Valentine

|| CPM|| Realist|| Believer|| Book(ed)||

[Joshua Malidzo Nyawa @joshuamalidzo]

#hotoffthebench
Access this progressive decision on the divestiture of Safaricom Shares here:
https://t.co/BlB7gss3Ru

[The Judiciary Kenya @Kenyajudiciary]

download Court of Appeal decisions delivered on September 11, 2026. https://t.co/aw7lx5erwf

[The Judiciary Kenya @Kenyajudiciary]

https://t.co/EMfWquQzx2

[Joshua Malidzo Nyawa @joshuamalidzo]

#hotoffthebench
The AG cannot moonlight as EACC. The Constitution gives EACC the mandate to investigate and determine conflict of interest allegations. By purporting to absolve parties of such a breach, the AG usurped EACC’s constitutional mandate

Link:https://t.co/CSC9z5qpxv

[Joshua Malidzo Nyawa @joshuamalidzo]

Access the decision here:
https://t.co/lrwBqY54rd

[EMS Law LLP @Lexken_EMSLaw]

🚨 The Communications Authority of Kenya establishes a six-month wait rule before deactivating and recycling dormant lines. Your phone number is now legally part of your identity, and it can no longer simply be switched off and handed to a stranger. The new rules take effect on 19 September 2026, and they matter to everyone with a SIM card.

The background is a landmark High Court ruling. In Erastus Ngura Odhiambo v State, delivered in March 2026, Justice Lawrence Mugambi held that a registered mobile number is a digital identifier linked to sensitive personal data, and therefore protected under Article 31(c) and (d) of the Constitution, the right not to have information about one's private affairs unnecessarily disclosed. The reason is practical: a recycled number can leak M-Pesa transfers, bank one-time passwords, and account verifications belonging to the previous owner to whoever receives it next. The court gave the State until 19 September 2026 to put safeguards in place, and these guidelines are the response.

What the new rules require. A number becomes eligible for deactivation only after three months of no revenue-generating activity, no calls, SMS, data, airtime top-up or paid service. The provider must then try to notify the owner using the contact details from registration, and continue notifying for a further three months, a six-month window in all before a dormant line can be recycled. Thirty days before the deadline, it must publish the affected numbers on its website, in the media, and in a national newspaper, with a *106# option to check any number's status.

Crucially, before any number is recycled, the provider must securely de-link and archive all personal data, cached data and services of the former owner, so nothing is inherited by the new subscriber, while keeping records the law requires. A quarterly list of deactivated numbers goes to a central system so banks and other institutions can update their records before sending anything sensitive.

The rules also protect the vulnerable. Caregivers can apply to whitelist the number of someone indisposed for over six months. And the Commissioner General of Prisons must submit the numbers of anyone jailed for more than six months, so prisoners do not lose their digital identity while incarcerated, the very scenario that prompted the case.

There is also a strict new consent regime for marketing: businesses may only send B2C messages where the subscriber has explicitly dialled a business-specific USSD code consenting to them, and recycled numbers receive no marketing at all.

This is a significant advance for data protection: your number, and the identity attached to it, is now treated as something the law protects.

👉 Follow @Lexken_EMSLaw for practical legal insights on data protection, privacy and regulatory compliance.

[Kenya Law @MyKenyaLaw]

The mere fact that a programme pursues a public purpose does not exempt it from compliance with constitutional safeguards, statutory procedures, environmental obligations and the requirements of lawful and accountable governance.

https://t.co/I0lfDzacK4

[EMS Law LLP @Lexken_EMSLaw]

🚨 The High Court has ruled that a clean land search is not always a clean title, and that a lender misled by a forged register is entitled to be indemnified by the State. Here is the case that cost the public purse over Sh102 million.

[Joshua Malidzo Nyawa @joshuamalidzo]

#hotoffthebench
Withdrawing Justice Mugambi’s security was unconstitutional & police powers were weaponised to punish him for an adverse decision against the IGP.Such interference undermines judicial independence.
Big:Judges security cannot be withdrawn without JSC consultation

[EMS Law LLP @Lexken_EMSLaw]

🚨Can a simple police abstract be enough to prove a vehicle was insured, even when you have never seen the policy?

