On 4 December 2025, the COMESA Council of Ministers adopted the
COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025, which
repealed the old regime effective 5 December 2025. Aside from the
mandatory and suspensory merger control regime (for an overview see
our client brief on the merger control regime) the
new Regulations substantially expanded the Commission's
consumer protection mandate.
The old regime, embedded within the broader competition
regulations, was characterized by a largely discretionary
enforcement approach. Consumer protection was a secondary
consideration, assumed to follow from competition enforcement
rather than being a standalone priority (for a discussion of the
old regime see our cliet brief on the old regime). In contrast,
the 2025 Regulations recognize consumer protection as an explicit,
primary mandate of the Commission. The 2025 Regulations
substantially increased the Commission's regulatory authority
in respect to consumer
