By the 254.ke Newsroom
A High Court decision that voided Vodacom’s purchase of a 15 percent Safaricom stake does not touch the shares ordinary Kenyans hold on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and it has not disrupted M-Pesa, mobile data or any other Safaricom service. What it has done, more than a week after the September 15 ruling, is leave a Ksh 204.3 billion transaction in legal limbo while Vodacom, the National Treasury and the Attorney General fight to keep it alive on appeal.
Here is where things actually stand as of September 23, 2026, and what it means for shareholders, M-Pesa users and anyone trying to follow the fight over who controls Kenya’s biggest company.
What did the High Court actually rule?
A three-judge bench found that the government’s sale of its 15 percent Safaricom stake to South Africa’s Vodacom Group was unconstitutional, invalid and of no legal effect. The court ordered the shares returned to the state.
The judges did not fault the price or the buyer on commercial grounds. They found the process broken: no meaningful public participation before a transaction of that size, and no disclosure of key documents, including the share-purchase agreement and a separate dividend-rights arrangement between Vodacom and the Treasury. The bench also noted no competitive process was run to justify picking Vodacom over any other buyer.
The ruling reopens a deal that had already closed. Vodacom completed the purchase on June 30, 2026, lifting its effective stake in Safaricom from roughly 40 percent to about 55 percent — control, not just a large minority holding — while the government’s own stake fell to 20 percent. The deal had been worth about $1.6 billion (government filings put the shilling value at Ksh 204.3 billion) when it was announced in December 2025.
Why did the court call it unlawful?
Two things stood out in the judgment. First, Articles 10 and 118 of the Constitution require public participation before decisions of this scale, and the court found what participation did happen was not “reasonable, meaningful and purposive.” Second, the bench said Parliament and the public were not shown the full picture — specifically a dividend-rights side agreement that, petitioners argued, effectively handed Vodacom greater influence over Safaricom’s M-Pesa unit than the headline 15 percent figure suggested.
The state has not disputed that documents were withheld. Its defense, and Vodacom’s, has instead focused on the consequences of unwinding a completed, multibillion-shilling transaction rather than on whether the process was flawed.
Is my M-Pesa or Safaricom line affected?
No. Nothing in the ruling touches Safaricom’s operating license, its network, or the services 30-odd million M-Pesa users and Safaricom subscribers rely on daily. The case is about who owns a block of shares, not about the company’s ability to run mobile money, data or voice services. Safaricom itself said in a statement after the ruling that it continues operating normally.
What about ordinary shareholders on the NSE?
Also unaffected. The 25 percent of Safaricom held by retail and institutional investors through the Nairobi Securities Exchange was never part of the state-to-Vodacom transaction and is not covered by the court’s orders. Safaricom’s own share price actually gained as much as 2.2 percent in the session after the ruling, before settling — a sign the market isn’t pricing in a clean reversal of the deal. Vodacom’s stock, by contrast, dropped nearly 4 percent on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange the same day.
| Ruling date | September 15, 2026 |
| Stake in dispute | 15% of Safaricom (government to Vodacom) |
| Deal value | ~Ksh 204.3 billion (~$1.6 billion) |
| Vodacom’s stake before/after deal | ~40% → ~55% |
| Government’s stake before/after deal | ~35% → 20% |
| NSE retail/institutional stake | 25% — not affected by the ruling |
| Deal completion date | June 30, 2026 |
| Current status | Under appeal; stay applications pending |
What happens next?
Both sides are contesting the judgment. Vodacom has said it will appeal to the Court of Appeal and has applied for a stay to keep the current ownership structure in place while that appeal is heard. Kenya’s Finance Minister, John Mbadi, has said the government will also appeal — an unusual position, since the state is technically the party that would get the shares back if the ruling stands, but Treasury has signaled it does not want to unwind a deal it negotiated and has already booked proceeds from.
The High Court has directed the government, Vodacom, Safaricom and the Attorney General to file formal stay applications. Until a stay is granted, the reversal order technically stands, though nothing suggests an actual share transfer is imminent while the appeal process plays out — a process that, given Kenya’s court calendar, is unlikely to be resolved quickly.
For NSE-listed Safaricom, the fight matters most for governance and strategy questions down the line: board composition, dividend policy and who ultimately steers a company that also runs M-Pesa Africa’s fast-growing fintech business. None of that changes until the courts settle the ownership question for good.
FAQ
Does this ruling cancel my Safaricom shares or dividends?
No. It only concerns the 15 percent stake the government sold to Vodacom. The 25 percent held by NSE investors, including retail shareholders, is untouched.
Will M-Pesa stop working because of this case?
No. Safaricom has confirmed mobile, M-Pesa, broadband and enterprise services continue operating normally regardless of the ownership dispute.
Does Vodacom still control Safaricom right now?
Practically, yes, for now. The court’s order requires the stake to be returned, but Vodacom has applied for a stay pending appeal, and no physical share transfer has taken place as of September 23, 2026.
Could the government end up refunding Vodacom’s money?
Potentially, if the ruling is upheld on appeal — the state has already received roughly $1.6 billion (about Ksh 204 billion) from the sale, which it would likely need to return if the transaction is fully unwound.
When will the appeal be decided?
No date has been set. The High Court has asked all parties to file stay applications first; a Court of Appeal timeline will depend on how quickly those are resolved.
For background on Safaricom’s other recent moves, see 254.ke’s coverage of its $500 million AI infrastructure push and the record run on the Nairobi Securities Exchange this year, as well as Stanbic Bank’s hire of a former Safaricom executive as its new CEO. For the court system’s own record of filings and rulings, see the Judiciary of Kenya.
