turnover tax for small-sized firms, as well as capital gains tax and proceeds from mining or oil exploration taxes were exempted from payment of this minimum tax. The High Court ruling comes as a relief for companies that were wary of paying the prescribed levy on total sales from the beginning of 2021, even as they had to cope with the economic fallout occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.  This decision will not only ensure that many businesses are productive but it will also provide an opportunity for loss-making businesses to bounce back and generate the much-needed revenue to support themselves.

The Finance Act, 2021, which came into force on 29th June, 2021, introduced some amendments to the Insurance Act. The definition of the term “broker “has been redefined in the Insurance Act, Chapter 487 of the Laws of Kenya (“the Act”) to include foreign reinsurance brokers who do not have a residence or a place of business in Kenya. Previously, the Act did not permit brokers who neither undertook direct insurance business nor had a place of business or a resident representative in Kenya, to practice insurance business in Kenya. Another addition to the Act is the requirement for all registered and licensed insurers to pay the annual fee stipulated under the Act. This amendment is a re-introduction of the annual fee which was payable by insurers until 2017 when the Act was amended discontinuing the payment of annual fees. Notwithstanding this reinstated requirement on insurers, the Act is not clear on the purpose for which this annual fee is pegged.

Parental Responsibility over children to vest equally in both parents in proposed changes to the law - The Children (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (“Bill”) seeks to amend the Children Act (“Act”) by vesting equal responsibility for parental care and protection of a child in both parents of that child. Further, the Bill provides that neither the father nor mother of the child shall have a superior right or claim against the other in the exercise of such parental responsibility. In the proposed changes, the provisions of the Act that vested parental responsibility in the mother at the first instance, and allowed the father to acquire parental responsibility later have been repealed. Consequently, it will be mandatory for parents, whether married to each other or not, to have equal parental responsibility over their child. The proposed amendments are in line with Article 53(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 which provides that both parents to a child have equal responsibility to provide for and protect that child.

The Finance Act, 2021, has introduced several changes to the Excise Duty Act (“the Act”). It is now a requirement for the gazette notices on partial or whole grants of remission of excise duty in respect of beer or wine made from agricultural products to be tabled in the National Assembly for approval or annulment, prior to their issuance by the Cabinet Secretary. Further, where excise duty has been paid for internet data services by a licensed person who purchased the data in bulk for resale, the Act has introduced a provision for the offsetting of excise duty payable by that person on internet data services supplied to the final consumer. The Act has also introduced excise duty on imported pasta, imported eggs, imported onions, imported potatoes, potato crisps, and potato chips, and locally manufactured chocolates. Additionally, excise duty at the rate of 7.5% has been introduced on betting, gaming, lotteries, and price competition. The Act also provides that the fees and commissions earned in respect to loans are now subject to excise duty, and the excise duty payable for telephone and internet data has been increased to 20% from 15%.

The Finance Act, 2021, published on 30th June, 2021, has introduced tax exemptions for registered family trusts by making amendments to various tax laws including the Income Tax Act and the Stamp Duty Act. The Income Tax Act now incorporates several exemptions that apply to registered family trusts. For instance, property that is transferred or sold for the purpose of transferring title or transferring the proceeds of such sale into a registered family trust is now exempted from income tax. Further, the income or principal sum of a registered family trust and any capital gains relating to the transfer of title of immovable property to a registered family trust, is also exempted from income tax. Additionally, the Stamp Duty Act now exempts a conveyance or transfer, or an agreement for a conveyance or transfer, in favour of a registered family trust from payment of stamp duty. A registered family trust is further exempted from stamp duty as is the case for a will, codicil or other testamentary disposition. These benefits serve as an attempt to encourage more people to plan their personal estates using registered family trusts in order to enjoy the tax incentives provided by the law.

Share buyback is the process where a company repurchases its own shares from its existing shareholders. Companies buy back their own shares for various reasons. The process of share buybacks in Kenya is regulated by the Companies Act, which generally restricts share buyback but provides exceptions where a company may be allowed to do so pursuant to its compliance with certain requirements. Some of the requirements that must be met for a share buyback to be valid include: (a) only fully paid-up shares can be repurchased; and (b) the repurchase should be financed by distributable profits or proceeds from a fresh issue of shares. Financing of the repurchase from the capital of the company is allowed but under very stringent requirements. Although provided under our laws, share buybacks are not common in Kenya.  Nation Media Group is currently involved in the country’s first ever share buyback through the Nairobi Securities Exchange.  It is likely that more companies will consider this option in the future.

