Kenyatta University Repository
Kenyatta University Institutional Repository is a digital archive that collects, preserves and disseminates scholarly outputs of the Institution
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Firm Characteristics, Inflation and Yield of Unit Trusts in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-11) Akama Thaddeus Onyinkwa
investors expect money market unit trusts to deliver above-market returns through professional fund management. However, persistent underperformance compared to benchmarks has eroded investor confidence in Kenya, raising concerns about management efficiency, cost structures, and institutional ownership models, while saddling investors with diminished portfolios and missed investment opportunities. This underperformance can be attributed to various factors, including inappropriate benchmarks, high operational costs, and conflicts of interest. This study examined how firm characteristics—institutional affiliation, benchmarks, and management fees—influence the yield of money market unit trusts in Kenya, with inflation as a moderating variable. The research was guided by a conceptual framework that posited relationships between these variables. The research was guided by Transaction Cost Theory, Deming Benchmark Theory, Cost-Plus Pricing Theory, Keynes’s Liquidity Preference Theory and Inflation Quantity Theory. The empirical review of existing literature informed the study's hypotheses and results interpretation. The study adopted an explanatory research design grounded in positivism philosophy, analyzing panel data from 2013 to 2022. From 19 money market unit trusts licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), 18 funds with complete data were purposively selected (96.6% coverage), generating 280 firm-year observations. Secondary data were obtained from CMA, Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, and unit trust performance reports. Diagnostic tests included normality (Shapiro-Wilk), heteroscedasticity (Breusch-Pagan), multicollinearity (VIF), autocorrelation (Wooldridge), stationarity (Levin-Lin-Chu), and model specification (Hausman) tests. Random Effects panel regression models were employed. Ethical clearance was obtained from Kenyatta University and NACOSTI, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality. Results revealed independent funds yielded 1.6189 percentage points higher than bank-affiliated funds (p<0.001), while insurance-affiliated funds yielded 1.4958 percentage points higher (p=0.019). Bank deposit rates (β=1.29, p=0.009), 182-day Treasury Bills (β=1.00, p=0.001), and 364-day Treasury Bills (β=1.99, p=0.003) significantly positively affected yields. Management fees negatively impacted yields (β=-0.62, p=0.038). Inflation demonstrated direct positive effects (β=0.34, p=0.001) and significant moderating effects: Affiliation*Inflation (β=-0.07, p=0.015), Benchmarks*Inflation (β=0.14, p<0.001), Management Fee*Inflation (β=0.14, p<0.001). The moderation model's R² (8.02%) nearly doubled individual models' explanatory power (4.12%), confirming inflation's meaningful moderating role. The study concludes that institutional affiliation, benchmark choice, management fees, and inflation jointly determine unit trust performance. Recommendations include: CMA should regulate bank-fund conflicts of interest and implement fee transparency requirements; fund managers should optimize institutional structures, select appropriate benchmarks, reduce fees, and develop inflation-responsive strategies; investors should prioritize insurance-affiliated or independent funds, assess inflation-adjusted returns, and evaluate fee-performance relationships. Future research should extend analysis to equity/balanced/bond funds across East African markets, examine additional moderators (interest rate volatility, exchange rates, GDP growth), and employ alternative models (dynamic panel GMM, quantile regression, structural equation modeling) to enhance methodological rigor
The Impact of Production Risk on the Choice of the Optimal Level of Inputs, Adoption, and Welfare of Small Holder Intergrated Agriculture Aquaculture Farmers in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-10) Awuor Fonda Jane
Integrated Agriculture Aquaculture has been promoted in Kenya as a climate-smart approach capable of increasing productivity, stabilizing incomes, and improving the welfare of smallholder farmers. Despite these potential benefits, adoption remains low, largely because farmers operate under significant production risk. This study examined how production risk influences optimal input-use decisions, adoption, and welfare outcomes, measured through productivity and household income, among 427 smallholder farmers across Busia, Kakamega, Siaya and Nyeri counties. Using the Just–Pope stochastic production framework, the Heckman selection model, and the Endogenous Switching Regression model, the study estimated the risk properties of key production inputs used in integrated agriculture aquaculture systems, analyzed how risk shapes adoption choices, and evaluated the effect of production risk on productivity and income variability. Results from the first objective revealed that inputs have distinct risk characteristics which influence how farmers allocate resources. Among adopters, seeds