Just 12.4 percent of over Sh1.4 billion fines imposed by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) since 2021 have been paid, as companies punished for misconduct take on the competition watchdog in courts.
The authority says firms fined for misconduct such as abuse of buyer power, forming cartels and other anti-competitive behaviours paid Sh177.5 million in fines and penalties between 2021 and 2025, as major players contested the measures.
Among major companies that have contested the penalties is Carrefour Supermarket, which the CAK fined Sh1.1 billion in December 2023 for demanding substantial discounts from suppliers.
Carrefour is currently entangled in a legal battle with the CAK at the competition tribunal.
“That is what we have imposed and collected (Sh177.5 million). There are still fines that are contested like the one for Carrefour. That one will not be complete until the client has exhausted the avenues for defending their rights,” said CAK’s Director-Deneral David Kemei.
Mr Kemei said while the authority has fined several companies in the steel and retail sectors Sh1.43 billion, Sh1.25 billion remains uncollected until the firms exhaust legal channels for their defence.
Nine steel manufacturers fined Sh338 million by the CAK in August 2023 for price-fixing and causing a shortage of key construction materials are also part of the players who have contested the decision in court. The companies included Devki Group, Doshi, Corrugated Steel Ltd, and Tononoka Rolling Mills.
“Those fines have been imposed but they have not crystallised so to say, until the process of appeal by clients is completed and decided by the tribunal,” Mr Kemei said.
He spoke as the CAK launched its strategic plan for the 2023-2027 period when the authority prioritises issues of consumer protection, mainstreaming research and advocacy, and creating more awareness for Kenyans.
The CAK maintains that it is using fines and penalties as a remedy to anti-competitive tendencies sparingly, to strike a balance between encouraging compliance and punishing businesses.
The law requires that players found culpable of anti-competitive behaviours can be fined up to 10 percent of their gross revenues.
“We have not reached a point where we have imposed a fine of 10 percent as required by the law because we are balancing between encouraging businesses to comply and punishing breach of the law,” Mr Kemei said.
CAK Chairman Shaka Kariuki said the authority was localising its services at the counties through Huduma centres and eventually opening regional offices, as one of the ways to create and serve more Kenyans.
“By being physically present at the county level, maybe by leveraging the existing Huduma centres, we shall bridge this information gap. This is an ongoing conversation, which includes securing resources for extra personnel,” Mr Kariuki said.
The authority says that over the last three years, Sh62 million consumer savings have been recorded on the cases it has finalised and that Sh2.7 billion has been recovered from delayed payments to small suppliers since 2020.
