Section 2 of Insolvency Act CAP 53: Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"affairs" in relation to a natural person or company, includes a business carried on by the person or company and any dealings conducted in the course of the business;
"amount" means an amount of money;
"apply to" includes apply in relation to;
"associate"—
(a) in relation to a company, means—
(i) its holding company or its subsidiary;
(ii) a subsidiary of its holding company;
(iii) a holding company of its subsidiary;
(iv) a person who controls the company (whether alone or with the person's associates or with other associates of the company);
(v) any other company in which a director of the company is also a director; or
(vi) a natural person who is employed by the company; (b) in relation to a partner of a partnership, means—
(i) any other partner of the partnership;
(ii) a member of the partner's family or of the family of another partner of the partnership;
(iii) a natural person who is employed by the partnership; or (c) in relation to a natural person, means—
(i) a member of the person's family;
(ii) a company controlled directly or indirectly, by the person whether alone or with associates;
(iii) an associate of the person's associates; or
(iv) any person (including a company) who employs the person or by whom the person is employed;
"authorised insolvency practitioner" means a person who holds an authorisation granted under section 9;
"bank" means a bank to which the Banking Act (Cap. 488) applies;
"bankrupt" means a debtor who has been adjudged bankrupt under Part III and has not been discharged from bankruptcy; "the Bankruptcy Act" means—
(a) the Bankruptcy Act (Cap. 53) repealed by this Act; and
(b) the rules made under that Act;
"bankruptcy trustee", in relation to a bankrupt or a bankruptcy, means the trustee of the bankrupt's estate;
"business" includes trade and profession;
"business records", in relation to a bankrupt, includes accounting records, receipts, bills, invoices and any other documents relating to the bankrupt's business;
"company" means a company or foreign company registered under the Companies Act (Cap. 486), and includes—
(a) a building society within the meaning of the Building Societies Act (Cap. 389);
(b) a limited liability partnership within the meaning of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 30); and
(c) a body (whether incorporated or not) of a class prescribed by the insolvency regulations for the purposes of this definition;
"conditional sale agreement" means an agreement for the sale of goods under which payment of the whole or a part of the purchase price is deferred and a security right in the goods is created or provided for in order to secure the payment of the whole or a part of the purchase price; "connected with", in relation to a company, has the meaning given by subsection (4);
"control of" or "control over", in relation to documents or other property, includes having possession of, or custody over, the documents or property; "correspondence" includes correspondence by electronic means;
"the Court" means the High Court, and if there is an insolvency division of that Court, means that division;
"creditor" includes a person entitled to enforce a final judgment or final order;
"credit purchase transaction" means a hire-purchase agreement, a conditional sale agreement, a chattel leasing agreement or a retention of title agreement;
"debt" means an obligation or liability of a person to pay money or money's worth to another person; and includes (except when the context otherwise provides)—
(a) a liability under a written law;
(b) a liability for a breach of trust;
(c) a liability under a contract or bailment or in tort; and
(d) a liability arising from an obligation to make restitution;
"debtor" means a person who owes a debt;
"document" means information recorded in any form; and in particular includes a summons, notice, order or other legal process and a register (whether in hard copy or electronic form);
"electronic form" in relation to a document or information, means the storage or keeping of the document or information in the form of data, text or images by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy, or both;
"execution process" means any of the following—
(a) issuing or proceeding with any of the following orders or warrants under a judgment or order obtained against the debtor in any court in its civil jurisdictions—
(i) an order or warrant for the possession, seizure, or sale of any property; (ii) an order of attachment;
(b) obtaining a garnishee order in favour of a judgment creditor under the Civil Procedure Rules (Cap. 21, subleg);
(c) obtaining an order that a judgment creditor may sue a sub-debtor under the Civil Procedures Rules;
(d) having a charging order nisi made absolute under the Civil Procedure Rules;
(e) beginning or continuing proceedings in any court for the appointment of a receiver of property, except an application for the appointment of a person as interim trustee under section 36;
(f) exercising a power of re-entry under a lease, or a power terminating a lease;
(g) seizing or selling property by levying distress for rent; "execution process" means any of the following:
(a) issuing or proceeding with any of the following orders or warrants under a judgment or order obtained against the debtor in any court in its civil jurisdictions—
(i) an order or warrant for the possession, seizure, or sale of any property;
(ii) an order of attachment;
(b) obtaining a garnishee order in favour of a judgment creditor under the Civil Procedure Rules;
(c) obtaining an order that a judgment creditor may sue a sub-debtor under the Civil Procedures Rules;
(d) having a charging order nisi made absolute under the Civil Procedure Rules;
(e) beginning or continuing proceedings in any court for the appointment of a receiver of property, except an application for the appointment of a person as interim trustee under section 36;
(f) exercising a power of re-entry under a lease, or a power terminating a lease;
(g) seizing or selling property by levying distress for rent;
"functions" includes duties and responsibilities;
"goods" includes all chattels personal other than things in action and money, and all emblements, industrial growing crops and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed before sale or under the contract of sale;
"hire-purchase agreement" means a hire-purchase agreement as defined in section 2(1) of the Hire Purchase Act (Cap. 507);
