Nairobi, Aug. 3 -- The Court of Appeal has allowed a Dutch firm to pursue a debtor in Kenya, overturning an earlier decision by a lower court which blocked it from doing so, because it wasn't locally registered under the Companies Act.

The appellate court reinstated a debt recovery suit by Stichting Rabobank Foundation against AVA Chem Limited-reinforcing a ruling by a High Court in 2025 that foreign companies incorporated abroad can sue and enforce contracts in Kenyan courts without local registration under the Companies Act.

At the heart of the dispute was whether a foreign company that is not registered in Kenya is barred from accessing Kenyan courts and whether extending a cross-border loan to a Kenyan company amounts to "carrying o...