Former Chief Justice David Maraga has held talks with Delaware Governor Matt Meyer on the cost of manufacturing and doing business in Kenya, including energy prices, taxation, housing and the protection of land rights.
Maraga said the meeting took place on Sunday morning and described it as a “very convivial” engagement with a long-standing friend of Kenya.
Reporting by Capital FM, carried on allAfrica on 21 September 2026, places the discussion in the United States during Maraga’s multi-state diaspora tour.
What the Two Discussed
According to Maraga, the conversation focused on how high energy costs and heavy taxation weigh on manufacturing competitiveness and the wider cost of doing business in Kenya.
Those issues have long featured in factory and investor complaints: power tariffs and production expenses that make local goods less competitive, and a tax burden that many firms say squeezes margins and investment plans.
The talks also covered housing and the protection of land rights. Maraga linked those themes to sustainable property investment and broader economic development, without publishing a detailed policy paper from the meeting itself.
He did not outline specific proposals agreed with the Delaware side. Capital FM reported that no further detail was given on concrete deals or draft reforms beyond the broad themes of energy, tax, housing and land.
Meyer’s Kenya Links
Maraga described Governor Meyer as a long-standing friend of Kenya who has maintained ties with the country for more than a decade and continues to show goodwill toward its growth.
“I am grateful for his continued goodwill and commitment to Kenya’s growth,” Maraga said.
Public reporting around Meyer’s Kenya history has previously highlighted time spent in Nairobi and social enterprise work, including the Ecosandals recycled-footwear initiative associated with communities in the capital. That background helps explain why a US state governor features in conversations about Kenya’s investment climate, but the Sunday meeting itself was framed around economic conditions affecting businesses and households rather than a formal trade pact announcement.
Why the Themes Matter for Business
Energy and tax sit at the centre of Kenya’s manufacturing debate. Producers have repeatedly argued that expensive power and layered levies raise unit costs, discourage expansion and make imports more attractive than local output.
Land and housing cut the other way: clear title, predictable regulation and secure property rights are basic conditions for factories, warehouses, estates and long-horizon capital. When land administration is contested or slow, investors price in risk or stay out.
Maraga’s public messaging on the tour has placed cost of living, constitutional protections and a friendlier environment for enterprise alongside governance themes. The Delaware meeting fits that frame: a high-level conversation about structural costs, not a single project launch.
Manufacturers and business groups have, in separate forums over recent years, pressed for cheaper electricity, cleaner licensing and tax settings that do not punish formal firms. The Maraga–Meyer discussion echoes those pressures even if it produced no published checklist of reforms.
Context: Maraga’s US Diaspora Tour
The engagement comes as Maraga meets Kenyans in the diaspora under the United Green Movement (UGM) banner ahead of the 2027 general election cycle.
He arrived in Washington, DC, earlier in the tour for a programme running roughly from mid-September into early October 2026, with stops planned across several US states. The schedule has been described as a diaspora edition of his broader listening and mobilisation effort, previously linked to the Ukatiba Caravan theme of constitutionalism and national reset messaging.
Delaware and neighbouring states form part of that itinerary after Washington and Maryland stops. The Meyer meeting therefore sits both as a bilateral courtesy and as part of Maraga’s effort to keep diaspora Kenyans engaged on economic and governance questions at home.
UGM and Maraga-linked communications have stressed lower living costs and constitutional protections. Those political themes sit alongside the business-climate topics raised with Meyer. Readers should treat the meeting as a political and diplomatic conversation, not as an official Government of Kenya negotiation with the State of Delaware.
What Was Not Announced
There was no public announcement of:
- a signed investment treaty or MoU text from the Sunday session;
- quantified energy or tax reform pledges tied to Delaware;
- a land or housing project pipeline with US state backing.
The record, as reported, is that the two discussed cost drivers and development-related rights issues, that Maraga valued Meyer’s goodwill, and that the tone was cordial. Anything beyond that would need primary confirmation from either side.
Bottom Line
David Maraga’s meeting with Delaware Governor Matt Meyer put Kenya’s energy costs, taxation, manufacturing competitiveness, housing and land rights on the table during the former Chief Justice’s US diaspora tour. Maraga called the session very convivial and credited Meyer as a long-time friend of Kenya.
For business readers, the substance is familiar: power and tax still dominate the cost-of-doing-business conversation, and land security remains central to investment confidence. The meeting itself was a high-level exchange, not a published reform package. Watch for any follow-up statements from Maraga’s tour or Delaware that convert the talk into concrete cooperation.
Sources:
Capital FM / allAfrica – Maraga, Delaware Governor Meyer discuss energy costs, taxation and land rights (21 September 2026);
Capital FM / allAfrica – Maraga lands in Washington DC for three-week US tour (17 September 2026).