Ndindi Nyoro: Govt is underselling Safaricom
By Faith Lagat, December 4, 2025Kiharu Member of Parliament (MP) Ndindi Nyoro has accused the government of grossly undervaluing Safaricom in a landmark divestiture deal, warning the transaction could cost the nation billions in lost value.
The critique comes as Treasury officials hailed the agreement, signed on Thursday, December 4, 2025, which transfers a 15% government stake in the telecom giant to Vodafone for USD 1.56 billion (approximately Ksh204 billion), plus a Ksh40.2 billion dividend advance, totalling Ksh 244 billion in proceeds.
Nyoro, in a sharply worded X post dated December 4, 2025, described the sale price of Ksh 34 per share as a “24% discount from 2021 valuation,” when shares traded at Ksh 45, placing the company’s worth at Ksh 1.8 trillion.
“The government is underselling Safaricom & should reconsider. The valuation is grossly bad for Kenya. Safaricom shares were trading at Ksh 45 in 2021, valuing the company at Ksh 1.8T. This was before the Ethiopian investment,” Nyoro wrote.
He argued the lower valuation, below Ksh 1.4 trillion, signals “either there was self-interest or incompetence in negotiating for a better deal for Kenyans.”
Deal seen as strategic financing
The agreement was formalised in Nairobi with representatives from the Government of Kenya, Safaricom Limited, and Vodafone. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Principal Secretary for Economic Planning Chris Kiptoo attended the signing, framing it as a pivot toward sustainable financing.
“The National Infrastructure Fund represents a bold shift in how Kenya finances development by moving from debt to sustainable investment anchored in strategic asset mobilisation,” Kiptoo said, emphasising the transaction’s role in seeding two new funds.
Under the deal, the Ksh244 billion will fund the National Infrastructure Fund for priority projects and the Sovereign Wealth Fund to secure long-term prosperity. Kiptoo noted macroeconomic benefits, including “significant foreign exchange inflows” to bolster reserves, currency stability, and the digital economy.
“This strategic divestiture will also generate significant foreign exchange inflows, strengthen Kenya’s reserves, support overall currency stability, and advance our digital economy agenda, innovation, and job creation,” he added.
Nyoro questions deal structure
Despite the sale, the government retains majority ownership in Safaricom, ensuring continued state influence. Nyoro, however, called for a complete overhaul.
“Safaricom ought to have been split into three companies before the sale. Safaricom Telco, Safaricom Towers & Safaricom Financial Services. The sum of the 3 would be of much more value than the whole,” he said.
He also criticised the dividend advance as a disguised loan. “Something unprecedented is that there’s still an element of a loan. GoK is collecting future dividends now. We are taking a Ksh40B loan by mortgaging future dividends of the 20% stake left,” Nyoro wrote, linking urgency to electoral pressures.
“All the securitisation, illegal loans and underselling of government assets is motivated only by the desire to be seen to do something regardless of the cost now and in the future.”