The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission (name change effective as of 5 December) announced yesterday that the COMESA Council of Ministers (the Council), at its 46th meeting held on 4 December 2025, approved the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025 (the 2025 Regulations) and the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Rules, 2025 (the 2025 Rules).
The COMESA region comprises 21 Member States: Burundi, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The 2025 Regulations and 2025 Rules repeal and replace the 2004 legislative framework, introducing a fundamentally reshaped enforcement landscape for competition and consumer protection in the COMESA region.
Some key highlights include –
- New name for the authority: The authority is now known as the COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission – the change in the name of the authority reflects the authority’s dual competency, covering both competition and consumer protection matters.
- Effective date: Pursuant to Regulation 84 of the 2025 Regulations read together with Rule 38 of the 2025 Rules, the 2025 Regulations and 2025 Rules take effect immediately after approval by the Council, which the authority has indicated as being 5 December 2025.
- Transitional provisions: All proceedings and processes commenced under the COMESA Competition Regulations, 2004 (the 2004 Regulations) are intended to continue to be guided and governed under the 2004 Regulations until their conclusion. The authority has also indicated that any conduct, event, or action or incident arising on or after 5 December 2025 will be governed under the 2025 Regulations.
- Clarification of regional scope and ‘one-stop shop’ with exclusive jurisdiction over regional mergers: The 2025 Regulations explicitly establish a ‘one‑stop shop’ for conduct with a regional dimension, including an exclusivity rule preventing parallel national notifications for mergers that meet COMESA thresholds. They also include a stronger conflicts rule with respect to matters with a regional dimension (ie, COMESA law prevails, as opposed to national competition or consumer protection laws) and delineate when Member States may act, including structured referrals.
- Overhaul of the merger control regime: Several important changes are made to the merger control regime, including a clearer definition of a ‘merger’, clarity on the scope of notifiability of joint venture transactions, and specific thresholds for mergers within digital markets (including platforms). New merger notification thresholds are also introduced for transactions more generally and the filing fee is now capped at USD 300 000 (up from USD 200 000). One of the most consequential reforms under the 2025 Regulations is the transition from a non-suspensory to suspensory merger control regime, with financial penalties applicable for implementation of mergers without prior approval. The 2025 Regulations also introduce specific public interest factors that must be considered by the authority when reviewing mergers; however, the focus remains on the competition assessment. The obligation under the 2004 Regulations to notify the authority of a merger within 30-days of the parties’ ‘decision to merge’ no longer applies.
- New digital‑era tools and concepts (gatekeepers, economic dependence, and digital dominance factors): The 2025 Regulations introduces modern concepts and prohibitions tailored to digital markets, including – a definition and conduct obligations for ‘gatekeepers’; a standalone prohibition on abuse of economic dependence (no dominance required); and explicit factors in assessing dominance in digital markets (data quantity, accessibility and control, and network effects). These provisions were not included under the 2004 Regulations.
- Expanded procedural toolkit (settlements, interim measures, market inquiries, search and seizure, and formal leniency): The 2025 Regulations add a comprehensive procedural suite – power to conduct market inquiries; robust search and seizure (‘dawn raid’) powers; a formal settlement process (with or without admitting liability); interim cease and desist orders; and a codified cartel leniency programme binding on Member States. The 2004 Regulations provided investigation and decision powers but lacked these express features.
Taken together, these reforms mark one of the most far-reaching shifts in regional competition policy on the African continent. The new framework signals a clear move toward a more assertive, harmonised and modernised enforcement system, calibrated for cross-border commerce, digital-era business models and heightened consumer-protection priorities. For businesses operating across the COMESA region, proactive compliance, early transaction planning and a deeper understanding of the COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission’s expanded powers will be essential.
