Petition filed to block State's Sh204b Safaricom shares sale to Vodacom

Treasury CS John Mbadi. [File, Standard]

Two activists have moved to court seeking to halt the government’s planned sale of a 15 per cent stake in Safaricom to Vodacom Group, arguing the Sh204.3 billion transaction is undervalued and secret.

Tony Gachoka, a veteran journalist and KANU spokesman, and economics professor Fredrick Ogola have filed a constitutional petition at the Milimani High Court challenging what they term an illegal sale that threatens national sovereignty and security.

They claim the government is selling 6,009,814,200 shares at Sh34 per share when the estimated fair value ranges between Sh70 and Sh80 per share, potentially exposing Kenya to losses of over Sh250 billion.

“The said price is grossly undervalued and appears to have been poorly and selectively negotiated by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Respondents, to the grave detriment of the Kenyan public, given the prevailing and intrinsic market value of the shares,” petition states.

They have sued the Cabinet Secretaries for National Treasury and Information Communication, alongside the Communications Authority, Competition Authority, the Attorney General, Safaricom PLC, and Vodacom Group as respondents.

According to the petition, Safaricom has consistently been one of Kenya’s highest revenue-generating entities, contributing approximately Sh18–20 billion annually.

Gachoka argues that the transaction appears to have been poorly and selectively negotiated to the grave detriment of Kenyan public, and conducted without transparency, public participation, or independent valuation.