• Publications
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Membership
  • About
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
  • Public Finance
  • Constitution & Law
  • Economic Regulation
  • Trade
  • Futures
  • Special Programme
  • Communication
  • Dashboard
    • Public Debt Counter
    • Social Economic Trends
    • PPIP
  • Home
  • Focus Areas
    • Public Finance Management
    • Constitution, Law & the Economy
    • Economic Regulation and Competition Policy
    • International Trade and Development
    • Strategic Foresight
    • Policy Engagement & Communication
    • Special Programme
  • Blog
  • Publications
    • Bulletins and Briefs
    • Research Papers
    • Books
    • Presentations
    • Newsletters
  • Events
  • Membership
  • About
    • Annual Reports & Financial Statements
    • Governance
    • Overview of IEA
    • Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Dashboard
    • Public Debt Counter
    • Social Economic Trends
    • PPIP




Public Forum on Regulation of Dominant Firms in Kenya



Post date: Wed, Sep 2, 2015
Category: General
By: Oscar Ochieng,




The Institute organized a public forum on regulation of dominant firms in Kenya, the event was held at the Nairobi Sarova Stanley Hotel on Thursday, 13th August 2015. The event was well attended by a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including the media, advocates, the private sector, representatives from government institutions, and the general public. The objective of the forum was to clarify the content and rationale behind the Kenya proposed regulations and to hear a diversity of views on their effects on Kenyan consumers and competing firms.

The regulations, among which include Fair Competition and Equality of Treatment regulations 2015 and Kenya Information and Communications Consumer Protection Regulations, 2015 seek to ensure that the largest firm in the telecommunications industry would be declared a dominant firms according to the completion act and create a level of field to all operators.
Speaking during the forum, Mr. Benson Nyagol said Competition laws and judicial practice use a wide range of different terms and definitions to identify firms that are subject to single firm conduct provisions; dominance, monopoly power and market power. Convergence that single firm conduct  provisions should be applied only to firms that have “market power” and have abused that market power. Examples of abusive practices or behaviors include predation, refusal to deal, discrimination in dealing and unfair pricing.
He further said that a firm holds a market power if it possesses enough market power to behave to an appreciable extent independently of the competitors, customers and ultimately consumers. Many jurisdictions provide thresholds for dominance which vary from one jurisdiction another. However, these thresholds are not determinative but presumptive of dominance. Variety of remedies may be used to curb dominance like ex-ante regulation (e.g. price controls) -reserved for natural monopoly situation and ex-poste regulation (like fines and damages, prohibiting the behavior in the future) -applicable in contestable markets, he added.
Article 23 of the Competition Act defines dominance as the control of not less than one-half of the relevant market in Kenya or any substantial part of Kenya. It further states that not dominant but controls not less than 40% of the relevant market, unless it can show that it does not have market power. However, before claiming that a firm is dominant, it is important to define the market appropriately. Mr. Kwame Owino echoed Nyagol sentiments by saying that dominance comes about after conducting a thorough market test.




Public Forum on Regulation of Dominant Firms in Kenya

Post date: Wed, Sep 2, 2015  |   Category: General   |   By: Oscar Ochieng,



The Institute organized a public forum on regulation of dominant firms in Kenya, the event was held at the Nairobi Sarova Stanley Hotel on Thursday, 13th August 2015. The event was well attended by a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including the media, advocates, the private sector, representatives from government institutions, and the general public. The objective of the forum was to clarify the content and rationale behind the Kenya proposed regulations and to hear a diversity of views on their effects on Kenyan consumers and competing firms.

The regulations, among which include Fair Competition and Equality of Treatment regulations 2015 and Kenya Information and Communications Consumer Protection Regulations, 2015 seek to ensure that the largest firm in the telecommunications industry would be declared a dominant firms according to the completion act and create a level of field to all operators.
Speaking during the forum, Mr. Benson Nyagol said Competition laws and judicial practice use a wide range of different terms and definitions to identify firms that are subject to single firm conduct provisions; dominance, monopoly power and market power. Convergence that single firm conduct  provisions should be applied only to firms that have “market power” and have abused that market power. Examples of abusive practices or behaviors include predation, refusal to deal, discrimination in dealing and unfair pricing.
He further said that a firm holds a market power if it possesses enough market power to behave to an appreciable extent independently of the competitors, customers and ultimately consumers. Many jurisdictions provide thresholds for dominance which vary from one jurisdiction another. However, these thresholds are not determinative but presumptive of dominance. Variety of remedies may be used to curb dominance like ex-ante regulation (e.g. price controls) -reserved for natural monopoly situation and ex-poste regulation (like fines and damages, prohibiting the behavior in the future) -applicable in contestable markets, he added.
Article 23 of the Competition Act defines dominance as the control of not less than one-half of the relevant market in Kenya or any substantial part of Kenya. It further states that not dominant but controls not less than 40% of the relevant market, unless it can show that it does not have market power. However, before claiming that a firm is dominant, it is important to define the market appropriately. Mr. Kwame Owino echoed Nyagol sentiments by saying that dominance comes about after conducting a thorough market test.

More News

Public Debt Counter

We developed a #PublicDebtCounter a real-time dashboard tracking Kenya’s national debt growth.

Real-Time Debt Counter

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya) has made a compilation of 52 essays that refutes common statements about the Kenyan economy that lack sound Economic rationale.

IEA-Kenya tops list of Think Tanks in Sub Saharan Africa Region in Global Index Report

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA Kenya) has emerged as one of the top Think Tanks in Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa, according to the 2020 Global Index Report by the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. The ranking identifies think tanks that excel in research, analysis and public engagement on a wide range […]

Media Briefing on the Implementation of the national government budget 2019/20: Implication of gaps and deviations?

Friday, 06 November 2020: The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya) in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) held a media briefing to discuss the “Implementation of the national government budget FY 2019/20: Implication of gaps and deviations?” The findings and evidence generated from the analysis of budget oversight documents will be used to establish […]

The Viability of Turkana Oil

In 2012, Kenya’s oil discoveries were greeted with nationalist fervor. Pundits, officials, and their surrogates played avatar to the proposition that Kenya’s economic wants would soon be fulfilled by an oil bonanza. Some were inspired to prepare for a migration of labor and capital into oil production. Others erred towards caution. Others still expressed the […]







About IEA Kenya

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA Kenya) is a think-tank that provides a platform for informed discussions in order to influence public policy in Kenya. We seek to promote pluralism of ideas through open, active and informed debate on public policy issues. We undertake research and conduct public education on key economic and topical issues in public affairs in Kenya and the region, and utilize the outcomes of the research for policy dialogue and to influence policy making.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Quick Links

About
IEA Structure
Publications
Membership
Press
Blogs
Videos
Careers / Opportunities
Contacts
Public Audits

Contact US

1st Ngong Avenue, ACK Garden House, 5th Floor.

P.O. Box 53989 – 00200 Nairobi
admin@ieakenya.or.ke
+254 (020) 272 1262 / (020) 271 7402
+254 (0) 724256510 / (0) 733272126

Copyright © 2026. IEA Kenya. All Right Reserved.