DM Kaburu Advocates, Nairobi (2026)

16/10/2026

AFRICA'S GOLD INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE THAN GOLD. IT NEEDS TRUST.

Anyone familiar with Africa's gold trade knows how easily genuine business opportunities can become entangled in fake gold deals, fraudulent intermediaries and questionable documentation. Ethiopia's new $50 million gold refinery is therefore an interesting development, not just for the gold it can process, but for the confidence it could help build in regional trade.

A credible refining hub could attract international buyers, investment capital and financial services while creating jobs, improving returns for miners and increasing government revenue. With proper verification and certification systems, it could also make life considerably harder for gold fraudsters.

Of course, building a refinery is one thing. Making it commercially successful is another. Reliable gold supplies, competitive costs, transparent trading systems and international market access will ultimately determine its success.

This is the kind of economic thinking Africa needs. Not every country must build every industry. We can achieve much more through regional specialisation, stronger institutions and deeper trade integration.

Africa has the resources. The next challenge is building the industries and trust needed to turn them into lasting wealth.

01/10/2026

Buying property in Kenya from abroad?

Your biggest risk may not be the contract.

It may be not knowing what is actually happening on the ground.

When you are thousands of kilometres away, you need more than a lawyer who reviews documents. You need someone who can be your eyes and ears in Kenya.

That means checking the title, reviewing the agreement, engaging the developer, following up with the relevant professionals and, where necessary, visiting the property in person.

For diaspora clients, distance should not mean uncertainty.

You should have a lawyer who is willing to take ownership of the transaction and actively protect your interests in Kenya.

That is the approach we believe in at DM Kaburu & Company Advocates:

Hands-on.
Responsive.
Legally rigorous.
Focused on protecting your investment.

If you are buying property in Kenya from abroad, we are available to guide you from due diligence to completion.

01/10/2026

Succession planning should not leave the next generation asset-rich but cash-poor.

Many families spend decades accumulating land, homes, farms and plots.

On paper, the estate may be worth tens or even hundreds of millions.

Then the founder dies and the next generation discovers something uncomfortable:

They inherited wealth, but they did not inherit income.

The family may own several properties, but school fees still have to be paid. Medical bills still arise.

Property rates, maintenance and everyday family expenses do not stop simply because the estate is valuable.

And when there is little recurring income, the family may eventually start selling the very assets the previous generation spent decades accumulating.

That is the asset-rich, cash-poor inheritance problem.

Land can preserve wealth. It can appreciate significantly. But appreciation and cash flow are not the same thing.

A KSh 50 million parcel of idle land can make a family wealthy on paper while producing nothing to meet monthly needs.

That is why succession planning should ask two questions:

Who will inherit the assets?

And just as importantly:

What will generate the income required to preserve them?

This is where succession planning becomes more than wills, trusts and distribution percentages.

It becomes a question of capital allocation, liquidity and sustainability.

A family trust can provide continuity, governance and controlled distributions. But a trust holding only unproductive assets can still face a cash-flow problem.

The real objective should therefore be bigger than transferring property.

It should be to leave behind a functioning wealth system, one with productive assets, liquidity, governance, investment discipline and clear rules for distribution and reinvestment.

Because the strongest inheritance is not merely property.

It is an estate capable of sustaining itself.

A useful question for every property owner is this:

If my family never sold the land I leave them, would the rest of my estate generate enough income to support them, maintain the assets and continue building wealth?

If the answer is no, the succession plan may not yet be complete.

30/09/2026

FAMILY TRUST REGISTRATION IN KENYA: SIGNING THE DEED IS ONLY THE START

Family trust registration in Kenya now falls under the Trust Administration Act, 2026, which took effect on 25 September 2026.

A family trust can help parents, property owners and business founders plan for children, preserve family wealth and provide continuity when circumstances change. But the trust will only work as intended if its purpose, governance and assets are properly aligned.

The first practical point is often missed: signing a trust deed does not, by itself, transfer the family home, rental property, business shares or investment account into the trust.

Before creating or funding a family trust, consider:

What is the trust meant to achieve?
Identify the assets, beneficiaries and real purpose—such as education, care of dependants, management of rental income, business succession or long-term preservation of family property.

Who should manage it?
Choose trustees who can act carefully, keep records and make difficult decisions fairly. The deed should address trustee replacement, decision-making, conflicts of interest, distributions and what happens if a trustee dies or becomes unable to act.

