Kenya’s National Assembly has approved the government’s plan to sell a 15% stake in Safaricom PLC to Vodacom Group in a transaction valued at KSh 204.3 billion (USD 1.576 billion), the largest divestiture in the country’s post-independence history.
The House adopted the report of the Joint Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Select Committee on Public Debt and Privatisation on 10 March 2026, resolving to approve Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2025.
The sale raises Vodacom’s shareholding from 40% to 55%, handing the South African telecoms group majority control of Safaricom. Completion is targeted for 1 April 2026, contingent on regulatory approvals listed as conditions precedent in the Share Purchase Agreement.
The Financial Case Parliament Accepted
The Joint Committee found that the negotiated price of KSh 34.00 per share carried a 17% to 19% premium above the six-month volume-weighted average price of approximately KSh 27.50 at the time the agreement was executed in December 2025. The Committee concluded the price exceeded the high-end valuation range implied by trading multiples and dismissed concerns of undervaluation.
On the dividend question, the Committee found that the KSh 40.2 billion upfront payment — paid in lieu of future dividends on the government’s residual 20% Safaricom stake — represents a net financial advantage to the state. Although the government will repay KSh 55 billion over six years, the present value of that obligation discounted at prevailing market rates stands at approximately KSh 29.3 billion, leaving a net present value advantage of approximately KSh 10.9 billion in the government’s favour.
Six Binding Conditions Attached
Parliament did not approve the sale without conditions. Six binding requirements accompany the resolution.
The transaction must be executed through the NSE Block Trading Platform. The government must receive the KSh 40.2 billion upfront dividend payment. All proceeds — totalling an estimated KSh 244.2 billion including that payment — must flow into the National Infrastructure Fund. There shall be no acquisition-related redundancies. Safaricom’s shared prosperity business model, which supports its dealers, agents, and business partners, must be preserved for ten years.
The redundancy and dealer protection terms go further than the original Sessional Paper proposed. The paper offered a three-year no-redundancy window. Parliament removed the time limit entirely and extended the business model protection to a decade.
Regulators Have Not Yet Cleared the Deal
Parliamentary approval is not the final hurdle. Three regulators carry outstanding responsibilities, and none has issued a clearance.
The Central Bank of Kenya’s position is the most consequential. CBK Governor Kamau Thugge told the Committee the Bank was still assessing Vodacom’s fitness and propriety as a controlling shareholder, post-transaction governance structures, ring-fencing of KSh 250 billion in customer funds, and cross-border supervisory arrangements with Vodafone’s home regulators. The Competition Authority of Kenya had not been formally notified of the transaction. The Communications Authority has issued only a preliminary position.
M-PESA processed KSh 83.7 trillion in transactions in 2025, equivalent to roughly four times Kenya’s GDP, and holds a 95% share of Kenya’s retail digital payments market. CBK’s approval carries substantive conditions of its own, not procedural ones.
