Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has urged the government to sell Safaricom shares through a transparent, competitive bidding process instead of transferring them to a specific company.
Speaking during a church service in his constituency on Sunday, December 7, 2025, Nyoro voiced concerns that the planned sale of government-held Safaricom shares to South Africa-based Vodafone has contributed to the undervaluation of the shares.
“Let us not rush the sale of a 15 per cent share in Safaricom. Let’s give people a chance to compete,” he said.
“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,” Nyoro added.
Questions Raised on Government Representation
Nyoro also questioned the credentials of individuals representing the government in the deal, suggesting some may not be official government employees or contracted to negotiate on behalf of the state, which 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 explained.
He emphasized that a competitive bidding process would attract more companies, ensuring the public receives maximum benefit from the sale of the 15 per cent stake.
Nyoro Ready to Debate Treasury CS John Mbadi
Earlier, on Friday, December 5, Nyoro challenged Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to a public television debate over the sale. Nyoro criticized the government for underselling Safaricom shares, arguing that the value cannot be determined solely by current trading prices on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), particularly given the market’s long bearish period.
“I have put my voice in it and I want to reinforce that the government is selling Safaricom stake 15 per cent. I want to repeat again and again that the government slept in negotiating a better deal with the buyers of Safaricom stake and I’m saying that with confidence, because I have been in the stock market in Kenya in a long time myself,” he said.
He cited examples of bulk premium pricing in the past, noting that shares sold in bulk often command significantly higher prices than market trading levels.
“The Kenyan market has been bearish. Bearish meaning it has been going down. It has only started going up from last quarter of last year and you cannot measure the value of Safaricom by how much the share is trading. There are many examples for that to be re-evaluated. There is something called a bulk premium when you are selling many shares together,” Nyoro explained.
He referenced REA Vipingo’s 2014 bulk sale, where shares initially trading at Ksh27 were eventually sold at Ksh85, demonstrating the potential for better returns through strategic negotiations.
Public Participation Vital for Maximizing Value
Nyoro vowed to advocate for Kenyans during the public participation period, stressing that the government should ensure maximum value from the sale of Safaricom.
“If you look at how the companies in their sector are valued, I just want to say as a Kenyan the government of Kenya is trying to sell Safaricom for a song. Because there is a period for public participation as it was said in Parliament yesterday, we are going to put our voice because we want Kenya to get the best value out of selling our most prized asset called Safaricom,” he said.
“From where I sit as Ndindi Nyoro, I don’t talk about these things in terms of politics. If there is value that can be gotten and Kenya gets the rightful value for Safaricom, we would all be happy,” he added.
Nyoro confirmed he is ready to face Mbadi in a televised debate, calling for all stakeholders involved in the Safaricom sale to participate.
“I want to from this platform respectfully tell my brother Mbadi I have taken up the challenge. When you are ready I am ready, in a TV station of your choice. And as you come, come with all the stakeholders involved in the sale of Safaricom because we are not doing it for politics,” Nyoro said.
Government Defends Valuation
Mbadi has dismissed Nyoro’s claims, arguing that the government is selling shares, not the entire company, and that the price per share reflects a six-month average plus a premium. He explained that the Ksh34 per share is fair given Safaricom’s market performance.
The government plans to sell 6 billion shares at Ksh34 each, raising a total of Ksh244.5 billion.
The post “Let Kenyans Get Full Value”: Ndindi Nyoro Urges Competitive Bidding in Safaricom Share Sale appeared first on Bossnana.
