Gov't appeals High Court ruling nullifying Ksh.204.3B Safaricom shares sale

Attorney General Dorcas Oduor and National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi are asking the Court of Appeal to quash the judgment of a three-judge High Court bench that nullified the partial divestiture of the government’s stake in the telecommunications company.

The two senior government officials are also seeking an immediate stay of the judgment and orders pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

In separate affidavits sworn on September 17, 2026, Oduor and Mbadi argue that the Ksh.204.3 billion proceeds from the transaction are non-refundable, while the shares in question are already quoted securities in a listed company.

The government, in its 190-page petition filed at the Court of Appeal, argues that restoring the government’s six million ordinary shares in Safaricom, which have already been transferred to Vodafone Kenya Limited, would happen without a corresponding order for the refund of the consideration paid.

The government further argues that an additional Ksh.40.2 billion was paid in lieu of future dividends.

It also says the shares are quoted securities in a listed company and were held and transferred through the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation.

The government argues that steps to give effect to the High Court orders could be taken at any time and, once taken, would be difficult or impossible to reverse.

It is therefore asking the appellate court to suspend the implementation of the High Court judgment until the appeal is heard and determined.

The government says failure to grant the stay would render its intended appeal nugatory and expose it to the very prejudice the appeal seeks to avert.

It further argues that the dispute raises questions of grave public interest touching on fiscal planning, the stability of the capital markets, investor confidence and the country's external position.

The government has expressed dissatisfaction with the entirety of the High Court judgment and says it has already lodged a Notice of Appeal.

The respondents in the case, including businessman Tony Gachoka and Professor Frederick Onyango Ogola, have less than a week to file their replying affidavits before the Court of Appeal sets a mention date to pave the way for the hearing and determination of the application.