Kenyan media mogul SK Macharia held in contempt of court in Directline dispute

Kenya's High Court has held Samuel Kamau Macharia in contempt for breaching court orders in the dispute over control of the insurer Directline Assurance, Nation Africa reported.

Macharia, who is chairman of Royal Media Services, the country's largest private broadcaster, has been fighting over the ownership of the motor insurance company for more than two years. The details of any sanction were not disclosed in the report.

The case concerns who legally owns Directline, and it has produced conflicting court orders, an arbitration award and proceedings before the Insurance Appeals Tribunal.

Macharia's position is that he and his wife Gathoni founded the company, and that its shareholding records were fraudulently altered after the death of his son John in 2019. Other parties dispute that account. Justice Francis Gikonyo, who has presided over much of the litigation, told the parties in February that the ownership question had to be settled quickly, noting that insurance companies are regulated businesses and there can be no doubt about who owns them.

The contempt allegations arise from a series of incidents at Directline's offices at Hazina Towers in Nairobi.

On September 22, 2025, according to court filings, Macharia entered the building with a group that forced its way in, told staff they were dismissed and installed new officers, including a head of finance, a principal officer and a head of information technology. Surveillance footage was said to show him directing people in the reception area. Directline's chief executive, Sammy Kanyi, filed a complaint with the Central Police Station and the Insurance Regulatory Authority.

A more serious incident followed. Directline told the court that on June 28 this year, despite orders issued on October 4, 2024 and September 26, 2025, Macharia deployed security personnel and other agents to the offices, where they welded shut gates and doors across six floors, locking out staff, lawyers and court-appointed interim directors. The company said the action paralysed its operations, disrupted services to policyholders and prevented its advocates from reaching documents they needed for court.

The enforcement of the court's own orders has itself become an issue. On July 9, Justice Gikonyo summoned the officer commanding Central Police Station to appear in person to explain why Macharia had not been arrested and produced as directed. The judge required the officer to attend in open court either to explain why he could not execute the orders or to confirm that he had.

Macharia was given 21 days to respond to a further application dated July 1.

The court has separately restrained him from using Royal Media Services to broadcast warnings to the public against dealing with Directline. The insurer argued those broadcasts were defamatory and damaging to its financial standing. Justice Gikonyo, granting the order, said Directline was a distinct legal entity whose stability had to be protected.

The dispute traces back to 2019, when Macharia ordered the withdrawal of Ksh400 million, about $3.1 million, from Directline to fund a housing project under Toy and Suna Holdings. A court later ordered the money returned.

In June 2024 he announced that Directline would close after the Insurance Regulatory Authority froze its accounts, and accused former directors of misappropriating Ksh7 billion, roughly $54.2 million. Directline reported income of Ksh4.1 billion, about $31.7 million, in its 2022-23 financial year, drawn from a network of agents, brokers and bank partners, and remains a significant name in Kenyan motor insurance.

Macharia is in his eighties and among the most prominent businessmen in Kenya. Royal Media Services operates Citizen TV and a large radio network, and he also chairs Royal Credit Limited.

The Directline case is not his only recent difficulty. In March a helicopter belonging to him crashed in Nandi County, killing the member of parliament Johana Ngeno and five others.