Should the trust be registered or incorporated?
Under the new Act, a written trust must be registered or incorporated. The choice affects legal personality and how property is held. Every trust must also maintain and lodge beneficial-ownership information.

How will each asset actually move?
Land requires the correct conveyancing and registration steps. Charged property may require lender consent. Company shares may require approvals under the articles or a shareholders’ agreement. Tax, stamp-duty, matrimonial-property and foreign-ownership issues should be checked before—not after—the transfer.

Does the wider estate plan still make sense?
The trust should be coordinated with the settlor’s will, insurance nominations, jointly owned property and business-succession arrangements. A trust is not automatically a substitute for a will or a complete estate plan.

Existing trusts generally have a 24-month transition period, ending on 25 September 2028, to comply with the new framework. Trustees should review their deeds, eligibility, records, beneficial-ownership information and asset registers rather than waiting for the deadline.

A trust is not the right solution for every family. Independent legal, tax and financial advice becomes especially important where assets are co-owned, charged to a lender, held through companies or spread across countries.

DM Kaburu & Company Advocates advises families, founders, property owners and trustees on family trusts, succession planning and transfer of assets in Nairobi, Kenya.
https://www.dmklaw.co.ke/⁠�

This post is for general information and does not constitute legal advice.

26/09/2026

As a transactional lawyer, I have experienced this many times.

The client sees a smooth transaction but not the behind-the-scenes work—the reviews, calls, negotiations, risk analysis and years of experience applied to make it appear effortless.

Sometimes, the smoother the transaction looks, the more work happened where the client could not see it.

23/09/2026

THE TRUE TEST OF A FAMILY BUSINESS IS NOT HOW SUCCESSFUL IT BECOMES UNDER ITS FOUNDER—BUT WHETHER IT CAN CONTINUE TO THRIVE AFTER THE FOUNDER IS GONE.

Family businesses that survive their founders and endure for generations are rarely sustained by chance.

They are deliberately transformed from founder-dependent enterprises into enduring institutions.

Ownership is structured. Leadership is prepared. Governance is established. Authority is transferred before a crisis makes the transition unavoidable.

The day the founder leaves should therefore not be the day succession begins.

Many family businesses do not collapse because the next generation lacks talent. They collapse because the enterprise remained entirely dependent on the founder—and the succession conversation was postponed until illness, incapacity, death or conflict forced it upon the family.

Effective succession requires four separate decisions:

1. Who will own the business?
2. Who is qualified to manage it?
3. Who will exercise voting and appointment powers?
4. How will family members who are not involved in management benefit?

Ownership and management are not the same.

A child may inherit shares without becoming the chief executive. A competent family member may manage the enterprise without holding all its shares. Where no family member is ready, professional management may preserve both the business and the family’s wealth.

A will alone is not a business-succession plan. Neither is a family trust on its own.

A comprehensive plan may bring together:

• Wills and family trusts
• Shareholders’ agreements
• Company and board governance
• Family constitutions
• Successor development
• Incapacity and emergency arrangements
• Insurance and liquidity planning
• A gradual transfer of the founder’s authority

The best time to begin is while the founder is healthy, respected and capable of explaining the plan, mentoring the next generation and correcting mistakes without the pressure of a crisis.

Proper succession is not simply the transfer of assets. It is the transfer of a functioning enterprise, established relationships, institutional knowledge and responsible stewardship.

A successful founder builds a business. A visionary founder builds an institution capable of surviving them.

DM Kaburu & Company Advocates advises founders and family businesses on succession planning, family trusts, wills, ownership structures and intergenerational wealth transfer.

Build it. Protect it. Transfer it.

🌐 dmklaw.co.ke
📞 +254 723 449 350

22/09/2026

BUYING AN OFF-PLAN APARTMENT IN KENYA? CHECK THE DEVELOPER’S BANK CHARGE BEFORE PAYING IN FULL

Off-plan apartment due diligence in Kenya should establish more than whether the developer owns the land. It should also confirm whether the mother title is charged to a bank—and exactly how your unit will be released from that charge.

On 18 September 2026, the High Court in Nairobi issued an interim injunction protecting a specific apartment pending arbitration. The purchasers had paid the KSh 27.5 million purchase price in full and taken possession, but their sublease had not been registered because the developer’s financier had not released the partial discharge.

The court did not finally determine ownership, compel the bank to discharge the unit or order registration. Those substantive issues remained for arbitration. It preserved the apartment against sale, alienation or other dealings that could prejudice the purchasers while the dispute was resolved.

The practical lesson is clear: full payment, receipts and possession are not the same as a registered title or sublease.