In Ringera v Directline Assurance Company Ltd, delivered on 18 August 2026, the court accepted a police abstract as evidence that the vehicle involved was insured by Directline at the material time. The ruling reinforces a principle that protects injured claimants. Here is what it means. 🧵

[Neto Benjamin @netobenjamink]

The High Court at Mombasa in Pet/E006/2025;

KPLC cannot abruptly disconnect electricity to Nairobi City County health facilities, water stations, and streetlights over unpaid bills. Doing so, directly violates citizens' rights under articles 26, 28, 28, 43(1)(a)(b)(d) and 43(2)

[EMS Law LLP @Lexken_EMSLaw]

🚨 High Court of Kenya has held that a lender operating without a licence under the Banking Act lacks the legal capacity to institute or maintain proceedings to recover loan monies.

In Rei-Iman v Succeed Capital Ltd, the High Court held that a lender operating without a licence under the Banking Act has no legal capacity to sue to recover loan monies. It set aside a judgment the lender had already obtained. Here is what this means, and why it reaches far beyond one case. 🧵

[Daily Nation @NationAfrica]

In a judgment that could resonate across Kenyan boardrooms and human resource departments, Justice Ocharo Kebira ruled that workplace relationships are built on trust, dignity and mutual respect, warning that employers cannot ignore employees concerns with impunity.
https://t.co/upGSuLtcr6

[Julians Amboko @AmbokoJH]

Taxpayers, take note!

The High Court has set the bar high with regard to the quality of data & the manner in which it is presented when a taxpayer disputes an assessment by KRA.

The High Court says that...

"...the law does not require the Kenya Revenue Authority to play the role of a forensic accountant. When a taxpayer is asked to explain why its own declarations do not add up, the taxpayer must provide a clear, specific, and indexed reconciliation. Flooding the revenue authority with unindexed, chronologically mismatched files is not an act of compliance; it is an evasion of a taxpayer’s evidential duty"

The High Court has consequently overturned the judgement of the Tax Appeals Tribunal delivered on 10th November, 2023 in Appeal No/1178 of 2022, effectively paving way for a Kes 29,208,766 assessment against Jakoline Enterprises Ltd.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal had held that by providing bulk digital files and bank statements, Jakoline Enterprises Ltd had discharged its burden of proof & therefore shifted the duty to the Kenya Revenue Authority to trace the discrepancies.

The High Court didn't have kind words for the Tax Appeals Tribunal. It says..

"By holding that such unstructured data presentation
shifted the burden back to the state, the Tax Appeals Tribunal committed a profound error of law. The Tribunal's decision was based on a fundamental misapplication of the rules of evidence and cannot be allowed to stand"

This is an extremely consequential judgement for taxpayers.

[NTV Kenya @ntvkenya]

KRA blocked from taxing property service charges

https://t.co/JPzsOtkOlw

[EMS Law LLP @Lexken_EMSLaw]

🚨 When a bank writes off a loan a customer never repaid, can it deduct that loss before paying tax?

In its latest ruling: the Tax Appeals Tribunal has handed Consolidated Bank of Kenya a win, allowing a Sh264.9 million bad-debt deduction that KRA had disallowed. But this single case sits inside a much bigger battle that has reached resolution. Here is the whole picture. 🧵

[Joshua Malidzo Nyawa @joshuamalidzo]

#hotoffthebench
The High Court has declared that presidential elections should be held in the 5th year and not after the 5th year. The Constitution does not confer a 5 year term. As such, the elections should have been held in August 2026 and not in 2027
Well in @Dr_OOwiso+ team

[Ochieng Oginga @ArnoldOginga]

The High Court has agreed with us that the General Elections ought to have been held this year on 9TH AUGUST, 2026…holding the elections on any other day would be contrary to Article 136 (2) of the Constitution. The declaration of unconstitutionality has however been suspended until after the next general elections.
Cc @Dr_OOwiso @otienowill @Ashioyabiko @KhelefKhalifa

[@LegalEase_KE🇰🇪 @LegalEasy_KE]

Taxation 101

A party litigating through the services of in-house counsel is not entitled to Party & Party costs since such a party is deemed as "acting in person".

[🇰🇪 James WaNjeri @JamesKWaNjeri]

We received a ruling yesterday in absentia as we were boycotting. This one may be helpful to practitioners. Once an employee is injured at work, DOSH has the original jurisdiction to deal. The employee cannot be compensated then file a common law tort for damages. PO succeeds