Kenya government is considering appealing a court ruling that declared sale of it’s shares in Safaricom violates constitution.
The government of Kenya held a 15% stake in Safaricom but recently sold the shares to Vodacom, a south African telecom.
John Mbadi, the Kenya Treasury Cabinet Secretary said that the Government followed due process, including obtaining approval from Cabinet and Parliament, before selling part of its shareholding in the telecommunications company.
“Treasury remains confident that the process followed the law and is in line with prudent financial management coherent with the nation’s fiscal realities,” Mbadi said.
“The divestiture was conceived, developed and presented to Cabinet and the National Assembly as a considered fiscal measure structured to unlock value for the exchequer while safeguarding the strategic character of an institution that touches the daily lives of over 50 million Kenyans,” he added.
Mbadi said the National Treasury was studying the full judgment and would use the appropriate legal channels to challenge the findings.
“The National Treasury is studying the full judgment closely and will shortly set out through the appropriate legal channels the grounds on which we consider the court’s findings merit further judicial review,” he said.
On Tuesday, a three-judge High Court bench ordered the 15 percent stake transferred to Vodacom to revert to the State after ruling that the transaction was unconstitutional.
Vodacom has also said it will appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal (CoA) and seek orders temporarily suspending its implementation pending the appeal.