and organic fertilizer increase output variability due to the complexity of managing integrated systems, while non-adopters experience risk-reducing effects from labor, chemical fertilizer, and organic fertilizer. Overall, adopters face lower total variance elasticity, showing that integrated aquaculture stabilizes production by diversifying output streams. Results from the second objective showed that production risk emerges as a major determinant of adoption. Higher expected profits encourage farmers to adopt and intensify integrated agriculture aquaculture use, whereas greater profit variability and downside risk significantly discourage adoption. Adoption is further shaped by a farmer’s education level, labor availability, training, land ownership status, topography, irrigation access, and distance to markets, with awareness consistently appearing as one of the strongest predictors of adoption. Objective three showed that integrated agriculture aquaculture adoption significantly enhances productivity, with adopters achieving higher Interspatial Total Factor Productivity due to more effective use of seed, labor, organic fertilizer, capital, and irrigation. Non-adopters would experience higher productivity if they adopted integrated aquaculture, as evidenced by a negative and significant treatment effect showing that they forgo productivity gains by not adopting. Results from the fourth objective showed that adoption also improves household income and reduces its variability, driven by diversified revenue streams, nutrient recycling efficiencies, and improved labor utilization. Factors such as education, credit access, labor availability, organic fertilizer use, capital investment, irrigation access, and closer market proximity further increase income among adopters. These findings indicate that production risk is a central but often overlooked determinant of farmer behavior, influencing both the decision to adopt integrated agriculture aquaculture and the welfare gains that follow. Although integrated agriculture aquaculture clearly improves productivity and income stability, farmers’ risk perceptions continue to limit widespread adoption. To address these constraints, the study recommends targeted risk-aware interventions. These include training to manage inputs that are risk-increasing within integrated systems, improved extension services that focus specifically on risk mitigation, better market access, and tailored credit products for integrated farming. Promoting enterprise diversification (fish, crop, livestock) and developing financial safety nets such as insurance or guarantee schemes would further enhance the stability and effectiveness of integrated agriculture aquaculture
Work Life Balance Practices and Employee Performance of KCB Bank (K) Ltd
(Kenyatta University, 2025-06) Tarus Jesire Dorothy
In the constantly changing market environment, business organizations recognize the need to develop unique internal resources that strengthen their competitive position. Human resources are among the most critical of these assets, as employee performance directly drives the achievement of organizational goals. This study investigated the effect of work–life balance practices on employee performance in commercial banks within Nairobi City County, focusing on KCB Bank (K) Ltd. The specific objectives were to assess the effect of flexi-work arrangements, healthcare programs, and social support on employee performance. The study was anchored on the socio-technical systems theory, spill-over theory, social exchange theory, and Herzberg’s two-factor theory. A descriptive research design was applied, targeting 1,317 employees of KCB Bank in Nairobi City County. Stratified proportionate random sampling was used to select respondents across the four employee cadres. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered electronically. A pilot test was conducted among KCB staff in Kiambu and Machakos regions to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument. Data were analyzed using SPSS, involving descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics to examine the relationships between the variables. Findings were presented using tables and graphs. A total of 264 valid responses were obtained, representing an 86% response rate. The results indicate that work–life balance practices positively influence employee performance at KCB Bank in Nairobi City County. Although flexi-work arrangements showed a positive effect, the relationship was statistically insignificant. Conversely, healthcare programs and social support exhibited positive and statistically significant effects on employee performance. The study concludes that employee well-being initiatives are essential drivers of performance. It recommends that KCB Bank develop and formalize a flexible work policy with clearly defined work-hour adjustments, hybrid work options, and performance expectations. The bank should strengthen the consistent implementation of healthcare and wellness programs. Further, establishing a workplace social support framework that enhances team cohesion, mentoring, and supervisory support is encouraged. Future research should examine other sectors to determine whether the influence of work–life balance practices on employee performance varies across industries.