Before paying a substantial deposit or the full price, the purchaser’s advocate should check:

Is the mother title charged, to which lender and for how much?

Has the financier agreed in writing to issue a partial discharge for the unit—and on what conditions?

Should part of the purchase price be paid directly to the lender, retained or held in escrow?

Is there a firm deadline for registering the sublease or sectional title?

What refund, interest, specific-performance and interim-protection remedies are available?

Should a caution or another lawful registry protection be considered?

Where the agreement contains an arbitration clause, it should preserve the right to seek urgent interim court protection under the Arbitration Act.

Developers and project financiers should agree on a unit-by-unit release schedule before accepting purchaser funds. Buyers—especially diaspora investors—should not rely only on an assurance that “the bank will release the title later.”

DM Kaburu & Company Advocates advises buyers, developers and lenders on off-plan apartment due diligence, sale agreements, bank discharges and title registration in Nairobi, Kenya.

https://www.dmklaw.co.ke/⁠�
This post is for general information and does not constitute legal advice.

21/09/2026

With the Trust Administration Act, 2026 now in force, many Kenyans are asking:

Should I establish a family trust instead of writing a will?

The answer is not always either/or.

A will directs how your estate should be distributed after death and ordinarily requires a succession process. A trust can operate during your lifetime and continue afterwards, providing clear rules on who manages specified assets, who benefits from them and how family wealth should be transferred.

A properly structured trust may help families:

• Preserve family property across generations
• Provide for children and other dependants
• Maintain continuity in a family business
• Reduce delays affecting assets already held in trust
• Establish clear rules for managing and distributing wealth

However, a trust is not an automatic shield against taxes, creditors or legitimate matrimonial claims. The assets must be properly transferred into the trust, and the trustees must comply with their legal and administrative obligations.

The important question is not simply, “Do I need a trust or a will?”

It is: “What combination of legal structures best protects my family, assets and long-term intentions?”

DM Kaburu & Company Advocates advises families, professionals, entrepreneurs and property owners on family trusts, wills, succession planning and generational wealth transfer.

Build it. Protect it. Transfer it.

🌐 dmklaw.co.ke
📞 +254 723 449 350

18/09/2026

DEVELOPERS: CHECK THE ZONING BEFORE BUYING LAND IN NAIROBI

One of the most expensive mistakes a property developer can make happens before construction begins: buying land at a development price without verifying what the specific parcel can legally and practically support.

A clean title, attractive location and agent’s assurance that an area allows high-rise development are not enough.

Under the Nairobi City County Development Control Policy 2026, development potential depends on several factors:

✅ The parcel’s exact zone and sub-zone
✅ Permitted land use
✅ Minimum plot size
✅ Plot ratio and ground coverage
✅ Building-height ceiling
✅ Setbacks, access and parking
✅ Water, sewerage, electricity and drainage capacity
✅ Road-widening or land-surrender requirements
✅ Environmental and other agency approvals

Different sections of the same neighbourhood may have different controls.

Even where the zoning matrix provides for a particular maximum height, that does not amount to approval for every parcel within the area. Plot size, infrastructure, parking, environmental conditions and approvals still matter.

Developers should also account for the Development Impact Fee contemplated by the policy, planning-gain requirements, professional fees, utility upgrades, environmental compliance and sustainability measures when preparing the project budget.

These costs can materially affect the number of saleable units, construction programme, financing requirement and expected return.

Before completing the purchase:

• Obtain legal and planning due diligence
• Commission a technical feasibility assessment
• Prepare a realistic approval and infrastructure matrix
• Make the acquisition conditional where appropriate
• Confirm the current implementing rules and fees
• Align financing documents with the approved project
• Avoid marketing or selling unapproved floors or units

Lenders and equity investors should also avoid relying solely on an architectural concept or developer’s projected unit schedule. They should require evidence that the proposed development is compatible with the site’s planning controls and infrastructure.

The safer development sequence is:

Zoning and legal due diligence → technical feasibility → conditional land acquisition → approvals → financing → construction → sales.

DM Kaburu & Company Advocates advises developers, investors, landowners and financiers on development-site due diligence, acquisition agreements, project structuring, regulatory approvals, financing and off-plan sale documentation in Nairobi.

www.dmklaw.co.ke

This post is for general information and does not constitute legal advice.

DM Kaburu Advocates

16/10/2026

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

30/09/2026

26/09/2026

23/09/2026

22/09/2026

21/09/2026

18/09/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request