The High Court has returned to Chief Justice Martha Koome the consolidated petitions challenging the government’s proposed sale of 15 percent of its Safaricom PLC shares after the judge initially assigned to hear the matter said he would not be available.
Justice Fredrick Onyango Ogola informed the court that he would be unable to preside due to prior official commitments, including a scheduled trip to the United States from April 11 to April 19, 2026, and another public interest petition from April 26 to April 30.
The court clarified that returning the file does not affect orders already issued on March 23, 2026, and the matter now awaits the appointment of a new bench and fresh directions on when the consolidated petitions will be heard.
The petitions, filed by political commentator Tony Gachoka and Professor Fredrick Onyango Ogola, seek to block the government’s plan to sell 15 percent of its stake in Safaricom to a South African firm, a move expected to raise an estimated Ksh 204.3 billion. Among the respondents are Safaricom PLC, the Vodacom Group, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, the Cabinet Secretary for Information and Communication, the Communications Authority of Kenya, and the Attorney General.
According to the petitioners, the National Treasury indicated its intention to dispose of the 15 percent government stake through Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2025, after which Vodacom Group reportedly issued a notice expressing its interest in acquiring the shares. The petitioners argue that the sale would reduce the government’s stake from 35 percent to 20 percent, a move that could strip Kenya of its veto powers and weaken its influence in Safaricom’s decision-making structures.
The activists further contend that Safaricom controls more than half of Kenya’s mobile connections, mobile money services, and digital financial systems, handling highly sensitive personal, financial, electoral, and national security data of over 30 million Kenyans. They fault the process leading to the proposed sale, claiming it was conducted without adequate public participation or parliamentary approval, in violation of constitutional requirements.
The petition warns that the transaction would significantly dilute Kenya’s control over the company, potentially undermining the country’s strategic interest in a national asset critical to telecommunications and financial technology sectors.
