The Competition tribunal has dismissed two more appeals by steel companies against the decision by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to penalise them for fixing prices, bringing the total to seven.
On a September 11 sitting, the Competition Tribunal dismissed appeals lodged separately by Jumbo Steel Mills Limited and Corrugated Sheets through which the companies had sought to quash CAK’s decision.
The competition watchdog slapped nine steel firms with a total fine of Sh338.8 million following a crackdown against cartel-like behaviour, including fixing prices, restricting output, and revising the size of products.
However, seven of the companies moved to the tribunal to appeal the decision by the anti-trust body. On July 9, 2025, the tribunal dismissed the appeals of Tononoka Rolling Mills Limited, Blue Nile Wire Products Limited, Devki Steel Mills, and Nail and Steel Products Limited in favour of the authority.
Two of the firms—Doshi & Company (Hardware) Limited and Brollo Kenya Limited—did not appeal and opted for out-of-court settlements with the CAK.
Dr Adano Wario, the Authority’s Acting Director-General, said the penalties are proportionate to the offence, specifically harm to consumers who have been decrying the high cost of steel products.
The penalty is meant to restore competition in the sector and deter firms from deploying anti-competitive practices as a business strategy.
“Cartels are conceived, executed, and enforced by businesses to serve their commercial interests, and to the economic harm of consumers. In this matter, the steel firms illegally colluded on prices and margins as well as output strategies,” said Dr Wario.
“This penalty is the highest-ever imposed by the authority, and it should send a clear message that cartel conduct is illegal under the Competition Act. In a liberalised market like ours, the forces of supply and demand should signal prices, free from manipulative business practices. Agreements between competitors seek to defeat this fundamental facet of a free economy.”
After the tribunal appeal, the seven companies benefited from partial immunity from fines upon successful conclusion of a case where they were charged Sh287.9 million from Sh338.9 million imposed in August 2023, saving about Sh50.9 million.
At the tribunal, the firms argued against the authority’s administrative process on procedural and legal grounds.
However, the tribunal agreed with CAK that the steel makers colluded and agreed to secretly shrink their products without commensurate price cuts in a bid to increase their gross profit levels.
The authority presented evidence before the tribunal showing top executives and directors in the firms discussing and agreeing to adjust product dimensions, manipulate market supply and fix prices, in what the competition watchdog reckons undermined fair competition and defrauded consumers.
The CAK investigators discreetly sought a court warrant for search and seizure, known as an Anton Pillar order in legal lingo, in the homes and offices of the executives and directors of the firms.
They swiftly confiscated communication gadgets like mobile phones and laptops in simultaneous raids across parts of the country to retrieve emails, texts, and WhatsApp messages shared among the firm's officials, which helped the CAK secure a victory at the tribunal.