With the increasing statutory requirements for companies in Kenya including the requirement to update Beneficial Ownership Registers, most shareholders with dormant companies are looking to dissolve their companies to avoid the risks of non-compliance. The infamous mode of dissolving a company is liquidation, as it is most commonly known. However, another mode that is available for dormant companies is strike off. Strike off is the process where a company that has been inactive for a long time and that has few or no obligations is removed from the register of companies. The effect of this removal is that the company ceases to exist and it can no longer trade in its name. This effectively means that it will also not be liable to meet any statutory requirements relating to companies. Strike off is also less costly compared to liquidation where the company has to incur the cost of an insolvency practitioner. However, there are certain requirements that companies need to meet to qualify for strike off.  

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) launched the Ibuka program in late 2018 with the aim of preparing micro, small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) for listing on the NSE. The 10-month program is designed to host companies, ideally MSMEs, on two non-trading boards, that is, the Incubator Board and the Accelerator Board. The program also seeks to promote growth and development of Kenyan MSMEs by providing them with access to financial advisors and consultants to assist the companies structure their businesses, enhance their visibility/brand recognition, develop their capability to access the capital markets and get exposure to local and international investors. The Ibuka Program has helped MSMEs attract financing for expansion which they would not have been able to access otherwise because most investors and financiers consider MSMEs risky ventures. At least 18 companies have joined the Ibuka Program including Safaricom Investment Cooperative, Rentco East Africa Limited and Mookh Africa. Ultimately, the goal of the Ibuka Program is to increase the number of companies listed on the NSE.

Deadline for Updating Beneficial Ownership Registers – Companies were given an extension of up to 31st July 2021 to update their Beneficial Ownership Registers. Companies are advised to urgently prepare and submit a register of their beneficial owners or face the consequences for non-compliance. The Beneficial Ownership Register was introduced by the Companies Act 2015 and the Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations 2020. The said Act and Regulations make it an offence for a company, and every officer of that company, to fail to comply with this requirement. Directors of a company risk being fined up to Kshs. 500,000/= each if they fail to update the company’s beneficial ownership register within the stipulated time that lapses on 31st July 2021.

Validation of Nairobi Block 110 Title Deeds: Final chance for affected plot owners to verify their ownership details - The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning (the “Ministry”) recently suspended land transactions involving Nairobi Block 110 title deeds following several complaints of fraudulent land transactions. The purpose of this suspension is to enable the Ministry review and verify the ownership details of all the properties registered under the Nairobi Block 110 register. In this regard, the Ministry will conduct an exercise to validate the ownership details of all affected plot owners from 24th May 2021 to 4th June 2021 at the Survey of Kenya offices in Ruaraka. Affected plot owners are required to present the following documents for review: (i) certified copies of title deeds, grants, transfers and sale agreements, (ii) certified copies of share certificates and payment receipts issued by Thome farmers, and (iii) certified copies of identification documents including National ID, KRA PIN Certificates for individuals and certified copies of Certificate of Registration, CR12 and KRA PIN Certificate for companies/institutions. These documents should be submitted in sealed envelopes.

The Draft National Insurance Policy: Possible Review of the Insurance Legal Framework in Kenya - The National Treasury recently published the Draft National Insurance Policy (“Draft Policy”), dated March 2021, following a decline in the performance of the insurance industry in the recent years. The National Treasury notes the high levels of underwriting losses which is a big threat to the insurance industry and its role as a sustainable risk management tool in Kenya.  The Draft Policy was therefore developed with the main objective of creating a vibrant and competitive financial sector through the development of a fair, safe, customer-centric, competitive and stable insurance industry. It aims at addressing the challenges that hinder the development of the industry including: low level of public awareness on insurance products and services; low penetration rate and coverage; concentration of insurance in main urban areas; slow adoption of technology by the industry; low contribution of life insurance in the overall insurance industry business; limited underwriting capacity of the insurance industry; gaps in the legal and regulatory framework; relatively poor financial performance by most of the general insurance companies and poor perception about the insurance industry. If the Draft Policy is adopted, it is likely to prompt the review of insurance laws, regulations and guidelines.

 The Landlord and Tenant Bill 2021 (“the Bill”) seeks to consolidate all the laws on residential and commercial tenancies and to ensure regulation of the rental sector in Kenya. It applies to both residential and business premises (with some exceptions) and proposes various provisions including establishment of tribunals, limits on rent increases, termination notices, among others. On rent increases, the Bill provides that rent can only be increased after 12 months for residential premises and 24 months for business premises. The landlord also has to give a 90-day notice for the increase in rent to be valid. On termination notices, the Bill provides that, unless there is a breach of covenant by the tenants or the term of the tenancy has expired, landlords have to give at least 24-month notice of termination for business premises and 12-month notice for residential premises. The Bill was published in February 2021 and is still undergoing review in Parliament.

