Wananchi Group, the operator of Zuku internet and pay-television services, is facing a statutory insolvency demand of KSh.46.9 million from CP Cables, drawing attention to the financial pressures behind the fibre broadband market.
- •Court filings show that CP Cables issued the demand under the Insolvency Act, 2015, citing unpaid commercial debt.
- •The claim was lodged before the Commercial and Tax Division of the High Court in Nairobi as Insolvency Cause No. E017 of 2026.
- •Under the law, Wananchi has 21 days to pay the amount, secure it, or demonstrate a valid counterclaim or set-off.
The amount involved is modest by telecommunications standards, but the legal mechanism carries weight. Non-compliance with a statutory demand is treated as evidence that a company is unable to meet its obligations as they fall due, shifting what might otherwise be a commercial dispute into the insolvency arena.
Wananchi has not publicly responded to the claim. The company operates one of Kenya’s largest fixed internet and pay-TV platforms and is a subsidiary of Wananchi Group Holdings, which is majority-owned by Axian Telecom, a pan-African telecommunications group headquartered in Mauritius.
Kenya’s fixed broadband market is grappling with the economics of rapid network expansion. Fibre rollout requires heavy upfront investment in imported equipment and long-term infrastructure, while revenues accrue gradually through subscriptions in a price-sensitive market. Operators have expanded aggressively over the past decade, compressing margins as competition intensified in urban areas.
Equipment vendors typically extend credit to operators ordering at scale, making payment cycles central to network expansion and maintenance. When invoices remain unpaid beyond agreed terms, escalation through legal channels becomes one of the few effective remedies available.
Once anchored by pay-TV services, competing against Multichoice products and Star Times, the company has increasingly relied on broadband internet as its core offering due to the prominence of streaming platforms like Netflix and Showmax. .
