Finance Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has stated that the Kenyan government has been making Ksh16 billion from the 35 per cent stake it holds in Safaricom.

While appearing on a local radio station on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, he defended the government’s move to sell its 15 per cent stake to Vodacom, saying that the earnings might increase.

He added that when Safaricom was fully owned by the state, it used to generate around Ksh3 billion, but after selling the 65 per cent stake to a private investor to run the telecommunication giant, it has been far more successful, and the government has seen a surge in dividends.

“If Safaricom continued the way it was before 2008, Safaricom could be making 2 to 3 billion in a year. With the 35 per cent shareholding, we have been getting around Ksh16 billion in dividends,” the CS explained.

With Vodacom having paid an upfront fee of Ksh40.2 billion to receive the rights to earn dividends for the state’s remaining 20 per cent share in Safaricom, Mbadi stated that Vodacom has assured them that they will recoup the amount in less than two years—something which, according to him, proves that it is appropriate for the private sector to manage business-orientated enterprises.

Mbadi further stated that with the government remaining with a 20 per cent shareholding in the telecommunications enterprise, the Kenyan government might make more than Ksh10 billion since Vodacom has assured them that they are pumping more resources into Safaricom and that the income might surge.

The sale of the government’s 15 per cent share has elicited a lot of reactions, with the state expected to sell each share at Ksh34.

This has led to widespread condemnation from leaders, mostly from the opposition, who reject the plan, saying that it is undervalued and that the selling price is not in tandem with the market rates.

Ndidi Nyoro’s rebuttal

Kiharu MP, who also served as former Budget Chair, has come out heavily denouncing the plan, saying that the government could have opted for competitive bidding rather than selling to one company.

He believes there was a possibility of getting a higher price per share. He went ahead to state that the person who negotiated the Safaricom share sale acted on his own interests or was not competent enough.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has vowed to challenge the Safaricom sale in court, with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua stating that they ought to have conducted public participation before going ahead to sell the 15 per cent share.