Corporate Governance Situation in Kenya: An Appraisal in the lens of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010

Abstract

Corporate governance and in this case, good corporate governance, is a key and critical enabler to the development of any nation and its institutions economically, socially and even in the context of environmental development. As such, the growth of any nation in both of these aspects requires good corporate governance. The story of Kenya’s corporate governance before the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, has not been anything much to be celebrated about but rather one characterized by corporate governance shortcomings. With the coming into force of the Constitution in 27th August 2010, there has clearly been a phenomenal and paradigm shift with notable aspects of good corporate governance in the country and/or its institutions. Buoyed by the progressive and purposeful interpretation of the Constitution and passage of news laws to give effect to the various provisions of the said Constitution, the situation is definitely better than it was before. Kenya has done fairly well in enacting laws towards improved governance of parastatals, especially after enacting the Constitution, 2010. The key purpose and objective of this article is to appraise this paradigm shift and ultimately give a verdict for an improved corporate governance situation in the country. A fair verdict is that there is a paradigm shift and, in this case, towards better corporate governance. Regrettably, little has been done in terms of enforcement. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Governance, Constitution of Kenya, Paradigm Shift