NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 20 — Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has vehemently opposed the Treasury’s plan to divest a 15 percent stake in Safaricom PLC to Vodafone Kenya, warning that the restricted sale structure could cost the taxpayer an estimated Sh150 billion.
In a submission to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning today, the legislator argued that limiting the transaction to a single strategic partner undervalues the asset. He contended that subjecting the deal to international competitive bidding would reveal the true market price and maximize returns for the Consolidated Fund.
“Why can’t we be patient for two months and we get a higher price?” Nyoro asked the committee. “If Kenya gets an additional 150 billion… everyone benefits.”
Nyoro further dismantled the fiscal logic underpinning the transaction, characterizing it as a “securitization of dividends” that violates the Public Finance Management Act. He explained that the dividends from the state’s 35 percent shareholding already fund the current budget under the Appropriations Act and are factored into the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS).
“We have securitized dividend for the next many years, yet in our long-term and medium-term planning as a country, it is already accounted for as a revenue direct to the Consolidated Fund,” Nyoro stated. “I think… Kenyans deserve answers.”
Nyoro warned that selling the asset while having already booked its future income streams creates a dangerous revenue mismatch. He dismissed the Treasury’s urgency, asserting that an open tender process would better serve the country’s infrastructure needs without deepening the fiscal deficit.
These legislative objections align with a petition filed by the Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK), which also appeared before the committee to challenge the sale on constitutional grounds. While COFEK focused on the lack of public participation and the exclusion of local investors, Nyoro provided the fiscal arithmetic to question the deal’s prudence.
The Treasury, through Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2025, maintains that the sale of 6.01 billion shares to Vodafone Kenya at Sh34 per share is necessary to capitalize the Sovereign Wealth Fund and finance infrastructure.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa has backed the deal as a “shareholder realignment” that preserves the company’s governance structure. However, Nyoro’s testimony suggests that significant friction remains within the government regarding the trade-off between immediate liquidity and long-term value.
