On August 21, 2025, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) proudly announced a raid in Eastleigh that ended with nine arrests for running “unlicensed parcel and courier services.” Parcels and receipts were seized as exhibits, and suspects were to be arraigned at Makadara. The legal basis cited: Section 67 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998.
Here’s the problem: it’s 2025. The law, written for the post office era, treats neighbourhood parcel shops, riders, and e-commerce drop-offs like rogue broadcasters. That’s not protecting consumers; it’s sabotaging last-mile logistics.
What the law currently demands
To operate legally, a courier must pick a licence class (Public Postal, International, or National) and pay KES 5,000 to apply, plus licence fees (KES 30,000 for National; KES 100,000 for International) and an annual operating fee equal to KES 30,000/100,000 or 0.4% of audited turnover, whichever is higher. Licences run up to 15 years.
Beyond money, the application is paperwork-heavy: CR12 ownership disclosures, KRA compliance, certified IDs/passports for directors and shareholders, a business plan, service quality commitments (including track-and-trace), even two referees. The government’s own e-procedures site estimates KES 35,000 for a new National licence and anywhere from 3 to 36 days to process – before you move a single parcel.
Meanwhile, the CA’s official register already lists hundreds of licensed operators – spanning big multinationals, media houses, SACCOs, and bus companies – with 289 entries as of June 1, 2024. If the aim were simply order, the market is already crowded with compliant players.
Why the crackdown is counterproductive
- Wrong tool for the risk. The core risks with courier services are loss, fraud, contraband, and poor redress. None is solved by these paper licences CA is pushing. They’re solved by traceability, liability and fast complaint resolution – all of which can be mandated without gatekeeping micro-operators behind high fees, thick files and crazy fines.
- It taxes the smallest players. A bodaboda rider doing estate-to-estate drops or a shop consolidating parcels can’t absorb KES 30k+ annual fees plus compliance overheads. Even if they’re currently not being targeted, who is to say CA’s mandate won’t forcefully extend once they can’t raise survival cash? The result is fewer options, higher prices, and slower deliveries for consumers.
- It pushes trade underground. Demand doesn’t disappear with such threats of fines and arrest from government; it goes informal – exactly where the risks of counterfeit, contraband and illegal stuff thrives.
And let’s be clear about the sting in the tail: operating without a licence attracts up to KES 300,000 in fines or a year in jail under Section 67 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act. That’s wildly disproportional for a neighbourhood parcel errand. People will just run their errands undetected.
The regulator’s defence doesn’t hold
The CA warns the public against using unlicensed PSVs, e-commerce players and riders, arguing that licensed providers offer security and compensation mechanisms. But those mechanisms can be required directly – without forcing every small operator through a 1998-style licensing gate. You don’t have to force punitive licensing to enforce simple things like ensure you get the ID, name and location – simple KYC.
Regulate the outcomes, not the label
Kenya needs a digital-first, risk-based framework:
- Micro-operator tier: Free e-registration for individuals and tiny shops (under a revenue/parcel threshold). Basic duties only: digital receipts, rider/handler ID, and cooperation with law-enforcement on flagged items – simple!
- Mandatory e-receipts & chain-of-custody: Simple, app-based proof of handover and delivery that any rider can use. Even if there’s no app, require photos as proof. Everytime we order food items or buy clothes/accessories from unscrupulous Instagram accounts, this is basic stuff we do!
- Platform accountability: Put heavier obligations on aggregators (apps, logistics platforms) to enforce KYC, loss-liability minimums and complaint SLAs across their networks.
- Transparent redress: A public dashboard of complaints/resolutions for all operators – licensed or micro-registered – to drive quality by competition, not arrests.
All of this is compatible with the existing categories (International/National/Public), preserves serious compliance for big networks, and recognises that most parcel movement in 2025 is hyper-local and platform-mediated.
Bottom line
Arresting people for “unlicensed courier services” in 2025 is a losing battle against behaviour the market clearly wants and needs. The state already has hundreds of licensed operators to work with, yet it targets the smallest nodes that make same-day commerce possible. Update the rules to require traceability and redress – and stop pretending a paper licence is what keeps parcels safe. Scrap the crackdowns; modernise the framework.
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