Usawiri wa Wahusika Vimada Katika Riwaya Teule za John Habwe: Mfano Kutoka kwa Paradiso (2005), Cheche za Moto (2008) na Safari ya Lamu (2011)
(Kenyatta University, 2025-06) Munguti, Catherine Ndinda; King'ei, Kitula
Osore, Miriam
Utafiti huu umechunguza usawiri wa vimada katika riwaya teule za John Habwe. Riwaya zilizoteuliwa katika utafiti huu ni zifuatazo: Paradiso (2005), Cheche za Moto (2008) na Safari ya Lamu (2011). Riwaya hizi ziliteuliwa kutokana na motifu ya wahusika vimada wanaobainika wakiwemo Sakina, Fatuma na Maimuna mtawalia. Uchunguzi wa usawiri wa vimada ulikuwa muhimu kwa sababu ni suala ibuka katika jamii ya kisasa. John Habwe ameziandika riwaya zenye kuwaibua wahusika vimada wanaoishi na wanaume nje ya misingi ya ndoa. Tafiti mbalimbali zimefanywa kuhusu usawiri wa wahusika katika utanzu wa riwaya ya Kiswahili. Baadhi ya tafiti hizi ni pamoja na Muindi (1990), Saro (2017), Mavisi (2019) na Kanwa (2022). Tafiti hizi zimeeleza usawiri wa wahusika wa wanawake kwa jumla katika riwaya. Hata hivyo, hazijaweza kufafanua usawiri wa wahusika vimada jambo ambalo limefanywa na utafiti huu. Malengo ya utafiti huu ni: kufafanua usawiri wa wahusika vimada katika riwaya teule, kubaini vichocheo kwa wahusika kuwa vimada na kuchanganua athari za hali ya maisha ya wahusika vimada katika riwaya teule. Utafiti huu uliongozwa na nadharia ya uhalisia. Nadharia ya Uhalisia iliasisiwa na Georg Lukacs (1938). Nadharia hii hueleza ukweli kama ulivyo katika jamii. Mihimili ya nadharia ya uhalisia iliufaa utafiti huu kwa kuonyesha kuwa John Habwe anawachora wahusika vimada kama wanavyojitokeza katika jamii. Data ya kimsingi ilitoka kwenye riwaya teule. Riwaya teule zilisomwa ili kupata kauli na matendo ya wahusika vimada. Utafiti huu ni wa kimaelezo ambapo kila lengo lilichanganuliwa katika sura yake mahususi kwa kuihusisha mihimili ya nadharia ya Uhalisia. Utafiti huu ulifanyiwa maktabani ambapo vitabu, tasnifu na majarida yalisomwa pamoja na kusakura mitandao ili kupata tafiti zilizokuwa za punde zaidi kote ulimwenguni. Utafiti umegundua kuwa wahusika vimada wamesawiriwa kwa hali chanya katika mahusiano yao na wahusika wengine katika riwaya teule. Isitoshe, utafiti umebaini kuwa wahusika vimada katika riwaya teule wameathiri maisha ya wahusika wengine kwa namna chanya na kuishia kuboresha hali ya maisha ya wahusika wanaokaa nao kinyumba. Utafiti huu unatarajiwa kutoa mchango katika uhakiki wa utanzu wa riwaya kuhusu usawiri wa wahusika katika riwaya ya Kiswahili.
Nyumba Kumi Initiative and National Security in Garissa County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-11) Ruth Mbuli
Despite the rolling out of Community Policing Initiative in Kenya, some regions such as North Eastern Kenya and more specifically Garissa County continue to suffer periodic terrorist attacks from the Al Shabaab militant group. It is against this light that this study sought to examine how Nyumba Kumi composition, training and information gathering affect National Security in Garissa County. This study was guided by three theories; stakeholder theory, liberal peace theory and social bond theory. A descriptive research design was employed to gather relevant data from respondents in Garissa Township. The study’s target population was 1299 respondents. These include police officers, administrative officers (DCCs, ACCs Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs), religious leaders and civilians serving in Community Policing Committees. Purposive sampling was employed to select knowledgeable informants such DCCs, ACCs Assistant Chiefs and Chiefs. The researcher employed stratified sampling techniques to select 20% of the study population from police officers, religious leaders, and Community Policing Committee members. Data collection involved both interview schedules and structured questionnaires. Additionally, secondary research sources such as government reports and online materials were utilized. Qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis to uncover patterns and themes. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS software version 31, focusing on descriptive statistics to summarize and present findings, including frequencies, means, and percentages. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships among the independent variables. The findings reveal a moderate and statistically significant positive correlation (0.355, p=0.006) between the composition of the Community Policing Committee (CPC) and the state of national security in Garissa County, indicating that improvements in CPC composition enhance national security. Similarly, there exist a moderate and statistically significant positive correlation (0.378, p=0.011) between community security training and national security, highlighting the importance of training in strengthening security outcomes. Additionally, a weak to moderate but statistically significant positive correlation (0.287, p=0.034) exists between information gathering and dissemination by the CPC and national security, underscoring the value of grassroots intelligence in security management. The study concludes that Nyumba Kumi groups composition is the strongest in strengthening national security, followed by security training of Nyumba Kumi while intelligence gathering is the weakest. The study recommends clearly defined roles for Nyumba Kumi members, alongside localized and culturally sensitive training programs tailored to the region's socio-demographic dynamics. Enhancing members' technical competence in surveillance and communication, promoting intergenerational dialogue, and strengthening trust-based collaboration with formal security actors are highly recommended to strengthen intelligence gathering. To ensure adaptability to evolving threats, the establishment of robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks is essential.