In response to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Kenya, the Government has implemented various measures and restrictions to contain the spread of the virus across the country. These include cessation of movement into and out of four counties, namely Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale, a nation-wide curfew between the hours of 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. and travel restrictions with a general embargo on international passenger flights.
Both the pandemic and restrictions imposed by the Government have triggered a large-scale disruption of the Kenyan economy, leading to a slowdown in many sectors, and in particular in the tourism, hospitality, trade and transport industries. Given the local and global effects of the pandemic, businesses are grappling with their inability to meet their obligations under existing contracts.
In a series of articles, we analyse the sudden and unexpected impact of COVID-19 on existing contractual agreements and what companies should be doing to mitigate the impact, with a primary focus on the position under Kenyan law. There are various legal reliefs or defenses to non-performance or delay in the performance of contractual obligations, which could assist in an economic downturn. In this series, we consider three of these defenses: the doctrine of force majeure, the doctrine of frustration of contract and the principle of material adverse change.
Part 1 of the series addresses force majeure. Click here to read the full article.
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