What Kenyans don't know is that, this is a ploy to drive out imoprters! One or 2 people want to monopolize the import business. Same has already been implemented on rice imports. A business that was being done by thousands has been given to only 2 Somalis who are proxies
Small-scale traders in Kamukunji, Gikomba, and Nyamakima are in turmoil and threatening a nationwide business shutdown on Friday, August 28, 2026, after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) implemented a revised custom benchmark value.
The government adjusted the minimum customs benchmark for a general 40-foot container of consolidated cargo from KSh 2.5 million to KSh 3.2 million, effective August 20, 2026. While the import duty did not "double," this sudden 28% spike introduces an extra burden of KSh 700,000 per container, pushing the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector to the brink of collapse.
As an update to this post, I once again last Sunday tested KRA officers at JKIA on the interpretation of Section 114 and the Fifth Schedule, Part B, Item 5 of the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) and their own guidance posted on their website.
Someone planted tomatoes in the national park and sprayed them with enough cyanide to kill fully grown Elephants. They think we are 53 Million idiots. 😒🙂↕️
There is a samosa at Java that goes for 390 bob. You look at the price and wonder what the samosa has that makes its cost similar to your electricity bill. You flip the menu, trying to ignore it, but then you come back again and wonder why a samosa should be priced the same as 10 blouses at Toi Market?
Perhaps it comes with the powers that keep you from drunk dialing your ex, or the soberness that makes you file your taxes on time. It must have a syrup that keeps you away from your neighbor's business and makes you focus on your goals.
You flip the menu again and stare at the pages without really seeing them. Your mind is somewhere else. It’s on that samosa. 390 bob? For a triangular blob of flour? Come on, kwani it shops at Quickmart and reads Business Daily?
You go back to it, and it gives you a smug look. ‘You can’t afford me, can you?’ You can hear it toying with you. You decide to teach its snobbery a lesson by making it swim with your gastric juices, and you order it.
It fills up the plate it comes on. On the side, a lemon. You squeeze it, pick up the fork and knife that come with another plate, and as you start digging in, you can feel your goals coming into focus. You can also feel something else. It’s your electricity bill screaming. ‘You’re going to eat your noodles in the dark.’