Kalonzo Accuses Government Over Safaricom Share Sale Amid Legal Battle
Politics Updated: 03 July 2026 15:58 EAT
Photo Courtesy: Wiper Patriotic Front Party Leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka issuing a statement on the alleged Illegal Safaricom Share Sale.
Wiper Patriotic Front Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has intensified criticism of the government over the sale of its Safaricom PLC stake, arguing that the transaction is undervalued and constitutionally questionable. He maintained that the issue goes beyond market pricing and touches on Kenya’s long-term public wealth.
He argued that the valuation fails to properly account for Safaricom’s mobile money arm, M-Pesa, which he described as a standalone fintech platform with enormous economic value. According to him, excluding this component risks massive underpricing of a strategic national asset.
“If M-Pesa is properly valued as a standalone fintech platform, the public value potentially lost runs into hundreds of billions of shillings,” he stated.
Kalonzo further raised concern over the government’s estimated loss of dividend income following the reduction of its shareholding, saying the State previously benefited significantly from annual payouts.
“The government’s former 35% economic interest represented roughly 16 billion shillings in annual dividend income,” he said.
He questioned the timing of the transaction, noting that a dividend payout was imminent and arguing that the State effectively forfeited guaranteed income for a one-off payment.
“Why not wait a few days for the dividend? Why rush to give up a strong long-term income stream for a short-term cash receipt?” he posed.
The opposition leader said the deal raises serious governance concerns, including transparency, accountability and constitutional compliance, insisting that the matter remains unresolved before the courts.
“This transaction raises grave questions of transparency, accountability, evaluation, sovereignty, and respect for the rule of law,” he said.
Kalonzo warned that legal and constitutional avenues remain open and said the matter should not be treated as closed despite the transaction proceeding.
“We issue a clear caveat emptor—buyer beware… the constitutional questions remain alive,” he stated.
He reiterated that Safaricom remains a strategic national asset built through Kenyan participation and innovation, especially through the success of M-Pesa.
“Safaricom was built by Kenyans… its value must not be traded away in haste behind closed doors,” he said.
Kalonzo also escalated his political criticism of the administration, accusing it of economic mismanagement and calling for voter mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The levels of impunity, conflict of interest, and outright theft in this government have reached an unacceptable level,” he said.
Legal representatives accompanying Kalonzo referenced previous litigation involving major infrastructure deals, warning that the Safaricom matter could follow a similar legal trajectory through higher courts if necessary.
“We are going to take that matter all the way up to the Supreme Court,” one of the lawyers said.
They also questioned regulatory oversight, specifically the role of competition authorities in approving such a large transaction involving public assets.
“Where was or is the Competition Authority? What are they doing?” one legal representative asked.
Kalonzo defended media freedom amid criticism of opposition-aligned reporting, rejecting claims that journalists were being influenced politically.
“Media freedom cannot be subjected to the whims and aspirations of a party that is losing grip,” he said.
He insisted that the courts still have authority over the matter and that the transaction could yet be overturned depending on judicial outcomes.
“The courts can still rule that this was an illegal sale, in which case they will have to reverse the whole thing,” he concluded.
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FELIX MAKONA
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