"insolvency regulations" means regulations made under this Act and in force;
“Judicial enforcement officer" means a bailiff or other officer of a court who is charged with carrying out a process involving the execution or enforcement of an order or judgement of the court;
"landlord", in relation to a letting of premises, includes any person to whom rent or other money is payable in respect of the occupation or use of the premises;
"liquidation application", in relation to a company, means an application to the Court for a liquidation order in respect of the company;
"liquidation order", in relation to a company, means an order of the Court for the liquidation of the company by the Court;
"member", in relation to a company, includes a person who is not a member of a company but to whom shares in the company have been transferred, or transmitted by operation of law;
"notice" means notice in writing;
"officer", in relation to a company, means the chief executive officer, or any director, manager or secretary, of the company;
"partnership" means a partnership within the meaning of the Partnership Act;
"person" includes a partnership, an unincorporated association, a corporation, a co-operative society or an organization, the successors of a partnership, association, corporation, society or organization, and heirs, executors, liquidators of the succession, administrators or other legal representative of a person;
"powers" includes rights and authorities;
"preferential creditor" means a person to whom a preferential debt is owed;
"preferential debts", in relation to a natural person or a company, means the debts listed in the Second Schedule;
"property" includes money, goods, choses in action, land and every description of property, whether real or personal, legal or equitable, and whether located in Kenya or elsewhere, and includes obligations, easements and every description of estate, interest and profit, present or future, vested or contingent in, arising out of or incidental to property;
"prescribed bankruptcy level" has the meaning given by subsection (5);
"property" includes things in action;
"provable claim", in relation to a bankrupt, means a claim that is provable by a creditor in proceedings under Part III;
"purchaser", in relation to a credit purchase transaction, means the person to whom goods are disposed of under the transaction, and, if the rights of that person are transferred by assignment or by operation of law, includes the person for the time being entitled to those rights;
"records" means information stored in documents or in an electronic database or by electronic means;
"the Registrar" (except when used in reference to the Court) means the Registrar of Companies;
"register", "registered" and "registration", in relation to a notice or other document required or permitted to be lodged with, or sent or notified to, the Registrar under this Act, means respectively register, registered and registration in the Register of Companies in relation to the company to which the notice or other document relates;
"relative", in relation to a person, means—
(a) the parents, spouse, child, brother, or sister of that person;
(b) the parents, child, brother or sister of the spouse of that person; or
(c) a nominee or trustee for any of the persons specified in paragraph (a) and (b);
"relevant court", in relation to a matter other than one that is specifically entrusted to the High Court by a provision of this Act, means the court exercising or having responsibility for exercising jurisdiction in respect of that matter;
"the repealed Companies Act" means—
(a) the Companies Act repealed by the Companies Act (Cap. 486); and
(b) the rules or regulations made under that Act;
"retention of title agreement" means an agreement for the sale of goods to a company, being an agreement that does not constitute a charge on the goods; but under which, if the seller is not paid and the company is wound up, the seller will have priority over all other creditors of the company with respect to the goods or any property representing the goods as long as it has satisfied the applicable requirements for third-party effectiveness under the Movable Property Security Rights Act (Cap. 499A);
"secured creditor" means—
(a) a person holding a security on or against the property of the debtor or (any part of it) to secure a debt due or accruing due to the person from the debtor; or
(b) a person whose claim is based on, or secured by, a negotiable instrument held as collateral security and on which the debtor is only indirectly or secondarily liable;
"security" means any mortgage, charge, lien or other security;
"security agreement" means an agreement under which property becomes subject to a security for the payment of an obligation;
"service provider" means any entity or person who supplies fuel, water, electricity, telecommunications, or such other services as may be prescribed;
"shares" include stocks;
"special resolution" means a resolution of creditors passed in accordance with this Act;
"terms" includes conditions;
"transfer" includes conveyance, assignment and surrender;
"under administration", in relation to a company, has the meaning given by section 521;
"unsecured creditor", in relation to a natural person or a company, means a creditor of the person or company who is not a secured creditor;
"written" or "in writing" includes respectively "written in electronic form" and "in electronic form".
(2) For the purposes of the application of this Act to a debt, it does not matter—
(a) whether the debt is present or future;
(b) whether it is certain or contingent; or
(c) whether its amount is fixed or liquidated, or is capable of being ascertained by fixed rules or as a matter of opinion.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, a person is a member of the family of a natural person if the person is the parent, spouse, brother, sister, child, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, stepfather, stepmother, stepchild, or adopted child of the person concerned and, in case of an adopted child, the child's adopted parents.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, a person is connected with a company if the person—
(a) is an officer of the company or an associate of such an officer; or (b) is an associate of the company.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, the prescribed bankruptcy level is the amount for the time being specified in the Insolvency Regulations.