A recent High Court decision[1] barred the withdrawal of pensions for purchasing residential houses. This had been introduced by the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 which amended Section 38 (1A) of the Retirement Benefits Act (the RBA Act). These changes were made operational through the Retirement Benefits (Mortgage Loans) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (the Regulations). Section...
Introduction Recently, the High Court found the Small Claims Court lacked jurisdiction to listen to rental claims. We analyse the decision in HC Commercial Appeal No. E036 of 2022, Lisa Kristine Christoffersen vs Kavneet Kaur Sehmi T/A The Random Shop. What happened? A landlord appealed against a finding by the Small Claims Court to the...
Introduction In a judgment delivered on July 28, 2022, the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa declared that a developer intending to make changes to an existing development not anticipated in the original plan should have sought the consent of the unit owners. Case Summary The applicant was the owner of three apartments in a...
Introduction For all its achievements humanity is fragile, so it is not uncommon for employees to suffer illness. Some of these ailments may have far reaching consequences. In extreme circumstances, diseases or medical procedures may lead to disability. In such cases, how should an employer deal with an employee who gets a disability in the...
Introduction On 19 September 2022, the Employment and Labour Relations Court found the National Social Security Act, 2013 to be unconstitutional. The Court specifically held: The Act dealt with finance matters affecting county governments and therefore the Senate ought to have been involved in its enactment. Requiring people to register with the National Social Security...
Restructuring occurs when a business significantly modifies its debt, operations, ownership, or structure to either improve or protect itself. Restructuring is often but not always, a response to financial pressure felt by a business. It can also be an effective way of improving business performance for example, selling a cost centre. So why should you...
Statistics published by the official receiver on Kenyan insolvency matters reveal a number of interesting trends. Company voluntary arrangements and administration despite the potential for business rescue have had almost no uptake. Liquidation despite its disadvantages remains the most popular insolvency process. For example, the liquidation of ARM Cement Limited saw secured creditors recover 62...
In August, Kenya went to the polls to elect its fifth President marking end of the political season. After the votes were counted, including those at the Supreme Court, our fifth President was sworn in. The largely seamless polls were a key milestone in the Kenyan quest for democracy and leadership by the people for...
Introduction Afrasia Bank Limited won its appeal to the High Court against an arbitrator’s refusal to find the Transfer of Businesses Act (the Act) applicable to the transfer of part of the assets and liabilities of Chase Bank Kenya Limited under receivership to SBM Bank (Kenya). We analyse this case below. Facts In 2016 Afrasia...
A recent decision from the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal highlights the pitfalls of updating scheme documents. Updates while necessary to reflect current law, policy, and best practices can lead to undesirable consequences. Former employees of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya successfully challenged reduced pension benefits and had the bank ordered to repay a KES 1 billion...
KN Law LLP is a boutique corporate and commercial law firm operating in Nairobi and London.
Copyright © 2021 KN Law LLP | Privacy Policy | Data Protection
