The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has announced its decision to revoke the licenses of 42 television stations. Citing a persistent failure to comply with regulatory requirements, the move signals a continued effort by the CA to enforce the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communications Act (Cap. 411).
The stations have been given a seven-day notice to cease operations, with all broadcast resources reverting to the Authority. It is not clear when the licences will be revoked, because the statement was issued on August 22, but gazetted on September 12. So far, most of the TV stations listed are still in operation.
The revocation, announced by CA Director-General David Mugonyi, is the latest in a series of actions aimed at sanitising the broadcasting sector. This follows a similar crackdown in 2024, when the Authority revoked the licenses of 75 TV and radio stations.
The current list of affected broadcasters includes well-known outlets such as Mount Kenya TV, owned by politician Purity Ngirici and her husband; NAI TV, owned by renown media personality Jimmi Gathu; Wananchi TV, owned by Wananchi Group, which also owns ISP Zuku; Fanaka TV, owned by politician and former cabinet secretary Moses Kuria, and Metropol TV, owned by the parent company that also owns credit reference bureau Metropol.
According to a statement from the CA, the reasons for the revocations are wide-ranging but centre on critical regulatory breaches. These include the failure to pay license fees, non-compliance with licensing conditions, and in some cases, a complete cessation of operations. The Authority maintains that these measures are essential to uphold broadcasting standards and ensure a fair and transparent media environment.
The directive has raised concerns about the future of many smaller and independent media houses. For the affected stations, the immediate implication is a total shutdown of their operations, rendering them unable to broadcast or provide any services. For Zuku in particular, this will curtail one of their critical value-add services.
While the affected stations have the option to appeal, the CA’s stance indicates that the path to reinstatement will be challenging. This action underscores the CA’s commitment to holding all broadcasters accountable, regardless of their size or reach.
Here is the full list of affected stations:
Apple Truth Television owned by Apple Truth Television Network Limited Metropol TV owned by Comprehensive Business Media Limited Corporate Media TV owned by Corporate Media Communications DG TV owned by Dominion Generation Limited Doxa TV owned by Doxa Television Dunamis KTV owned by Dunamis Television Network Limited Masai TV owned by Enaang Maa TV Limited Ezra Christian TV owned by Ezra Christian TV Limited Fanaka TV owned by Fanaka Television Limited Faith Estate TV owned by Fort Hall College Limited Talent TV owned by Gates Africa Education Trust Champion TV owned by Heroes Communications Limited ILM TV owned by ILM Media Limited NAI TV owned by JimmiGathu Incorporated Limited The Mirror Television owned by Jmax Media Services Limited Ziwa TV owned by Jusga Wanjira Construction Limited Kingdom Ambassadors TV owned by Kingdom Ambassadors Media Group Limited Uboro TV owned by Kirinyaga Multimedia College Kokwo Television owned by Kokwo Radio International Limited Bulsho TV owned by Lufman Company Limited Manifestation TV owned by Manifestation TV Limited Mount Kenya TV owned by Mount Kenya Media Limited Limited Pillar TV owned by Mt. Kenya Blessings Company Tourism and Wildlife TV (Safari Channel) owned by Next Options Limited
Ongatet owned by Ongatet Television Network Mbugi TV owned by Outcom Media Limited Safina Television owned by Safina T.V Limited Shakaal Television owned by Shakaal Media Network Limited Sugan TV owned by Sugan Media Group Tama TV owned by Tama Media Group Limited Sawa Television owned by Tano Entertainment Network The Word Music TV owned by The Word Music Limited Soko TV owned by Thirties Media Limited Thjiwe TV owned by Thstone Television Limited Tem TV owned by Triple Edge Media Limited Ukweli TV Kenya owned by Ukweli Sounds and Video Limited Value TV owned by Valutel Limited Wananchi TV owned by Wananchi Television Network Limited 009 TV owned by 009 Television Limited Ability TV owned by Ability Channel Limited Ace TV owned by Ace Television Limited Superflex Television owned by Admerline Construction Limited
The money had just hit Sylvia Wanjiru’s account when her phone rang. It was a million-shilling ($7,773) payment from a client, and the caller claimed to be from her bank’s customer service. He spoke confidently, offering to “help confirm the transaction.â€
“At first I thought it was just a coincidence,†Wanjiru recalls. But when the same thing happened again, she realised someone was watching her transactions and reported it to the bank.
