Kenyan MPs open inquiry into $1.5bn Safaricom stake sale amid valuation and control fears

Kenya’s parliament on Monday opens hearings into the government’s decision to sell part of its stake in Safaricom, the country’s biggest and most profitable company, in a deal that has stirred unease across financial markets and civil society.

Two parliamentary committees will spend nine days in Kiambu County talking to over 40 organisations as they scrutinise the Safaricom stake sale, just weeks after it was announced. The inquiry will be led by the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning alongside the Select Committee on Public Debt and Privatisation.

At stake is the government’s agreement to sell 15% of Safaricom to South Africa’s Vodacom for KES 204 billion ($1.5 billion), and a separate purchase by Vodacom of 5% from Vodafone for KES 68 billion ($527.3 million). If completed, the deal will increase Vodacom’s stake to 55%, leaving the government with 20% and public investors with 25%.

The inquiry presents a chance for Parliament to scrutinise a deal that will permanently shift control of Kenya’s most valuable company and could influence the ongoing privatisation of state firms.

Fund infrastructure

The National Treasury says the transaction will raise KES 244.5 billion ($1.8 billion) in total, including KES 40.2 billion ($311.6 million) paid for future dividend rights, and is part of President William Ruto’s push to raise money for infrastructure without increasing taxes or adding to Kenya’s debt burden. Treasury cabinet secretary John Mbadi has described the sale as “unlocking capital” at a time when public finances are under strain.

“This money is not going to finance our budget deficit support. We are investing it in the National Infrastructure Fund towards commercially viable public investment infrastructure,” Mbadi said in December. “We feel this is converting it into a higher-value asset.”

On Monday, MPs will hear from Safaricom itself, rival operators Airtel Kenya, Telkom Kenya, and Jamii Telecommunications, as well as the Safaricom Dealers Association.

Transaction advisors and professional firms, including Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, EY, Bowmans, Andersen, and Anjarwalla &, will follow them. Human rights and governance groups like Amnesty International Kenya, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and Transparency International Kenya are expected to question the process and the safeguards around a deal involving what many see as a strategic national asset.

Labour groups, including the Central Organisation of Trade Unions, and public interest organisations such as Kituo cha Sheria and the Institute for Social Accountability, will also testify.

Market participants and economists, including the Association of Stockbrokers of Kenya and the Institute of Economic Affairs, are expected to argue that the price does not fully reflect Safaricom’s future growth, particularly in Ethiopia and in mobile money. M-Pesa, Safaricom’s payments arm, remains the company’s profit engine, with revenue growing 14% 2025.