Insight type: Legal Alert

Status of the Agreement
On 3 November 2020, Kenya and the UK signed the Kenya-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (the EPA) to continue the preferential zero tariff and zero quota trade of goods between the two countries.

 

Following the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 (the Constitution) the Government of Kenya has been reviewing policies and legislation to align them with the Constitution. The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife (the Ministry) has released a new Wildlife Policy, 2020 (the Wildlife Policy). The Wildlife Policy updates the existing wildlife policy, published in 1975, and aims to align the current wildlife conservation and management practices and legislation with:

 

Currently, Kenya does not have a legal framework governing digital borrowing. However, with the increasing clamour to rein in rogue operators in the industry, Parliament has stepped in to introduce regulatory supervision of the sector through the Central Bank of Kenya (the CBK).

 

Following several debates, the Kenyan Parliament on 9 March 2021 finally ratified the Kenya-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which seeks to ease long-term trade between the two countries for a 25-year duration. Through an explanatory memorandum analysing the EPA, some of its expected benefits include an increase in market access to the UK, greater foreign direct investment as well as a gradual opening of Kenyan markets.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis have caused significant financial distress to many businesses in Kenya and across the world.  Euler Hermes,[1] which maintains the Global Insolvency Index, predicts that the pandemic is creating an “insolvency time bomb” and estimates that global business insolvencies are set to increase by more than 35% by 2021.[2]

 

 

Just over a year after the enactment of the Data Protection Act, 2019 (the DPA)  Ms. Immaculate Kassait, the former Director of Voter Education, Partnerships and Communications at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission was recently appointed as the first Data Commissioner of Kenya (the Data Commissioner)  by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges to the manner in which parties execute contracts/ agreements. Traditionally this challenge has been resolved by having parties enforce agreements in counterparts. The pandemic creates a unique environment where “electronic signatures” can become an established practice. This legal alert aims at addressing the issue of whether electronic contracting is permitted in Zambia. It will explain the two types of electronic signatures and when they may be used. It will also address the types of contracts that cannot be concluded electronically and what parties need to do to be able to sign documents electronically.

On 29 June 2020, the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSH) issued an Advisory on return-to-work requirements to be implemented at all workplaces to ensure that employees returning to work are safe and healthy and that the COVID-19 virus is mitigated from spreading in the workplace.

 

 

In our previous three articles in this series (see Part I, Part II and Part III) we explored how parties may rely on force majeure clauses, on the doctrines of frustration, impossibility and impracticability of performance or on Material Adverse Change clauses as defences to non-performance or delayed performance resulting from the impact of COVID-19.

 

Most countries around the world have slowly begun to ease their COVID-19 lockdown restrictions; curfews are being lifted, borders are reopening and certain businesses including airlines and restaurants are resuming operations after months of closure.