Key highlights across judicial decisions, legislation, gazette notices and the profession landscape during the week of 6-10 July 2026
1. New Laws Enacted
Assent – Wednesday, 8 July 2026, State House, Nairobi
President William Ruto assented to a package of financial-sector and governance Bills. The Sovereign Wealth Fund Act establishes the legal and institutional framework for creating and managing Kenya’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, and restricts investment in high-risk financial products so that the fund is preserved for future generations. The Central Bank of Kenya (Amendment) Act, 2026, reforms senior appointments at the CBK, notably requiring that all Deputy Governor nominees be vetted and approved by the National Assembly before taking office. The Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Act aligns the pensions regime with the Constitution and extends benefits to Senators on the same terms as Members of the National Assembly.
Context: The Finance Act, 2026 had been assented to earlier, on 23 June 2026, and took effect from 1 July 2026 – framing the fiscal backdrop to this week.
2. Judgments – Court of Appeal Deals KRA a Landmark Tax Defeat
Court of Appeal at Nairobi – Friday, 10 July 2026
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes and held that logistics and cargo-handling services provided at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in support of cut-flower and horticultural exports to Europe qualify as export services eligible for zero-rated VAT, rather than the standard 16% rate. Upholding earlier decisions of the Tax Appeals Tribunal and the High Court in favor of Airflo Limited, the Court ordered the Commissioner to process the company’s VAT refund claims (worth more than Ksh 46 million for periods in 2019-2020) within 90 days, and awarded Airflo costs. The decision is significant for exporters and logistics firms relying on zero-rating.
3. Constitutional Litigation – Cabinet Gender-Rule Ruling Heads to Appeal
National Assembly files appeal – 9-10 July 2026
Following the High Court’s early-July declaration that the Cabinet’s composition breached Article 27(8) of the Constitution (the two-thirds gender rule) – a judgment arising from a petition by the Katiba Institute, CREAW, Transparency International Kenya and others, and giving the President 120 days to reconstitute the Cabinet – the National Assembly moved during this week to appeal the decision. Parliament’s resolution to challenge the ruling kept the gender-representation question, and the balance between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, at the center of the week’s constitutional debate.
4. Rulings – Court Summons IG, NPS and AG Over Public-Order Orders
High Court – on or about 7 July 2026
The High Court summoned the Inspector-General of Police, the National Police Service and the Attorney-General to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be commenced against them for failing to comply with orders requiring the development and publication of public-order (“maandamano”) management regulations. Justice Alfred Mabeya issued the summons after finding that the respondents had not complied with directions given on 25 March 2026, underscoring judicial insistence on enforcement of court orders governing the policing of protests.
5. Pleas & Prosecutions – Graft Cases Dominate the Anti-Corruption Courts
Milimani Anti-Corruption Court and others – 6-10 July 2026
A heavy schedule of corruption and economic-crime matters ran through the anti-corruption courts during the week. Among the most prominent, Bomet Governor Hillary Kipng’eno Barchok and a co-accused, Evans Kipkoech Korir (a director of Chemasus Construction Limited), appeared before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on 7 July over alleged conflict of interest, tied to claims the Governor received some Ksh 151.2 million in benefits linked to a transaction involving the Kenya Rural Roads Authority. Other matters listed for the week concerned the recovery of public funds and land – including sums of Ksh 1.5 billion allegedly taken from the National Treasury, Ksh 253.3 million for allegedly non-existent procurement, and smaller county-level recovery claims – reflecting the EACC and ODPP’s continued push on high-value graft files.
6. Electoral Enforcement – IEBC Fines MP Wanjiku Muhia; Court Stays the Penalty
IEBC Enforcement Committee judgment – 10 July 2026 (court stay – 13 July 2026)
Having indefinitely deferred its verdict on 6 July, the IEBC Electoral Code of Conduct Enforcement Committee delivered its judgment on 10 July against Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia. The Committee found that remarks she made on 14 June while campaigning in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election breached the Electoral Code of Conduct – holding that they amounted to an elected leader urging residents to mobilize and inflict violence against people perceived as non-indigenous to the area. It fined her Ksh 1.5 million, ordered a public apology and retraction, and directed that the fine be paid and the apology delivered within 72 hours. Days later, on 13 July, the High Court (Justice Orina) issued interim orders staying enforcement of the fine and apology pending the hearing of Muhia’s challenge, directing the IEBC to file responses within five days, with further directions set for 20 July. Though the court stay falls just outside the review week, the underlying IEBC finding was a 10 July development.
7. Gazette Notices & Regulatory Announcements
Kenya Gazette – week ended 6 July 2026
Notable entries in the Kenya Gazette for the week included the Communications Authority of Kenya’s publication of a revised National Telecommunications Numbering Plan (covering voice services, short codes, USSD formats, emergency numbers and regional dialing codes) and a finalized postal and courier market structure, both to take effect 30 days from notice. The Water Services Regulatory Board approved an upward tariff adjustment for Wajir Water and Sewerage Company Limited for 2026/2027-2028/2029. In addition, the High Court gazette preservation orders under anti-money-laundering law restraining Bosco Okumu Musa and Azan Motors Limited from dealing with a specified motor vehicle pending investigation.
8. Deaths of Advocates – LSK Holds Nationwide Purple Ribbon March
Nationwide day of solidarity – Friday, 10 July 2026
The killing of two advocates within a single week prompted the Law Society of Kenya to convene a nationwide Purple Ribbon March. Advocate Edward Muthee Kariuki was found murdered outside his residence in Athi River, Machakos County, on 5 July, and the body of Esther Wairimu Keige, Legal Services Manager at the Kenya Forest Service, was discovered in a coffee plantation near Karimenu in Juja, Kiambu County, on 6 July – nearly a month after she went missing on 10 June. On Friday 10 July, advocates withdrew their services and marched under the purple ribbon, the profession’s symbol of remembrance and solidarity against attacks on lawyers. Led by LSK President Charles Kanjama, SC, hundreds of advocates, judicial officers and civil-society representatives processed from the Milimani Law Courts to the National Police Service headquarters (Jogoo House and Vigilance House), where they delivered petitions demanding a high-level multi-agency investigation – led by the DCI – to identify the perpetrators and any who orchestrated the killings, alongside guarantees for the safety of advocates. Parallel processions were held across LSK regional branches.
9. Obituaries – Judiciary Mourns Retired Justice Omondi Tunya
Announced – 7 July 2026
The Judiciary announced the passing of retired High Court Judge Justice Omondi Tunya, a distinguished jurist whose career spanned several decades. Chief Justice Martha Koome described him as a dedicated judicial officer who served with distinction. Beginning as a magistrate before rising to the High Court bench. There were mixed feelings on how Justice Tunya was to be remembered – with some emphasizing his diligence and fairness while others considered him as an agent of an oppressive Moi era regime.
By the
Legal Express Team
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