Have you nominated a beneficiary under your insurance cover, pension, sacco or investment scheme? In Kenyan law, the benefits payable under such covers or plans do not form part of the estate of the nominator upon their demise which means that they cannot be passed under a will and cannot be subject to probate/administration proceedings. Thus, the right of the nominated beneficiary will override the right of an heir despite any attempt to bequeath the benefits in a will. It is therefore crucial for you to keenly consider who your preferred nominees will be and the allocation of the share of the funds that you will give each of your nominees. It is also advisable to update your nominations regularly to ensure that you include your intended beneficiaries.

The appointment of private valuers to conduct valuation of immovable property for stamp duty purposes is a welcome change for many who have been frustrated by the delays in valuation by government valuers. Buyers may now elect to have the valuation of their property conducted by any of the appointed private valuers. However, unlike the free services offered by a government valuer, buyers who opt for a private valuer will bear the costs of the valuation in addition to the stamp duty payable. The valuation fees will vary depending on the value of the land and will be charged in accordance with the Valuers Act.

Pursuant to the new Stamp Duty Act (Valuation of Immovable Property) Regulations 2020, the Chief Government Valuer has now appointed private valuers in private practice to carry out valuation of immovable property for stamp duty. Previously, valuation could only be conducted by government valuers which created a lot of backlog that delayed the registration of transfers of interest in land. A list of the private valuers appointed has been published for access by the public.

Linking of a company is a process where the physical records of a company are migrated to the Business Registration Service digital platform. Generally, companies are required to be linked for any changes to be made to the company such as the appointment/removal of a director. The procedure of updating the beneficial ownership register of a company also makes it a requirement for a company to linked before it can be initiated. Thus, a company must first finalize on the linking process before it can proceed to update its beneficial ownership register which needs to be updated by 31st January 2021.

The Registrar of Companies has given all officers and authorized persons of a company upto 31st January 2021 to prepare and submit a register of its beneficial owners or face consequences for non-compliance. Directors of a Company risk being fined upto Kshs. 500,000/= each if they fail to update the company’s beneficial ownership register within the stipulated time. So, who is a beneficial owner? A beneficial owner of a company is a natural person who, directly or indirectly: (1) holds at least 10% of the issued shares in a company;(2) exercises at least 10% of the voting rights in the company;(3) holds a right to appoint or remove a director; or(4) participates in the financial policies of the company even if they do not have full control over them. Any natural person who meets any of the three thresholds above must be included in the beneficial ownership register of the company by 31st January 2021. 

On 11th December 2020, the President signed into law the Sectional Properties Bill 2019. The new Act repeals the Sectional Properties Act of 1987 and will now be the substantive law that governs matters regarding sectional properties including the division of buildings into units to be owned by individual proprietors. 

Many contracts contain a provision indicating the law that will govern the contract and the parties. Where a contract indicates that it will be governed by foreign law, that is, laws that are not Kenyan laws, parties will be required to prove their case according to the provisions of the said foreign law and the court will determine liability, or lack thereof, only on the basis of the foreign law. This is despite the fact that the case is being heard in a Kenyan court.

The law requires any person intending to commence or carry out  any type of specified projects under the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, 1999 to (1) undertake a full environmental impact assessment study and (2) submit an environmental impact assessment study report to NEMA, in order to be licensed. The projects in respect of which a study is required include local roads and facility access roads, business premises including shops, stores, and urban market sheds, establishment of multi-dwelling housing developments, water supply and distribution infrastructure projects, processing and manufacturing industries, power and infrastructure projects, LPG filling plants, waste disposal and treatment plants or onsite wastewater treatment plants among others.

Section 4 of the Act specifies that the Act applies to the processing of personal data by a data controller or data processor (1) who is established or ordinarily resident in Kenya and processes personal data while in Kenya or one (2) who is not established or ordinarily resident in Kenya, but processes personal data of data subjects located in Kenya.

The maximum amount of the penalty that may be imposed on an individual for infringement of the Act may is Kenya Shillings Five Million (Kshs. 5,000,0000/=). In the case of an undertaking, the maximum amount is Kshs. 5,000,000/= or one per centum (1%) of its annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is lower.

