Court of Appeal declines to suspend ruling nullifying Safaricom share sale

The government has suffered another setback after the Court of Appeal declined to suspend a High Court ruling that declared the 204-billion-shilling sale of Safaricom shares to Vodacom null and void on September 15, 2026. Appellate Court judges Luka Kiprotich Kimaru, Johnson Okello and Kathurima M’Inoti rejected an application by the petitioners seeking to stay the High Court judgment pending the determination of their intended appeal, ruling that the application had failed to meet the required legal threshold. The government, through the Office of the Attorney General, is challenging the High Court decision by Justices Francis Gikonyo, Roseline Aburili and Tabitha Wanyama, which declared the state’s sale of a 15 per cent stake in Safaricom to Vodacom unconstitutional, null and void.