The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has warned its shareholders, who include stockbrokers and other trading participants, against breaching its ownership rules.
The Nairobi bourse, which is publicly listed, has asked all shareholders to ensure that no transactions in the firm’s shares result in a breach of the prescribed shareholding thresholds.
The caution by the NSE comes in the aftermath of tensions with stockbrokers over the management and decisions of the bourse, including the appointment of directors.
The Capital Markets (Nairobi Securities Exchange Limited Shareholding) Regulations of 2016 place limits on the share of NSE stock held by individuals, firms and trading participants.
An individual or private company is barred from directly or indirectly holding more than five percent of the equity shares of the bourse, while public firms cannot hold more than a 10 percent stake.
Trading participants in the NSE are blocked from directly, indirectly or cumulatively holding more than 40 percent of the exchange.
“All shareholders, trading participants and other relevant persons are advised to exercise caution when dealing in shares of the exchange, whether on their own behalf or on behalf of clients, to ensure that no transaction results in a breach of the prescribed shareholding thresholds,” said NSE chief executive Frank Mwiti in a circular to shareholders.
“Investors and market intermediaries are requested to notify the Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc of any proposed transactions involving its shares and obtain written confirmation prior to execution.”
A family-owned foreign fund and an overseas pension scheme are currently the top owners of the bourse with a 23.82 percent stake.
Stockbrokers and investment banks in the top 40 shareholding list of the bourse by September 30, 2025, held a combined 18.99 percent stake and individually held between 2.69 percent and 0.12 percent of NSE’s equity.
They include Nyaga Stockbrokers Limited (2.69 percent), Discount Securities Limited (2.69 percent), Sterling Capital Limited (2.69 percent), Kingdom Securities (2.69 percent) and Renaissance Capital (2.69 percent).
Others are Dyer & Blair Investment Bank Limited (1.65 percent), Africa Allied Investors Limited (1.63 percent), NCBA Investment Bank (1.34 percent), Faida Investment Bank (0.5 percent) and AIB-AXYS Africa Limited (0.3 percent).
Earlier this month, the NSE board appointed individuals recommended by stockbrokers to fill board vacancies in a move which could further ease tensions between the bourse and traders.
The NSE picked Nancy Angano Noreh—a manager at Sterling Capital— as a non-executive director representing trading participants.
Thomas Mulwa, the chief executive officer of Liaison Group was also appointed as an independent non-executive director. He was also recommended by the stockbrokers.
Ms Noreh replaced Paul Mwai –the founder of AIB Capital— who resigned from the board while Mr Mulwa took the place exited by private equity guru Michael Turner.
The two were picked as a truce after the participants had called for a shareholder meeting in June to oust the bourse’s chief executive officer.
Stockbrokers represented by the Kenya Association of Stockbrokers and Investment Banks (KASIB) had other grievances and wanted to amend the Nairobi bourse articles of association, a review of the NSE last annual general meeting in April and an assessment of the exchange’s public messaging and dividend policy.
