The National Treasury says it will appeal against a High Court decision that nullified the government’s sale of a 15 percent stake in telecommunications company Safaricom to South Africa’s Vodacom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-judge bench ruled on Tuesday that the divestiture had breached the Constitution and the law, and ordered the shares to be restored to government ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court found that the government had failed to provide adequate and meaningful public participation and had concealed or misrepresented material information about the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also ruled that the deal, presented as a partial divestiture, effectively amounted to a merger, acquisition and takeover that gave Vodacom effective control of Safaricom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The transaction involved the sale of the government’s 15 percent stake for about Sh204billion, while a further Sh40.2billion was paid upfront for rights linked to future dividends from the government’s remaining 20 percent holding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treasury to challenge ruling<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the government had already filed its intention to appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The National Treasury remains confident that the process follows the law and is in line with prudent financial management,”Mbadi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the transaction had been approved by the Cabinet and scrutinised by Parliament, arguing that it had been designed to raise funds for national infrastructure while preserving Safaricom’s strategic importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government had argued that the transaction included safeguards for Safaricom employees, dealers and business partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Parliament’s committee considering the deal said it had received submissions from 43 organisations and held public participation hearings in 30 counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mbadi rejected the court’s finding that the public participation and other safeguards were inadequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We do not accept that the safeguards built into these transactions… amounted to the constitutional and procedural failures as the court has asserted,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We intend to make that case fully on appeal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Court’s concerns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The court said crucial information about the transaction had not been made available to the public, Cabinet or Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It also raised concerns about the national-security implications of transferring effective control of critical telecommunications infrastructure to a foreign company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The judges said Safaricom operates infrastructure and services of national importance, including mobile money and government platforms, and holds personal data belonging to millions of Kenyans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The court also quashed the approval contained in Sessional Paper Number Three of 2025, which had been approved by the National Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Government defends economic policy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mbadi also used the briefing to defend the government’s wider management of Kenya’s public finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the government had used debt-management measures to reduce pressure from large debt repayments due in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Mbadi, the government had restructured some liabilities to reduce the concentration of debt maturities in 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also defended the use of Article 223 of the Constitution to authorise spending, saying KSh86bn of expenditure cited in recent discussions related to liability management for a Eurobond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mbadi said the government had acted when market conditions provided an opportunity to manage the debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We have made sure that we have smoothened the curve,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also disputed reports concerning Treasury spending on security operations, saying the expenditure related to the leasing of government vehicles, including police vehicles, a function he said was domiciled within the Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Call for scrutiny of political promises<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Treasury secretary also called on journalists to subject politicians seeking public office to detailed questioning on their economic policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said candidates should be asked how they would address public debt, unemployment, housing shortages and other economic challenges rather than simply being allowed to make broad promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If I want to be president, like I want to be in future, ask me what I will do differently,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mbadi said the government should also be held to account over policies such as healthcare, housing, agriculture and employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has defended recent economic measures, including increased lending to the private sector and efforts to extend the maturity of domestic debt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These claims were made by Mbadi during the briefing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further public participation planned<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mbadi said the government would undertake another round of public participation before proceeding with a proposed legislative process affected by the court’s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the exercise would begin in the first week of October, although it would be interrupted by his attendance at the IMF and World Bank meetings before resuming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the government would then take the relevant legislation to the National Assembly, where further public participation would also be conducted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Safaricom transaction remains subject to further court proceedings. Vodacom has also indicated that it intends to appeal the ruling. The National Treasury says it will appeal against a High Court decision that nullified the government’s sale of a 15 percent stake in telecommunications company Safaricom to South Africa’s Vodacom. The three-judge bench ruled on Tuesday that the divestiture had breached the Constitution and the law, and ordered the shares to be restored to government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
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