He says the sale is wrong because the people of Kenya were not asked, and it looks like the shares are being sold cheap.
Kalonzo also said corruption may be involved in the deal.On Monday, December 8, Kalonzo said Safaricom belongs to all Kenyans and cannot be sold like it is just normal business.
He warned that if the shares are sold under value, someone is about to make a lot of money illegally.
“We will stop them. We even have 100 lawyers ready to fight this nonsense of selling our national asset without asking the people,” Kalonzo said.
The problem started when Safaricom announced that Vodafone Kenya wants to buy 6 billion shares from the government.
This is 15 percent of the company. Each share is priced at Ksh34, making a total of Ksh204.3 billion (about $1.6 billion).
The government will also get Ksh40.2 billion advance for future dividends, so the total comes to Ksh244.5 billion.
If the deal goes through, Vodafone will now own 55 percent of Safaricom, becoming the biggest shareholder. The government will keep 20 percent, and the public will hold 25 percent.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro said the deal is wrong because Safaricom shares were worth Ksh45 in 2021.
He said the current price is too low, and the company is now worth more than Ksh2.5 trillion after entering Ethiopia. Selling at Ksh34 per share may help the buyers unfairly, Nyoro claimed.
But Treasury CS John Mbadi defended the sale. He said the share price is based on the market, not the company’s full value. He said Ksh34 is the average price for the last six months plus a small bonus.
Mbadi said there will be no job losses, the management will stay the same, and key leaders like the CEO and chairman will still be Kenyans.
Kalonzo said the sale must stop until Kenyans are properly consulted. He said it is not fair to sell a national asset without asking the people.
His legal team is now ready to fight the government in court to protect Kenyans’ money and rights.
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