Nairobi, April 23 -- For years, powerful buyers across sectors such as retail, insurance, and telecommunications extracted concessions from smaller suppliers with little resistance. Late payments, unilateral contract changes, unexplained deductions, and take‑it‑or‑leave‑it fees became accepted features of commercial relationships.

That tolerance is rapidly disappearing. Recent enforcement actions by Kenya's competition regulator, reinforced by firm judicial backing and evolving regulatory guidance, have pushed abuse of buyer power to the centre of corporate compliance.

Buyer power refers to a purchaser's ability to impose supply terms that fall outside normal commercial practice or are unfair, disproportionate, a...