The crown jewel of Kenya’s corporate empire is on the auction block, and the public is fighting back. A raucous public participation forum is underway at the KICC in Nairobi, where the government is attempting to justify the sale of a strategic 15% stake in Safaricom to the Vodacom Group for a reported KSh 204 billion.

The atmosphere inside the amphitheater is hostile. Treasury officials, armed with spreadsheets and projections of "fiscal space," are facing a barrage of skepticism from civil society, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), and ordinary citizens. The deal, which would see Vodacom’s effective ownership rise to a controlling 55%, is being framed by critics not as a sale, but as a surrender of national sovereignty over critical telecommunications infrastructure.

The Numbers Don’t Add Up

At the heart of the conflict is the valuation. The government has pegged the sale at roughly KSh 34 per share, a figure that opponents argue is a gross undervaluation of Safaricom’s true market dominance and future earning potential. The LSK and dealers have raised alarms that this "fire sale" is a desperate move to plug budget deficits rather than a strategic economic decision.

Key contentions exploding on the floor include:

• Loss of Control: Ceding majority control (55%) to a foreign entity (Vodacom/Vodafone) raises national security concerns regarding data privacy and M-PESA’s financial ecosystem.
• Retail Investor Lockout: Critics demand that the shares be floated on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) for Kenyans to buy, rather than being sold in a private block to a foreign multinational.
• The "Fire Sale" Narrative: Why sell a cash cow that generates billions in dividends annually for a one-off cash injection?

A Crisis of Trust

The Treasury argues the sale is necessary to raise KSh 244.5 billion for infrastructure projects and to reduce debt reliance. However, the optics of selling family silver to pay off credit card bills are playing poorly with the electorate. "You are mortgaging our future," one participant shouted, capturing the mood of the room.

As the forum continues, it is clear that this is more than a financial transaction; it is a political litmus test. If the government proceeds despite this backlash, it risks confirming the public suspicion that the state is captured by foreign capital. The battle for Safaricom is no longer just about shares; it is about who owns Kenya’s digital future.