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A Kenyan High Court ruling has determined that unlicensed lenders cannot enforce loan agreements, raising fundamental questions about the enforceability of private credit arrangements and the scope of regulatory licensing requirements. With the Central Bank of Kenya yet to finalize its licensing framework, lenders face mounting uncertainty over their legal standing in recovery proceedings.

The Competition Authority of Kenya has harmonized its merger control regime with COMESA but not with the East African Community, creating potential jurisdictional conflicts for cross-border transactions. While the EACCA asserts exclusive jurisdiction over qualifying mergers, Kenya's domestic law has not been amended to recognize this one-stop-shop principle, unlike its treatment of COMESA notifications.

Kenya's Competition Authority published its FY 2024/25 Annual Report, revealing significant merger control activity with 128 applications processed, behavioral antitrust investigations spanning 75 cases, and notable enforcement actions against trade associations for price-fixing conduct. The report highlights the CAK's continued focus on employment retention conditions in merger approvals and its measured approach to exemption applications from industry bodies seeking relief from minimum pricing guidelines.