Commercial disputes · Arbitration · Enforcement
Business Dispute Resolution in Kenya
When a counterparty stops paying, a co-shareholder blocks a decision, or a contract fails, the cost is rarely just the sum in issue. We act for the commercial side of the dispute and we tell you early what the matter is realistically worth pursuing.
The commercial disputes we handle
- Contract and commercial disputes
- Shareholder and director disputes
- Partnership and joint venture disputes
- Commercial arbitration
- Debt recovery and enforcement
- Enforcing judgments and arbitral awards
- Corporate insolvency and distress
and 6 further areas set out below
Most business disputes do not begin in a courtroom. They begin with an unanswered invoice, a board meeting that cannot reach a resolution, a supplier who has quietly started serving a competitor, or a shareholder who wants out on terms the others will not accept.
By the time a dispute is formally filed, the commercial decisions that determine its outcome have usually already been made: whether the contract contained an arbitration clause and where it seats the tribunal, whether notice was given in the form the agreement required, whether the relevant correspondence was written on the assumption it would one day be read by a judge. Advice taken at that earlier stage changes the range of outcomes available later, and it is materially cheaper.
Our approach is to establish three things before recommending a route: what the claim is actually worth after costs and recovery risk, how long each available forum will realistically take, and what the dispute will cost the business in management attention and commercial relationships while it runs. Some matters justify a full arbitration. A significant number are better resolved through a properly constructed demand and a negotiated settlement, and we will say so.
Areas of work
The commercial disputes we handle
Contract and commercial disputes
Breach of supply, distribution, services and framework agreements. The early questions are usually whether the terminating party followed the notice machinery in the contract, and whether a limitation or exclusion clause caps what can be recovered.
ExploreShareholder and director disputes
Deadlock, exclusion from management, disputed share valuations and unfair prejudice. These turn on the articles and any shareholders' agreement, and on directors' statutory duties under the Companies Act, 2015 — which are owed to the company, not to the shareholder who appointed you.
ExplorePartnership and joint venture disputes
Disputes between business partners over profit share, contribution, exit and the ownership of assets built during the venture. Frequently complicated by arrangements that were never reduced to writing, which changes the evidence strategy considerably.
ExploreCommercial arbitration
Arbitrations seated in Nairobi and abroad, under the Arbitration Act, 1995 and under institutional rules. We advise on whether the arbitration clause is enforceable, on tribunal appointment, and on the narrow grounds on which a Kenyan court will set an award aside.
Debt recovery and enforcement
Structured recovery for businesses owed money, from demand and statutory demand through to judgment and execution. Enforcement, not judgment, is where most recovery actually fails — so we assess the debtor's asset position before you spend on proceedings.
ExploreEnforcing judgments and arbitral awards
Recognition and enforcement of domestic and foreign awards, attachment, garnishee proceedings and charging orders. Kenya is a party to the New York Convention, which is what makes a foreign award enforceable here, subject to the limited grounds for refusal.
Corporate insolvency and distress
Acting for creditors and for companies under pressure: statutory demands, liquidation petitions, administration and the restructuring options under the Insolvency Act, 2015. Timing determines recovery ranking, so this is rarely work that benefits from waiting.
ExploreConstruction and project disputes
Payment claims, variations, delay and defect disputes on building and infrastructure projects. Most standard-form construction contracts route disputes to adjudication or arbitration rather than court, and the contractual timelines for raising a claim are short.
ExploreCommercial lease disputes
Rent arrears, distress for rent, service charge disputes, dilapidations and forfeiture, acting for both landlords and commercial tenants. Controlled tenancies carry statutory protections that change what a landlord can lawfully do.
ExploreCompetition and regulatory disputes
Investigations and proceedings before the Competition Authority of Kenya and sector regulators, including restrictive-practice allegations, abuse of dominance and merger conditions.
ExploreIntellectual property disputes
Trade mark and copyright infringement, passing off, and misuse of confidential information and trade secrets — including by departing employees and former distributors.
ExploreFranchise and distribution disputes
Termination, territory and performance disputes between franchisors, franchisees, distributors and agents, including disputes over post-termination restraints and goodwill.
ExploreMediation and negotiated settlement
Structured settlement of disputes where the commercial relationship is worth preserving or where the cost of a contested hearing exceeds the realistic recovery. Court-annexed mediation is now a standard feature of Kenyan civil procedure.
The law that applies
The Kenyan framework a commercial dispute runs through
Which forum hears your dispute, how long it takes and what it costs are largely determined before the dispute arises — by the contract, and by the statutes below. These are the provisions that most often decide the shape of a commercial matter in Kenya.
Arbitration Act, No. 4 of 1995
Governs arbitrations seated in Kenya and the recognition of awards. A court must stay court proceedings brought in breach of a valid arbitration agreement, and the grounds for setting an award aside are deliberately narrow — an award is not appealable simply because the tribunal got the commercial analysis wrong.
The Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025, published by the NCIA, proposes an Arbitral Court, statutory recognition of emergency arbitrators and rules on third-party funding. It remains a Bill and is not yet law.
