Mudavadi-Timamy Group to Pay KSh3 Billion for Absa’s Kenyan Insurance Stakes

An investment vehicle linked to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Lamu Governor Issa Timamy has agreed to pay KSh3 billion to acquire majority interests in Absa Life Assurance and First Assurance Kenya from the South African Absa Group.

Absa Group disclosed in August that it had reached an agreement with First Assurance Investments Limited to sell its 63.3 per cent holding in each insurer, without revealing the price. Sources close to the transaction say the buyer will pay an estimated KSh3 billion for the two stakes, a deal that still requires approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya.

“The parties have settled on a KSh3 billion deal. They aim to conclude the transaction before the end of the financial year,” said an anonymous source familiar with the matter.

The acquisition will enable Mudavadi and Timamy to repurchase shares they originally sold to Absa, then known as Barclays Africa, in a KSh2.2 billion transaction in 2015.

Absa Life ranks as the seventh-largest life insurer in Kenya, while First Assurance Kenya is placed 13th among general insurers.

The purchase comes amid a wave of consolidation in the Kenyan insurance market, where groups such as ICEA Lion, Sanlam Allianz, Jubilee Holdings and Britam Holdings have recently pursued mergers and acquisitions. ICEA Lion is also arranging a KSh8.5 billion buy-back of a stake sold to Prudential Financial in 2021 for KSh2.4 billion.

Absa’s exit from direct ownership reflects a shift toward a bancassurance model, and follows its recent increase of 3.49 percentage points in the shareholding of Absa Bank Kenya through the acquisition of 189.38 million shares in mid-August.

Public records show that Exclusive Holding Limited, linked to Governor Timamy, holds 47.5 per cent of First Assurance Investments Limited, while the remaining 52.5 per cent is owned by Syndicate Nominees, a company Mudavadi said he controls during his 2022 cabinet vetting. Mudavadi previously served as leader of the Amani National Congress, with Governor Timamy as his deputy, before the party merged with the ruling UDA last year.

Kenya’s insurance penetration stands at three per cent, a figure that investors view as offering growth potential.

In the year ended December 2025, Absa Bank Kenya’s bancassurance earnings rose 35 per cent to KSh1.3 billion, making it the sector leader, while Absa Life’s net profit fell 26 per cent to KSh790.1 million. The group is also increasing its stake in Absa Bank Kenya to 85 per cent from 68.5 per cent in a KSh30.9 billion deal and has sold its insurance operations in Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique to Hollard International.

Mudavadi holds a 12.35 per cent interest in First Assurance through the two vehicles, giving him an effective 21.26 per cent stake. Other shareholders include Stephen Githiga (4.0 per cent), Chandaria Ventures Limited (1.67 per cent), Epoch Investments Limited (0.84 per cent) and Absa Pension Services Limited (0.84 per cent). Githiga is the former chief executive of First Assurance Company and Sasini; Chandaria Ventures is associated with Darshan Chandaria and Neer Chandaria; Epoch Investments is linked to Jambojet chairman Ayisi Makatiani.

Absa Life, licensed in 2015, has entered the top ten life insurers and was the first Kenyan life insurer to adopt a bancassurance distribution model. First Assurance traces its origins to 1930 as the Prudential Assurance Company and was fully acquired by Kenyan investors from its UK owners in 1991.