(NAIROBI, KENYA) – Kenya’s Capital Markets Tribunal (CMT) has been unable to hear cases for close to five months because it lacks the quorum required to sit, leaving high value corporate disputes and regulatory appeals unresolved.
Sources told The Daily Handle the Tribunal has been without the quorum needed to hear and determine appeals since mid May 2026.
“We still lack quorum at the Tribunal. The JSC (Judicial Service Commission) advertised for the positions, and I think the recruitment process is still going on,” a source said.
“There is a backlog of cases, and this, coupled with the uncertainty related to the nature of the disputes we deal with, is actually not a good thing for the investment space,” the source said.
The appointment of the Tribunal’s chairperson Paul Lilan as a judge of the Court of Appeal in January, combined with the expiry of the terms of members and delays in State reappointments, has affected operations, locking in millions of shillings in pending cases.
Mr Lilan had been appointed chairman of the Tribunal for a three year term following the revocation of the appointment of former Chairperson Adrian Kamotho Njenga on 22nd May 2023. The National Treasury appointed Mr Njenga through a Gazette Notice of 19th April 2023, with effect from 20th April 2023.
A month later, the National Treasury revoked the appointment of Mr Njenga and instead appointed Mr Lilan as the new chairperson of the Tribunal, together with Constance Gikonyo, Godwin Wangongu and Paul Wanga, as members for a period of three years, with effect from 26th May 2023.
The JSC in July 2026 advertised positions for the chairperson and two non advocate members and set 13th August 2026 as the deadline for the submission of applications. The appointments have not been made.
The CMT settles complaints from persons aggrieved by a direction, refusal, limitation, restriction, revocation or suspension imposed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) or the Investor Compensation Fund Board.
It also makes inquiries into matters referred to it in writing and issues formal, binding written awards or decisions distributed to concerned parties and the CMA.
The CMT was reconstituted in June 2023 after years of inactivity. Before its reconstitution, disputes arising from regulatory action in the capital markets were largely taken to courts. These cases were framed as judicial review or constitutional matters, focusing on whether due process had been followed in the course of taking regulatory action.
However, this kind of oversight, although important, left deeper issues around corporate governance failures, board responsibility and market conduct unaddressed.