South Africa’s Vodacom Group said it will keep its controlling 55 per cent stake in Safaricom while an appeal of a High Court decision proceeds.
The appeal follows a High Court judgement on September 15, 2026 that nullified Vodacom’s acquisition of an extra 20 per cent stake and found that the National Treasury had concealed material information about the sale of its 15 per cent stake for KSh204.3 billion.
The court declared the partial divestiture invalid, quashed all related approvals and ordered the 15 per cent stake to be restored to the Government of Kenya, stating “A declaration is hereby made that the partial divestiture of the 15 per cent of the Government of Kenya shares in a camouflage merger or acquisition and takeover of Safaricom Plc is in contravention of the Constitution and the law.”
The judges also said the transaction was “marred with obscurities on the proposed buyer, misrepresentations and concealment of material information on the nature and effects of the partial divestiture in violation of the principles of integrity, transparency.”
Vodacom acquired the government’s shares and a 5 per cent stake from Vodafone Group on June 30, 2026 through its vehicle Vodafone Kenya Limited, paying KSh68.1 billion for the Vodafone portion and KSh204.3 billion for the government portion, raising its ownership from 35 per cent to 55 per cent.
On October 13, 2026 Vodacom and other affected parties applied to the Nairobi Court of Appeal for a stay order; the court chose to fast-track the substantive appeal and maintain the status quo on shares and purchase consideration pending the hearing, noting “The [Court of Appeal] decided not to determine the application but instead recorded to fast-track the substantive appeal. The prevailing status quo in respect of the shares and purchase consideration shall be maintained pending the hearing of the appeal.”
In a trading update Vodacom said the order means “the effect of the order is that [Vodacom] remains the registered holder of the Safaricom shares acquired from Government of Kenya (GoK) on 30 June 2026, and the corresponding purchase consideration paid to GoK is to be preserved, pending the hearing of the appeal.”
The company said it remains confident in the strategic rationale for the investment and will update investors on any material developments relating to the appeal process.
The High Court also raised national-security concerns, noting Safaricom’s role in election transmission, government payment platforms, mobile-money services and personal data storage, and warned that “In the circumstances, even with regulatory safeguards, there is no guarantee that would prevent foreign and external influence or interference with the governance systems, personal security and data.”
