Ports and logistics firm DP World is embroiled in a corporate name fight in Kenya, with the Business Registration Service (BRS) now asking the Dubai-based giant to drop it or risk being struck off the companies register.
Official correspondence seen by Business Daily revealed that the BRS has given the directors of the local subsidiary of the Dubai firm, DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya Limited, 30 days to change its name after finding it similar to that of another company.
Hiram Gachugi, the deputy registrar of companies, said the name of DP World’s local subsidiary was similar to that of an existing firm and that the two companies were in the same line of business—logistics.
The directive leaves DP World’s Kenyan operations in a precarious position, with the company already having struck major deals, including a long-term agreement with eCitizen to deploy its cargo clearance platform through the government portal.
Mr Gachugi sent the letter to the directors of DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya Limited after receiving a complaint from Gatama & Associates, acting for DP World Logistics EA Limited, on November 25, 2025.
“We have noted that this office registered a private limited company bearing the name ‘DP World Logistics EA Limited’ (OVT-GYUYM9R) on December 15, 2020, before you sought a change of your company to DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya Limited…on 10th December, 2024,” Mr Gachugi said in the May 5, 2026 letter seen by the Business Daily.
Mr Gachugi noted that the firm was mistakenly given the name “DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya Limited”, as it was identical to an existing name.
“We therefore call upon you to change the name of your company within thirty (30) days from the date hereof, failure to which we shall invoke the provisions of Section 58 (5), (6) and (7) pursuant to the Companies (Amendment) Act, No. 28 of 2017, and strike off the said registration in our register,” he said.
DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya was initially incorporated as International Healthcare Distributors (EA) Limited before its name was changed to the current name on December 10, 2024, according to BRS records.
The name dispute was triggered by a complaint from DP World Logistics EA Limited, which told BRS that it had the right to the name, having been registered on December 15, 2020, before the name change. DP World Logistics EA Limited is fully owned by Kennedy Oluoch Onyango.
The dispute raises questions about the protection of globally recognised brands in Kenya, with multinational companies potentially finding themselves in legal battles over names as they expand into the country.
Some could be forced to negotiate with local businesses that had registered similar names, creating uncertainty over branding and potentially complicating expansion plans.
DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya is fully owned by Imperial Managed Solutions East Africa Limited, which is owned 99.9 percent, or 4,457 ordinary shares, by Imperial Capital Limited, while the remaining one share is held by Imperial Holdings Limited. Imperial Capital Limited is owned by Imperial Logistics Limited, which is fully owned by DP World.
The group completed its acquisition of Imperial Logistics in March 2022, giving it a wider logistics and market-access network across Africa.
Directors of DP World Logistics Clearing and Forwarding Kenya include Keith Reginald Domoney, who is linked to the group’s South African operations, and Kenyan Gaunya Newton Wanjala, who is also its country director. The company secretary is Margaret Wangari Ndirangu.
Cases of companies finding their names already registered are not new in Kenya.
In a case involving Buupass Kenya Limited and Buspass Kenya Limited, the High Court dealt with a dispute over the visually and phonetically similar names of two online bus-ticketing companies.
The Registrar had directed Buspass to change its name after Buupass complained. The court subsequently found infringement and passing off, among other remedies.
In another case, the Registrar admitted that “The Serenity Spa Limited” had inadvertently been registered in 2014 despite the existence of Serenity Spa Limited, registered in 2010.
The court noted that Section 58 of the Companies Act gives the Registrar power to direct a company to change a name that is the same as, or too similar to, an existing name.
A similar fight involved Golden Africa Kenya Limited and Golden Africa Trading Limited.
The former, registered in 2011, complained that the latter, registered in 2015, had a visually and phonetically similar name and operated in a sector where confusion could arise.
The High Court ordered the Registrar to follow the Section 58 procedure to compel the later company to change its name.
BRS officials say such double registrations are uncommon but can occur, particularly because of errors in registration. An official said the first company to register a name generally has priority, and the Registrar has to rectify cases where similar names are inadvertently registered.
Problems of double registration were more common before company records were migrated to digital platforms, the official said. DP World has had a growing commercial presence in Kenya, although it does not operate the Port of Mombasa.
In 2014, the group bid for the concession of the second container terminal at Mombasa, emerging second to Singapore’s PSA International before the tender was cancelled.
In 2021, its DUBUY.com B2B e-commerce platform entered Kenya in partnership with local business organisations, giving Kenyan firms access to international markets through DP World’s logistics network.
In 2025, DP World signed the eCitizen agreement to deploy CARGOES Customs and launched a Port Community System in Mombasa in collaboration with the Kenya Ports Authority and the government.
The company said the system could cut cargo clearance times by up to 30 percent, but stressed that it does not operate Mombasa port. More recently, DP World agreed to invest more than $100 million (about Sh12 billion) in a special economic zone project in Mombasa with businessman Suleiman Shahbal’s Gulf Group. The project is expected to create thousands of jobs.
The company’s regional footprint also gives weight to its brand. DP World operates major port facilities in Dakar, Dar es Salaam and Maputo, among other African markets.
At Dar es Salaam, it operates under a 30-year concession, while its Dakar operation has been running since 2008.