Companies Act, No. 17 of 2015
Sets out directors' duties, shareholder remedies including the unfair-prejudice petition and the derivative claim, and the statutory machinery for company decision-making. Most shareholder disputes are argued on this Act read together with the company's articles and any shareholders' agreement.
Insolvency Act, No. 18 of 2015
Provides administration, liquidation and voluntary arrangement procedures, and governs creditor ranking. It also introduced rescue mechanisms intended to preserve a viable business rather than break it up, which changes the calculation for a creditor deciding how aggressively to proceed.
Civil Procedure Act (Cap 21) and the Civil Procedure Rules
Governs pleadings, interlocutory relief, discovery and execution in the civil courts, and provides for court-annexed mediation. Commercial matters above the Magistrates' Courts' limits are heard in the Commercial and Tax Division of the High Court.
Small Claims Court Act, 2016
Provides a fast, low-cost forum for money claims within its pecuniary limit, with a procedure designed to conclude matters quickly. For low-value B2B debt it is frequently the commercially correct route rather than the High Court.
Pecuniary jurisdiction: KES 1,000,000 (section 12(3)).
New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
Kenya is a contracting state, so an award made in another contracting state is enforceable here subject only to the limited refusal grounds in the Convention and the Arbitration Act. This is the practical reason cross-border commercial contracts involving Kenyan parties so often choose arbitration over litigation.
This page describes the legal framework in general terms and is not legal advice. Legislation and regulator practice change; the position below was reviewed on 26 August 2026. Advice on your own circumstances requires an engagement with the firm.
Who we act for
Who we act for in commercial disputes
Companies and their boards
Facing or bringing a claim that is material to the balance sheet, and needing a view on provisioning, disclosure and whether to fight or settle.
Shareholders and investors
Locked in a governance dispute, excluded from information or management, or holding a stake in a company whose value is being eroded by the conduct of others.
Founders and business partners
Separating from a co-founder or partner where the arrangements were informal and the ownership of the business, its clients and its IP is contested.
Lenders and financiers
Enforcing security, recovering facilities in default, or protecting a position where a borrower has entered insolvency proceedings.
Suppliers, distributors and contractors
Owed money on delivered goods or completed works, or defending a termination that puts a significant revenue line at risk.
Foreign parties with Kenyan exposure
Holding a contract governed by Kenyan law or an award that needs enforcing here, and needing local counsel who can act without a long orientation period.
Tell us what the dispute is actually about
Send us the contract and a short account of what has happened. We will come back with a view on the merits, the likely forum, and what pursuing it is realistically worth.
How we work
How a commercial dispute runs with us
- 01
Position assessment
We read the contract, the correspondence and the governing clauses before advising. The output is a written view of the merits, the realistic recovery, and the forum the contract commits you to.
- 02
Strategy and costs
A route recommendation with a costs estimate against it — demand, mediation, arbitration or proceedings — including our view of the counterparty's likely response and their ability to pay.
- 03
Conduct of the matter
Running the claim or defence: pleadings, evidence, interlocutory applications, tribunal appointment where relevant, and settlement negotiation kept live in parallel throughout.
- 04
Recovery and enforcement
A judgment or award is not money. We plan enforcement against identified assets, and where recovery is not realistic we say so before further costs are incurred.
Legal insights
Further reading on business dispute resolution
- Commercial LawLitigation, Arbitration or Mediation in Kenya: Choosing the ForumThe forum is usually chosen years earlier in a contract clause nobody negotiated. That clause deserves more attention than it gets.
- Debt RecoveryHow to Recover a Commercial Debt in Kenya Legally, Without Losing More Than You RecoverMost Kenyan debts are recoverable. The question is whether the recovery costs less than the debt, and that is decided in the first month.
- Debt RecoveryB2B Debt Recovery in Kenya: Protecting the Relationship and the ReceivableThe best recovery clause is written before the invoice. The second best is a sequence that leaves the relationship intact.
- Debt RecoveryWhat a Debt Recovery Lawyer in Kenya Does in the First 14 DaysRecovery is decided early. By the time a matter is a year old, the assets have usually moved.
- Property LawLand Disputes in Kenya: How the Environment and Land Court Actually DecidesLand litigation in Kenya is won on documents assembled years earlier, not on arguments made at the hearing.
- Debt RecoveryStatutory Demands in Kenya: The Insolvency Lever Most Creditors IgnoreA valid statutory demand converts a payment dispute into an insolvency risk for the debtor. That changes the conversation.
Common questions
Questions we are asked most
Related Gracen Law Services
Work that sits alongside business dispute resolution
Most matters in this area touch at least one of the following. Each links through to the relevant Gracen Law practice or sector page.
- Dispute ResolutionDisputes resolved to protect value and achieve practical outcomes.
- Commercial LawCommercial relationships that protect revenue and reduce risk.
- Corporate LawOwnership, capital, and governance structured for long-term value.
- Banking, Finance, and Investments
- Construction, Property, and Projects
- Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics
Request a consultation
Tell us what the dispute is actually about
Send us the contract and a short account of what has happened. We will come back with a view on the merits, the likely forum, and what pursuing it is realistically worth.
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Reviewed by the Gracen Law business dispute resolution team · Last reviewed 26 August 2026