Kiharu Member of Parliament (MP) Ndindi Nyoro has urged the government to sell Safaricom shares through a competitive bidding process rather than to a specific company.

Speaking during a church service in his constituency on Sunday, December 7, 2025, Nyoro expressed concern that the planned sale of Safaricom shares to the South African-based company Vodafone has contributed to the undervaluation of the share price.

He emphasised the importance of opening the process to multiple bidders, arguing that this would allow Kenyans to get full value for the 35 per cent government stake in Safaricom, which he said belongs to all citizens.

“Let us not rush the sale of a 15 per cent share in Safaricom. Let’s give people a chance to compete.”

“Let’s open a competition of bids so that we can have many companies bidding to buy that stake of Safaricom so that Kenyans can get full value for the stake we have in Safaricom, the 35 per cent the government has in Safaricom we own all of as Kenyans,” he said.

Nyoro also raised questions about the credentials of the individuals representing the government in the deal, suggesting that some may not be government employees or officially contracted to negotiate on behalf of the state. He implied that this could affect the fairness and transparency of the transaction.

“I have experience in the capital market. The people who represented the government in this deal – probably some of them are not government employees, and some of them are not contracted to negotiate on behalf of the government – and maybe those people there are things they do with the buyers,” he stated.

The MP called for careful consideration in the sale of the 15 per cent stake in Safaricom, stressing that a competitive bidding process would attract more companies and ensure maximum benefit for the public.

Mbadi’s rebuttal

Ndidi Nyoro has been vocal on the sale of Safaricom shares for the recent past.

In response, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi had appeared on a TV station and dismissed Nyoro’s arguments, saying the MP was confusing the valuation of a firm with the valuation of its shares.

Mbadi said the value of a company as an entity is not the same as the value of its shares and stressed that the government is selling shares, not the entire business.