Her parents were not so fortunate. Pension payments of KES 34,000 ($263) and KES 2,500 ($19) from a mobile money wallet disappeared after they called a number that texted: “*** BANK. Dear Customer, your account has been SUSPENDED. Please contact 010****366 within 24 hours.â€Â Â
The money was long gone by the time they rushed to the bank and mobile money provider. Wanjiru’s experience is one among many others. Across Kenya, customers report similar encounters, including calls moments after cash deposits or transfers and text messages disguised as official alerts followed by withdrawals.
The speed and timing point to a possibility that the fraudsters work hand in glove with bank staff and mobile money agents with access to customer information.
Rising cyber-threats
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), in its Financial Sector Stability Report 2025, in August reports cases of cyber fraud in the banking sector more than doubled in 2024, rising from 153 to 353, with the amount exposed increasing to KES 1.9 billion ($14.7 million) and losses nearly quadrupling to KES 1.5 billion ($11.6 million).
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) reported 7.9 billion cyber threats in the first eight months of 2025, double the figure for 2024. CBK said attacks rose from 7.7 million in 2016 to billions due to Kenya’s economy’s rapid digitisation.
The regulator insists that despite rising risks, Kenya’s banking sector remains “resilient,†able to withstand shocks from successful cyber-attacks. However, accounts from victims, bank staff, and law enforcement suggest that most losses of funds are inside jobs.
A former compliance officer described a shadow industry in Nairobi neighbourhoods like Utawala and Ruiru, which thrives on mobile banking fraud. The setups look like call centre outsourcing hubs with rows of desks, computers, and phones.
“There are bank staff who monitor accounts, tip off the fraudsters, and within minutes, money is pushed into mule accounts,†says one ex-risk and compliance at a major bank. The cash is laundered through mobile money wallets and withdrawn at agents, or some are pushed to crypto wallets.
With 67% youth unemployment, workers are recruited through job ads for “customer service†roles, only to discover that the scripts involve impersonating bank officials or mobile money agents. And because it’s quick cash, many stay.
Pay is per successful hit, which means the more money they steal from customers, the more they earn. Corrupt police officers, according to the former compliance officer, are paid to protect operations, tip off the syndicates before raids, or frustrate investigations.
“It’s a big operation, more than you can imagine,†the former officer says. “The real people behind these schemes are known to some in Kenya Police’s serious crimes division.â€
Targets the biggest banks
The people behind the schemes design them for scale, according to an investigations officer at Banking Fraud Investigations Unit (BFIU)—a unit under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)—who has handled such cases and asked not to be named. They target banks with vast retail business like Equity Bank, KCB Group, and Co-operative Bank— Kenya’s biggest retail lenders with a combined customer base of over 50 million. With such big operations, the fraudsters hide in the noise of millions of daily transactions.
Rural pensioners, urban traders, and salaried workers with predictable income streams make easy prey.
“It’s a numbers game,†says the BFIU officer. “The bigger the bank, the more likely someone will slip.â€
Most of these frauds are not violent, but sometimes they turn deadly. In April, a teacher in Mumias was trailed and killed after withdrawing KES 285,000 ($206). Detectives believe two bank tellers may have passed on the information to robbers, pointing to insider collusion with criminals.
There are numerous reports of customers being trailed after withdrawing or depositing large sums at banks and mobile money agents across the country.
In 2024, Equity Bank reported it lost KES 1.5 billion ($11.6 million) in what was initially described by news outlets as a sophisticated hacking attack. However, investigators later alleged that bank staff colluded with property developers and lawyers to siphon off the bank’s money from the salary suspense account in thousands of small, salary-like transfers to avoid detection.
Deeper rot
On social media, many Kenyans brush off mobile banking fraud as the work of prisoners with smuggled phones when they are operations run by people living among them. While some operations enjoy corrupt officials’ backing, the BFIU officer concedes that the regulators are overstretched.
“Mobile money and banks process millions of payments daily, and that’s why some of the cases even go unnoticed,†says the officer.
