Kenya: Compliance

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.

The Kenya Industrial Property Institute has introduced a digital transformation in intellectual property services by launching an online filing system. This new platform enables applicants to electronically file patents, industrial designs, and utility models while processing payments through a streamlined digital interface. The modernization initiative represents a significant step toward improving efficiency and accessibility in Kenya's IP administration.

On 7 August 2020, the National Information Communications and Technology Policy Guidelines, 2020 were published in the Kenya Gazette under the Kenya Information and Communications Act.

A 2019 amendment to the Kenyan Companies Act, 2015 introduced a requirement for every company to keep a register of its beneficial owners and submit a copy of this register...