The government of President William Ruto has sold a 15 percent Safaricom stake to South Africa’s Vodacom Group. This sale took place barely three days after the Court of Appeal lifted orders that had been issued by the High Court barring the sale until a matter challenging the transaction was heard and determined.
In this rush, the government has missed out on Sh16.1 billion that it could have received in Safaricom dividends had the sale taken place after August 4 this year. Safaricom is now expected to close its books on the payment of a final dividend of Sh1.15 per share on August 4.
The multi-billion transaction was conducted on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday June 30, as a block trade. It became the largest single transaction that has ever been conducted on the local bourse. The deal was worth some Sh204 which came from the sale of 6 billion shares at a price of Sh34 per share.
This sale reduced the government’s shareholding in Safaricom from the previous stake of 35 percent to a stake of 20 percent.
In addition to the Sh204.3 billion that the government collected from the sale, the government will take Sh40.2 billion in advance dividend to bring its total earnings to Sh244.5 billion. This advanced dividend payout amounted to a dividend pay at a rate of about Sh6.69 per share.
Besides this transaction, South Africa’s Vodacom Group purchased a 12.5 percent stake that is currently held by Vodafone International Holdings in Vodafone Kenya for Sh68 billion.
This pushed Vodacom’s interest in Safaricom to 55 percent while giving the company total ownership of Vodafone Kenya.
“The acquisition by Vodacom of the Vodafone Kenya Shares for a consideration of Sh68.1 billion, resulting in Vodacom owning 100 percent of Vodafone Kenya’s share capital directly and approximately 55 percent of Safaricom’s share capital indirectly.”
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Prior to this acquisition, Vodacom has been holding a 40 percent stake in Safaricom while the government has been holding a 35 percent stake. The public has been holding shares equivalent to a stake of 20 percent.
At the same time, Vodafone Kenya which has been holding 16 billion shares equivalent to 39.93 percent in Safaricom has been jointly owned by Vodacom and Vodafone. Vodacom, which is headquartered in Midrand, South Africa, is listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE).
Vodafone on the other hand is a private limited liability company which is headquartered in Netherlands. Vodacom and Vodafone are both subsidiaries of the Vodafone Group Plc which is an international telecommunications company that is headquartered in Newbury, England. It operates in 15 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The sale of the Safaricom stake by the government followed the recent Privatization Act of 2025 that was signed into law on October 21, 2025. In this new law, the government has been allowed by Section 74 to sell or dispose part or all of its shares in a government-linked corporation with the approval of the Cabinet following a recommendation from the National Treasury.