However, faced with mounting fraud, most Kenyan banks have begun housecleaning to restore customer confidence. KCB Group, NCBA, Absa, and Co-operative Bank are some lenders that have recently fired staff over misconduct.
In May, Equity Group took a bolder step, announcing publicly that it was firing 1,500 staff to protect the bank’s image and its customers.
“The moment of reckoning has come,†Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi said in May. “It doesn’t matter how many I will lose. I don’t even care. I will protect the customers and the bank. I will be ruthless.â€
The bank has since extended the exercise to its subsidiary in Uganda, which has also suffered staff-linked fraud in the past two years.
Blurring of lines
The lines between cyber fraud, insider theft, and organised crime are blurred. According to the BFIU officer, most victims never report, whether from embarrassment, the small sums involved, or the hassle of filing a complaint with the police, making the CBK’s figure of KES1.5 billion an understatement.
The BFIU investigator says the schemes rarely fall into specific categories. A phishing text may be the start, but a bank teller can pass on stolen data, laundered through mobile money, and protected by police officers. Each stage blurs the line between cyber-attacks, insider theft, and organised racketeering.
The consequence, the former compliance officer warns, is erosion of trust. Many customers, unsure whether the fraudsters are hackers or someone inside their bank, choose not to report. Anxious to reassure shareholders and depositors, lenders frame the losses as “cyber threats†even when investigations show human hands.
This gap between the official narrative and what victims experience is where the danger lies. The BFUI investigator says that as Kenya’s financial system grows, the weakest link may be the people inside—tellers, agents, and officers with access to real-time customer records. Â
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Uber’s arrival in Kenya in January 2015 was a turning point for the country’s urban transport sector. The American ride-hailing app made it possible to summon a car from a smartphone, see a fare estimate before boarding, and pay by cash or card.Â
At that time, it was the first taste of tech-enabled convenience for riders in Nairobi. The service quickly spread beyond Nairobi to Mombasa and Kisumu. Over the past decade, Uber has influenced how Kenyans think about taxis, forced regulators to amend transportation laws, and created new earning opportunities for thousands of drivers (Uber declines to share how many drivers work on its platform in Kenya).
Uber’s growth coincided with fare reductions, a high commission structure, and heavy driver protests. The company has been sued, probed by the government, and experienced repeated strikes.Â
It now enters its second decade with Uber Safari, a new product that links its platform to Nairobi’s tourism economy. The launch has been met with praise and unease, signaling that many drivers and policymakers still have mixed feelings about Uber’s place in Kenya’s transport system.
Legal and regulatory changesÂ
When Uber entered the market, it was treated as a technology platform rather than a transport operator. This early classification gave it room to grow without being subject to the strict licencing requirements faced by traditional transport businesses.Â
Local taxi associations pushed back, accusing Uber of unfair competition and calling for a level regulatory field. In 2015 and 2016, there were violent attacks on Uber drivers, including reports of vehicles being vandalised near popular pick-up points.
Amidst these issues, regulatory response took years to form. By 2019, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) had created a licencing regime for digital taxi operators, which required them to register, share trip data with regulators, and enforce a commission cap.Â
Court cases by drivers further forced Uber to revise its contracts. A key ruling by the High Court held that Uber BV (its Dutch subsidiary) in Amsterdam could not avoid responsibility for fare decisions in Kenya. This clarified that drivers were in a contractual relationship with Uber Kenya and that any fare or commission change had to be fair and transparent.
Taxation has been another area of tension. The Finance Act introduced digital service tax in 2021 and later e-TIMS compliance in 2024, forcing Uber and its drivers to register for PINs and submit electronic invoices. While this improved tax compliance and gave the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) better visibility into ride-hailing income, many drivers say it increased their administrative and financial burden at a time when fuel prices were already eroding their margins.
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Drivers’ experiences and repeated protests
The promise of Uber as a steady income stream drew thousands of drivers onto the platform. Many took loans or entered lease-to-own arrangements to acquire vehicles. At first, generous incentives and high base fares made it possible to earn comfortably. But fare reductions in 2016 and a 25% commission rate quickly strained drivers’ finances. Net earnings fell below what many needed to repay loans and maintain their cars.
