High Court halts government’s Sh204bn Safaricom stake sale

It is a big blow to the government after a three-judge bench of the High Court faulted the partial divestiture of its 15 percent stake in Safaricom, valued at 204 billion shillings. The court ruled that the process was conducted without adequate public participation and involved the concealment of key documents and material information. Justices Roselyn Aburili, Francis Gikonyo and Tabitha Wanyama further ruled that the government failed to disclose the identity of the proposed buyer and made misrepresentations while withholding crucial information relating to the sale.