Salasya: I will not approve Safaricom’s stake sale
By Joel Masibo, January 16, 2026Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya has warned that he will not approve the proposed Safaricom stake sale to Vodacom by the state.
Reacting to the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi defending the move, Salasya said the proposed plan will not be a walk in the park.
In the video, CS John Mbadi was recorded defending the 15 per cent stake sale to Vodacom, arguing that previous governments even sold higher stakes in Safaricom than the present regime.
”It is only Uhuru Kenyatta who did not offload shares in Safaricom. Moi did 40 per cent, Kibaki did 25 per cent. We are only doing 15 per cent. Why this noise about 15 per cent? Why did you not make a noise when Kibaki was releasing 25 per cent? Or is it because of ethnicity? What is the justification?” Mbadi posed.
In response, Salasya said: And who brought Safaricom under whose regime? Can you compare Ruto’s economics with Kibaki’s economics, and who did Kibaki sell to?” Salasya posed.
”Wacha wamalize public participation walete bunge niangushe mukitushinda ipelekwe kortini hakuna safaricom inauzwa. Ata ya Kenya pipeline nakwambia wewe bwana expert hamutafaulu kuuza. Rome was never built in a single day. Kama Rais Ruto hana njia nyingine ya kubadilisha Kenyaa atoe jam niingie kama president nipange kazi musitusinye tafadhali,” he continued.
Peter Salasya’s argument comes shortly after the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has urged the joint sitting of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Select Committee on Public Debt and Privatisation to cautiously consider Sessional Paper 3, 2025, which outlines the proposed divestiture in Safaricom PLC by the government of Kenya.
Call for caution
In a sitting held on Friday, January 16, 2026, while acknowledging that the Government of Kenya’s proposal to sell 15 per cent of its shareholding in Safaricom PLC to the Vodacom Group aims to alleviate the government’s fiscal pressures, the chamber urged caution, citing Safaricom’s role as a “systemic economic utility” rather than a standard telecommunications provider.
The transaction, which involves the sale of over 6 billion shares at Ksh34 per share, is expected to raise approximately Ksh204.3 billion. If the National Assembly endorses the sale, government ownership is expected to drop from 35 per cent to 20 per cent, while Vodacom Group’s ownership would rise to 55 per cent, granting it an effective controlling interest.