At some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, drivers staged sit-ins outside Uber’s offices in Nairobi and occasionally switched off the app to disrupt service. Their demands included reducing commission to 10 or 15%, increasing fares to reflect fuel and maintenance costs, and allowing more flexibility in how drivers set prices.Â
There is an ongoing debate about whether driving for Uber can be a main source of income. A 2025 IDinsight study found that Kenya’s platform drivers often work over 66 hours per week to break even.Â
Earnings fluctuate based on demand, traffic, and competition from other platforms such as Bolt, Little, and Faras. While some drivers report making enough to sustain their households, others say the model pushes them into debt and forces them to work dangerously long hours.
“Most of the Uber cars on the road are financed through loans. Drivers often work long hours just to cover monthly payments, because if they fall behind, the cars are repossessed,†Paul Sakwa, a former ride-hailing driver who now uses an electric bike, told TechCabal on Wednesday.
The protests have rarely translated into lasting policy change. The NTSA’s 18% commission cap, introduced in 2022, was seen as a win for drivers but was only partially implemented, with platforms continuing to charge more through loopholes. Labour unions have tried to organise drivers into cooperatives and bargaining groups, but high turnover and oversupply of drivers make collective action difficult to sustain.
What Uber Safari represents
For its tenth anniversary in Kenya, Uber launched Uber Safari on Tuesday, a product that allows users to book guided tours of Nairobi National Park directly through the app for KES 25,000 ($194) during the day or KES 40,000 ($311) at night. Riders can choose day or night packages, reserve in advance, and get picked up in safari-ready vehicles.Â
The idea is to merge urban ride-hailing with the tourism sector, creating a new revenue stream for licensed tour operators and giving Uber access to a premium segment.
“With Uber Safari, riders can choose between two unique offerings: a Day Safari or a Night Safari, both through Nairobi National Park – the first of its kind available through the Uber app. Using Uber Reserve, riders can pre-book their adventure directly in the app, then be picked up in a fully licensed, safari-ready Land Cruiser operated by licensed tour companies,†Uber said in a statement seen by TechCabal.Â
Despite this, only drivers with special vehicles and partnerships with fleet operators can participate, leaving out the bulk of ride-hailing drivers.Â
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Some see this as a missed opportunity, arguing that the company should first address earnings on regular trips before branching into tourism. Others worry that Uber Safari will create new pricing pressures by introducing its algorithm-driven approach to a sector that traditionally allows operators to negotiate higher margins.
“No wonder they don’t initially show the price on the app. KES 25,000 is enough for a holiday in Diani,†Kiruti Itimu, a media executive in Nairobi, told Techcabal on Wednesday.Â
A tour operator, who requested anonymity and runs an office in Nairobi’s Westlands, told TechCabal that they already face high licencing fees and compliance costs, and fear Uber’s entry could trigger a race to the bottom in safari pricing. Supporters argue that Uber Safari could expand the market by attracting younger, tech-savvy tourists who might not book a traditional tour.
A half-day trip to the park typically costs between $43 and $138 per person with a tour company or park-operated vehicle, significantly lower than Uber’s rates.
A mixed decade, and what comes next
Uber’s first ten years in Kenya have been marked by undeniable growth and equally undeniable conflict. It pioneered digital ride-hailing, expanded payment options, and gave many urban residents safer and more predictable transport.Â
It also expanded into food delivery, motorcycle taxis, and low-cost services such as Chapchap, changing how logistics and mobility work in Kenyan cities.
But the decade has also been defined by disputes over fairness. Drivers have protested fare cuts, taken Uber to court, and lobbied for regulatory protection. Regulators have responded with piecemeal reforms, some helpful, others burdensome. Passengers have benefited from lower fares and better service, but often at the expense of driver welfare.
Uber can double down on growth by finding new markets like tourism and continuing to optimise for riders, or it can work toward driving a more sustainable livelihood by sharing more revenue with its core workforce.Â
Suppose the last ten years are any guide. In that case, the tension between profitability, driver welfare, and regulatory compliance will continue to influence Uber’s and, by extension, other ride-hailing platforms in the Kenyan story.
Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Meet and learn from Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Get your tickets now: moonshot.techcabal.com
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