The assent of the Trust Administration Act, 2026 in September 2026 has sent me back to my drafts folder 🤓 . Over the last few weeks I have been drafting a set of family trust deeds for several clients, and the past 2 days have been spent reviewing each one against the new law — because with the commencement of the Act on 25 September 2026, the ground on which we built those deeds has shifted.

For over a century, trusts in Kenya were governed by two Acts that have guided the legal revieme of Trusts for almost 50years: the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) Act (Cap 164) and the Trustee Act (Cap 167). Between them they gave us the tools to create, register and administer a trust, but they never really contemplated the sophisticated multi-generational structures that today’s families and founders now demand. The Trust Administration Act, 2026 (No. 28 of 2026) repeals both, and consolidates the law into a single modern statute that speaks the language of contemporary estate planning. For the first time, the law expressly permits a family trust to have as few as one trustee, while confirming in any Trust where the Trustees are natural persons, one must be a Kenyan citizen.

💡 Registration is no longer the same as incorporation
Under the old law, registering a trust with the Registrar effectively gave it perpetual succession and the capacity to hold property. The new Act separates these functions clearly. Registration now yields a certificate not legal personality. Incorporation by contrast, transforms the trust into a body corporate — capable of perpetual succession, of owning property in its own name, and of suing and being sued. For a family trust that will hold land, shares in a holding company and material assets, incorporation is now the appropriate route.

💡 What this means for you
✅ The Enforcer’s role that had been introduced under Cap 164 is further defined in the new Act.
✅ Every trust must now maintain and file a register of its beneficial owners, and file annual returns within thirty days of the anniversary of its registration/incorporation.
✅ The Provisions of the Data Protection Act as well as AML now apply
✅ Trustee liability now includes administrative penalties of up to KES 1 million (natural persons) or KES 5 million (bodies corporate), on top of restoration liability.
✅ A new role for a Trust Agent who offers formation and compliance services to the Trust
✅ Existing trusts have twenty-four months from commencement to bring themselves into full compliance

If you have a trust in place, or are considering setting one up, let’s have the conversation.
Reach out P. N. Wanjama and Company Advocates (Patricia Wanjama). We advise founders and families on trusts, succession, real estate, intellectual property, and various aspects of company and commercial law.

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