On 29th October 2020, the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi declared 23 laws, including the Finance Act 2018 and the Insurance (Amendment) Act 2019, passed by the National Assembly unconstitutional. The Constitution requires the Senate to be involved in discussions of bills concerning counties before they are passed into law, which was not done in the case of the 23 laws. However, the court suspended the orders nullifying the laws for a period of 9 months from the date of the judgment within which the National Assembly is required to regularize the laws. Should they fail to do so, the laws shall stand nullified.

Can Directors of a company institute a suit even when the company is under administration? The Court of Appeal in Odera Obar & Co. Advocates v Charter House Bank Limited [2018] eKLR held that even in the case where a company is under statutory management, the corporate structure of the company remains intact until it is wound up/liquidated. This means that directors have the power to institute a suit on behalf of the company despite the company being under statutory management.

The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 as well as the Companies (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 seek to allow companies to hold virtual or hybrid meetings. Virtual meetings happen when people conduct meetings regardless of their location, using video, audio, and text, to link up online to share information and data in real-time without being physically located together. Meetings on the other hand are held when a subset of the people attending the meeting are located together in the same place while the other participants join the meeting virtually. The proposed law requires companies opting for the virtual or hybrid meetings to provide clear instructions of accessing and participating in the proceedings of the meeting.

Under the Unclaimed Financial Assets Act, 2011, where assets other than money are delivered to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority, the owner is entitled to receive from the Authority any dividends, interest, or other income realized or accruing on the assets at or before liquidation or conversion of the assets into money. However, in prescribed instances, the Authority may upon issuance of relevant notifications after the receipt of the abandoned assets sell such assets at a public auction

The Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works published the National Construction Authority (Defects Liability) Regulations, 2020 in April this year. The Regulations, which have received opposition from contractors and lobby groups in the construction industry, aim at conferring protection to developers of commercial properties by regulating the limitations on period within which a contractor may be liable for defects in the building. The Regulations have also introduced a latent defect liability period to cater for concealed structural flaws that may not be detectable during the ordinary patent defects liability period.

Through a proposed amendment to the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 the government seeks to implement a scheme by which private borrowers who do not have sufficient security shall receive guarantees from the government for their borrowings. This scheme would be available to SMEs that are tax compliant and have valid business permit or trade licence from the county governments. The beneficiaries of the scheme would be required to bind themselves to comply with the laws and any conditions that may be imposed with respect to the guarantee.

On Tuesday September 1st 2020, the Competition Authority of Kenya launched their automated case management system. The system has been developed to receive online applications for mergers and acquisitions, exemptions, registration of complaints by consumers, registration of complaints relating to restrictive trade practices among others. The Authority has further issued a notification that it will no longer be receiving manual applications for these processes.

As part of the Government’s efforts to enhance the ease of doing business, the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning published the Land Registration (Electronic Transactions) Regulations, 2020 in July. The Regulations provide for among other matters, the establishment of the electronic land registry, the procedure and requirements for registration of users, conduct of official search, as well as the valuation, stamping and registration formalities through the LIMS portal.

Through a Gazette Notice published last week, the Government published the National Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Policy Guidelines, 2020. Among other issues addressed in the Policy, is the government’s stated commitment to encourage equity participation in ICT companies. In particular, the policy provides that only companies with at least 30% substantive Kenyan ownership will be licensed to provide ICT services. The Guidelines further provide that licensees will have 3 years to meet the local equity ownership threshold subject to an extension in specified instances.

The Central Bank of Kenya (Amendment) Act, 2020 proposes to amend Section 4A of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, 2014 to empower the CBK to regulate and supervise the conduct of (1) providers of digital financial products and services, (2) digital credit providers and digital credit service providers, (3) providers of financial products and services, and (4) financial services.

The Kenya Revenue Authority Act was amended by the Finance Act, 2020 to introduce a limitation of action provision to the effect that legal actions against KRA are to be instituted within a period of 3 years from the date of the matter complained of. In the case of a continuous injury, legal action can only be instituted within six months from the cessation of the act. Further, a one-month notice is now required to be served upon the Commissioner- General prior to commencing the proceedings.

The Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 (the “Act”), which was signed into law earlier in March amended several statutes with the aim of facilitating the ease of doing business in Kenya. A number of amendments introduced by the Act have now reinforced the use of digital and electronic signatures in legal transactions.

