Dentons (JD Supra Kenya)

The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 put into motion a series of changes to land laws in Kenya. The enactment of the Land Act, 2012 and Land Registration Act, 2012 (together the Land Acts) led to the repeal of the existing land laws and introduced the requirement of geo-referencing cadastral maps for land registration units.

In today's environment, where change and uncertainty seem to be the only constants, more and more investors are taking a long-term view. 

Introduction - The Business Laws (Amendment) (No.2) Act of 2021 (the Act) came into force on 31 March 2021 seeking to facilitate ease of doing business in Kenya.

The President of Kenya assented to the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2021 (the Amendment Act) on 30 March 2021. The Amendment Act comes into force on 15 April 2021, incorporating a provision on pre-adoptive leave.

Kenya is in the grip of its third COVID-19 wave. The peak is projected to flatten by the middle of May 2021. Nairobi has recorded 60% of all cases countrywide, and our numbers indicate that three out of five people in Nairobi are COVID-19 positive.

The Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) is mandated to investigate cases of abuse of power and other forms of maladministration in public bodies and to take remedial action. The issue in this appeal was whether the recommendations of the CAJ are binding on public bodies or government agencies.

Introduction - The proposed Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2021 dated 12 February 2021 (the Bill) is intended to introduce a consolidated legal framework to govern landlord and tenant relationships.

Introduction - Kenya’s Data Protection Act (the “DPA”) entered into force on 25 November 2019. The DPA gives effect to the provisions of Article 31 of Kenya's Constitution which provide for the fundamental right to privacy. The DPA is largely modelled on European Union’s GDPR.

In our previous alert we briefly highlighted the recent notice on the conversion of titles. In this follow-up, we attempt to answer the following four questions: My title is listed in the gazette notice – what are the next steps?

On 22 January 2021, the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning published a list comprising 247 accredited private valuers approved to carry out valuation for stamp duty, in a move to enhance efficiency by decreasing turnaround times.

This is a follow-up to our alerts dated 9 March 2020 and 6 November 2020 on the enactment of section 93A of the Companies Act No. 17 of 2015 and the Companies Act (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations).

On 12 January 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning announced the commencement of the conversion of land titles from the previous legal regimes to the current legal regime.

This is a follow-up to our alert dated 9 March 2020 on the enactment of section 93A of the Companies Act No.17 of 2015 (the Companies Act) and the Companies Act (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) (together, the Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Legislation). The Companies Act was amended on 23 July 2019 to introduce section 93A which requires every company to...

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning has enacted the Stamp Duty (Valuation of Immovable Property) Regulations, 2020 (the Regulations) which allow the Chief Government Valuer to appoint a private valuer to conduct property valuation on behalf of the government.

In a change that is long overdue for key stakeholders in the real estate industry, the Stamp Duty (Valuation of Immovable Property) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) now give property buyers the option of hiring an approved private valuer to conduct property government valuations in real estate transactions.

Kenyan law and specifically the Kenya Information and Communications Act No. 2 of 1998 (KICA) permits the use of electronic signatures. In our previous alert, we highlighted the amendments introduced by the Business Laws (Amendment) Act, Number 1 of 2020 (the Act) which focused on the use of electronic signatures and the move to digitise certain legal processes. By virtue of the Act, electronic...

Effective 1 July 2020, the tourism and travel industry in Kenya must comply with the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife's Magical Kenya Tourism and Travel, Health and Safety Protocols for the "New Normal" (the Protocols). The Protocols provide health and safety requirements by which the tourism and travel industry should abide, as Kenya opens its borders to both local and international tourists...

Whilst it may still be too early to tell, Africa’s response to COVID-19 was quicker and more comprehensive than any other region globally, and Kenya, in particular, has received praise for its timely response to the pandemic. As COVID-19 spreads, Kenya, like the majority of African countries, now has no option but to prioritise economic needs to revive its economy that heavily depends on the...

Kenya, like other countries globally, is now prioritising the revival of its economy, which has taken a massive hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To guide the safe re-opening of workspaces, the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (the Directorate) published the Occupational Safety and Health Post-COVID-19 Return to Work Advisory (the Advisory) on 29 June 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected several industries, with some feeling the effects of the pandemic more than others. The hospitality industry, in particular, has been significantly impacted. This can be attributed to the measures put in place by the government to stop the spread of the virus, including banning international flights, introducing partial lockdowns and shutting down restaurants,...

The Trade Marks Registry in Kenya is undertaking a massive exercise to clean up the Kenyan Trade Marks Register. The process has been ongoing since February 2020 when the Registry started issuing notices to proprietors of trade marks with the warning that, unless the trade marks are renewed within the deadline stated in the notice, the marks would be removed from the Register.

Finance Bill, 2020 was published on 5 May 2020 and tabled before the National Assembly on 6 May 2020. In this alert, we highlight the proposed changes to various legislation. If passed into law, the changes discussed below will take effect on the date of Presidential Assent unless otherwise stated.

The Land Registration (Amendment) Bill 2020 (the Bill) proposes to amend the Land Registration Act No. 3 of 2012 (the LRA) by introducing a complaints mechanism into the new part VIIIA. The main objective of the Bill is to provide members of the public with the forum to lodge complaints with respect to land registration and survey services.

COVID-19 is now a full-blown global health pandemic, and governments all over the world have put in place measures to prevent and control the spread of the virus. In Kenya, the government has progressively introduced a series of new guidelines deriving from various legislation including the Constitution of Kenya, the Public Health Act (PHA) Cap 242 Laws of Kenya, the Health Act No. 21 of 2017 and

On 15 March 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta held a press conference and made the following directives to the country following the news that three Kenyans were infected with COVID-19 (the “Directive”):

Following the amendments to the Companies Act in 2017 (to include express provisions requiring companies to keep information relating to beneficial ownership of shares), the Attorney General has now published the Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations).

The High Court has given its decision in Income Tax Appeal No.16 of 2017 Delmonte Kenya Limited v. The Commissioner of Domestic Tax. In allowing the appeal, the High Court has determined that foreign exchange losses realised through the conversion of debt to equity are tax deductible under section 4A of the Income Tax Act (ITA).

What is the Montreal Convention? The Montreal Convention 1999 is a treaty that was made with the aim of unifying the existing rules of international carriage by air. It was envisaged that the convention would be a universal treaty for governing airline liability in the case of death or injury to passengers, as well as in cases of delay, damage or loss of baggage and cargo.

In this update, we examine the decisions in Nyutu Agrovet  Ltd v. Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd & Another (2019) (Nyutu case) and Synergy Industrial Credit Limited v. Cape Holdings Ltd (2019) delivered by the Supreme Court of Kenya on 6 December 2019. The two petitions before the Supreme Court raised one significant legal issue – whether a party can appeal a decision of the High Court arising from an

The High Court has given its decision in Income Tax Appeal No. 22 of 2017 UAP Life Assurance Company Limited v. the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, upholding the appellant’s position that Tied Insurance Agents are not salaried employees.