News and Analysis
August 24, 2026
Welcome to the Money News Roundup. Today, we cover the government's plan to let Kenyans use mobile money records to qualify for affordable housing loans and fresh revelations from the controversial Ksh11.8 billion fuel import saga.
The government is considering the use of mobile money transaction records and other alternative financial data to help millions of Kenyans without formal payslips qualify for affordable housing loans.
As reported by the Star, Housing PS Charles Hinga said traditional mortgage lending has largely favoured salaried workers, excluding traders, farmers, freelancers, small-business owners and other self-employed Kenyans.
Under the proposal, lenders would assess borrowers using mobile money transactions, SACCO savings, rental payment histories, utility bills and business records.
The move is aimed at expanding Kenya's mortgage market from the current 30,000 loans to one million and ensuring enough buyers for the more than 280,000 affordable housing units currently under construction, valued at about Ksh731.5 billion.
Hinga said the approach would allow lenders to evaluate actual income and spending patterns rather than relying solely on payslips.
The government also plans to strengthen links between the Boma Yangu platform, which has over 1.29 million registered users, and financial institutions to improve access to housing finance.
Kenyan authorities unsuccessfully tried to prevent MT Paloma, a vessel carrying 60,000 tonnes of petrol valued at about Ksh11.8 billion, from docking at the Port of Mombasa in March 2026.
As reported by the Business Daily, the government alleged the emergency fuel shipment was overpriced, substandard and procured outside the government-to-government fuel import arrangement.
The ship's owners warned the Kenya Ports Authority of possible legal action after being denied prompt clearance. Following high-level discussions, the vessel was allowed to dock and discharged its cargo at Kipevu.
The shipment later triggered investigations that led to the arrest and subsequent resignation of former Petroleum PS Mohamed Liban, former KPC CEO Joe Sang and former EPRA Director-General Daniel Kiptoo over alleged manipulation of fuel stock data.
Parliament has given the DCI 60 days to submit a report on the probe into the former energy officials.
SBM Bank has secured priority rights to recover a Ksh650 million loan from The Alma residential development in Ruaka after the High Court upheld its security interest over the Cytonn-backed project.
As reported by the Business Daily, the Alma sits on 4.67 acres and comprises 477 apartments, a commercial centre, swimming pool, gym and more than 300 parking spaces. The ruling allows SBM to enforce its charge over the property, which was registered in August 2019.
However, the court protected buyers who can prove they fully paid for their apartments before the charge was registered, allowing those units to be excluded from any sale.
Buyers who purchased units after August 23, 2019 were not granted similar protection, with the court noting that the bank's charge was a matter of public record and should have been discovered through due diligence.
The ruling is a setback for more than 25,000 Cytonn investors and over 100 homeowners who sought to block the bank's recovery efforts. Cytonn High Yield Solutions was placed under liquidation in 2023, with creditor claims exceeding Ksh11 billion.
New details have emerged on a growing salary crisis affecting civil servants in 21 counties that have been unable to pay workers since June 2026 despite receiving allocations up to August 2026.
As reported by Nation, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango revealed that most counties have had delays submitting their 2026/2027 budget that would allow them to access the monies allocated to them under the law.
The National Treasury has confirmed sending the full allocations for July and August.
According to the Nyakang’o, seven counties have not submitted their budgets at all. They include Embu, Kisumu, Machakos, Meru, Siaya, Tana River and Trans Nzoia.
32 counties have submitted their financial budgets but the process of clearance has been marred by delays, with 9 counties yet to get clearance.
Out of the nine pending applications, four were still under review while five applications have been sent back to the counties for amendment in order to align with the law.
The CoB warned that delays in submitting approved budgets, planning documents and other statutory paperwork hinder IFMIS clearance and approval of exchequer withdrawals.
Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Marsabit, Kilifi and Embu, have already cleared their workers’ June and July salaries.
Some counties had previously relied on commercial banks to advance salaries to employees, but some of these arrangements have ended after counties failed to repay the advances or moved their accounts to other banks after their allocations were cleared.
Moi University academic staff have threatened industrial action after the university issued redundancy notices affecting 75 employees, including senior lecturers and professors.
As reported by Nation, the Academic Staff Union accused management of contradicting itself by declaring staff redundant while advertising for part-time lecturers in the same departments.
Union officials questioned whether a financial audit justified the layoffs and warned that lecturers were already handling classes of more than 1,000 students.
They demanded the withdrawal of both the redundancy notices and recruitment adverts, warning of strikes, suspension of teaching and legal action if management fails to reverse the decision.
Internet service providers have warned that a proposed law requiring subscribers to be assigned unique "internet meter" numbers could increase broadband costs and create significant privacy risks.
The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2025 would require ISPs to track customer internet usage, generate consumption-based invoices and submit usage data to the State.
The Business Daily reports that telcos including Jamii Telkom and Poa Internet say compliance would require costly investments in monitoring and billing systems, costs they warn would be passed on to consumers.
They also argue the proposal could force a shift from fixed-speed broadband packages to volume-based billing. Industry players and rights groups have further raised concerns that centralised storage of detailed internet usage data could expose users to cyberattacks, data breaches and potential State surveillance.
SUN Mobility has launched an open-architecture battery-swapping network in Kenya, with more than 35 stations already operating in Nairobi and Mombasa through a partnership with Vivo Energy.
As reported by the Star, the network supports electric motorcycles, scooters, tuk-tuks and cargo three-wheelers from multiple manufacturers using shared infrastructure.
The company says the technology can cut operating costs by up to 35% compared with petrol-powered vehicles.
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