The High Court has declined to issue orders stopping the sale of government shares (15%) in Safaricom PLC to a private foreign entity.
Instead, justice Lawrence Mugambi on Thursday, March 12 directed that the matter be mentioned on the 23rd of this month for further directions.
Petitioners Tony Gachoka and Prof. Fredrick Ogolla, through Senior Counsel Kalonzo Musyoka, pleaded with the judge to issue the orders saying that if the sale happens they will suffer prejudice.
In the court papers seen by TV47 Digital, the petitioners argued that the sale threatens national security, data sovereignty, and public interest.
They also claim the shares, valued at about KSh204.3 billion or KSh34 per share, were undervalued compared to an estimated intrinsic value of KSh70–80 per share, potentially causing losses of over KSh250 billion.
Gachoka stated that Safaricom, which dominates Kenya’s mobile telecommunications, mobile money, e-commerce, and digital financial services, is a strategic national asset that should not be transferred to a foreign entity.
The petition also criticised the process as rushed, opaque, and procedurally irregular, alleging that the government bypassed key legal requirements under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, and the Privatization Act, 2025.
