The United Opposition is set to challenge the government’s plan to sell a 15 percent stake in Safaricom PLC to Vodafone Kenya.
Speaking on Monday, December 8, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka claimed the transaction lacks proper public participation and may undervalue a key national asset.
“Safaricom belongs to the people of Kenya, and it cannot just be auctioned. If the Safaricom shares are sold under value, we all know that there is a big cut. Somebody is about to steal big time,” said Kalonzo.
The former Vice President said the opposition has tasked a team of lawyers to move to court to sue the government over the transaction.
“We will stop them, and therefore we have a team of 100 advocates to stop this nonsense of selling without public participation, this national asset,” Kalonzo added.
The government plans to sell 6 billion shares of Safaricom PLC, representing 15% of its ownership, while retaining a strategic 20% stake.
The transaction is valued at Ksh34 per share, totaling Ksh204.3 billion (approximately $1.6 billion).
The government will also receive an advance payment of Ksh40.2 billion as compensation for future dividends, raising the overall transaction value to Ksh244.5 billion.
However, critics have questioned whether the proposed Kah 34 share price reflects the company’s true value.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro last week criticized the pricing, noting that Safaricom shares traded at an average of Ksh45 in 2021.
Nyoro argued that Safaricom’s current valuation should exceed Ksh2.5 trillion and the price of the shares should have higher than Ksh34.
“The Government is underselling Safaricom & should reconsider. The valuation is grossly bad for Kenya. Safaricom shares were trading at Ksh 45 in 2021, valuing the company at Ksh 1.8T. Now, the government of Kenya is selling at Ksh 34 per share, with a valuation below Ksh 1.4T. A 24% discount from the 2021 valuation. Either there was self-interest or incompetence in negotiating for a better deal for Kenyans,” said Nyoro.