On Monday this week, the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services issued an Advisory that requires employers who plan to reopen their workplaces to carry out appropriate occupational safety and health risk assessments prior to reopening. The Advisory is issued to further compliance with the legal provisions requiring occupiers of workplaces to carry out appropriate risk assessments in relation to the safety and health of persons employed. It also requires employees to come up with a COVID-19 Preparedness Policy Statement that address all aspects of COVID-19 readiness. The policy, which shall form part and parcel of the Employer’s Occupational Safety and Health Policy is to address among other issues, arrangements for dealing with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases and clear guidelines and specific requirements when sick or ill staff may be absent to attend hospital. It is also to include protocols on client handling and standard operating procedures in light of the Covid 19.

The High Court issued orders allowing companies to conduct virtual AGMs if they find it impracticable to conduct physical meetings in the manner required under their Articles of Association and the Companies Act due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. In the case filed by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance Limited, the court extended the avenue for virtual meetings to all companies. The court had earlier in April made orders touching only on listed companies.

Since the roll-out of the online land services by the Ministry of Lands, land searches on the Ministry’s LIMS portal were only restricted to property registered at the Nairobi Registry. This is expected to change as the Ministry of Lands is currently expanding the roll-out to include searches for properties registered within the central registry as well as the district registries. 

The Companies Act, 2015 requires all companies, except single member companies to hold members’ meetings annually. The Government restrictions on public gatherings to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic have proved to be a challenge to some companies planning to conduct these meetings. Earlier this week, the Business Registration Service published guidelines on the conduct of hybrid and virtual general meetings. The Guidelines contain the options available for companies and the considerations that they will need to make.

The Finance Bill 2020, seeks to amend the Kenya Revenue Authority Act to introduce a limitation of actions provision. The proposed amendment requires that legal proceedings against KRA may only be instituted within a period of 12 months from the date of the complained act, neglect or default

Leases on commercial properties bear a special feature in the sense that most property owners do not usually include termination clauses in the lease documents, to avoid the restrictions under the controlled tenancies regime. Where a lease however has a force majeure clause, one can invoke it to be relieved from their obligations in the event that performance is rendered impossible due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.

Through an amendment introduced by the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020, members of retirement schemes have now been allowed to access a portion of their benefits for purchase of residential houses. Previously, the law allowed members to use part of their benefits only for securing mortgage loans. In particular, it permitted members to assign 60% of their accrued benefits to their schemes in exchange for the scheme furnishing guarantees to prescribed institutions financing the purchase. The relevant Regulations specifying the requirements and procedures that one would need to follow in order to access the benefits for house purchase have been published, with public participation ending today.

Through a proposed amendment to the Capital Markets Act, the Finance Bill, 2020 seeks to empower CMA to license, approve and regulate private equity and venture capital companies that have access to public funds. Currently, a venture capital company may operate without CMA approval save that they may voluntarily be registered under the Capital Markets (Registered Venture Capital Companies) Regulations in 2007.

Do parties to a lease for office space have relief in light of Covid – 19? Find out more about the rights, obligations and options for parties to a lease in the event of a pandemic, by writing to us.

Is your business relieved from statutory obligations and filings on account of the Covid – 19 pandemic? No. Except where a regulator or relevant government body has issued a communication granting relief or extending the period for compliance, your business is still required to comply with its statutory obligations within the specified timelines.

Are you considering remote-working, compulsory leave, pay-cuts, termination, redundancy and such measures for your employees during this Covid- 19 situation? Are you contemplating being relieved from other existing contracts in light of the pandemic?

Outlaws the abuse of buyer power by companies and individuals? To find out what conduct amounts to abuse of buyer power. (14th Feb 2020)

Ever wondered why developers opt to incorporate management companies in developments? Check out our publication on Management Companies in Residential Properties in Kenya. (7th Feb 2020)

Wondering what Data Protection Principles should guide your handling of data? The Data Protection Act, 2019 requires data to be (1) Processed in accordance with the right to privacy of the data subject, (2) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner, (3) collected for explicit, specified and legitimate purposes.

Gives one the right to be informed of the use to which their personal data is to be put and to correction and deletion of false or misleading data about them. What other rights do the owners of the data have under this law? Find out more by contacting us. (17th Jan 2020)

Wondering what Data Protection principles should guide your handling of data? The Data Protection Act, 2019 requires data to be (1) processed in accordance with the right to privacy of the data subject, (2) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner, (3) collected for explicit, specified and legitimate purposes. For formal advice on other principles, get in touch with us.  (10th Jan 2020)

Is the Data Protection Act, 2019 limited to entities established in Kenya? Well, the Act primarily applies to entities established or resident in Kenya. However, it also applies to entities established outside Kenya or which are non-resident, but which process personal data of persons located in Kenya. Now you know! (13th Dec 2019)