Safaricom has told its shareholders it is reviewing the High Court judgment that declared the government’s sale of a 15 per cent stake to Vodafone Kenya null and void. The notice is four short paragraphs, signed by company secretary Linda Mesa Wambani and dated 15th September, the same day the judgment came down.

Safaricom notes the judgment “in which the Court has ruled against the divestiture”, then makes the one point it wants on the record: “The transaction had been completed on 30th June 2026 following the lifting of conservatory orders by the Court of Appeal and the fulfilment of relevant conditions precedent.”

It says it is reviewing the implications, that the matter remains subject to legal processes, and that updates will follow. The last paragraph says Safaricom will keep serving Kenya and Ethiopia.

That is the whole document. It never says whether Safaricom will appeal, what the orders do to its share register, or when it expects an answer.

Why the notice exists

It runs under Regulation 89(2) of the Capital Markets (Public Offers, Listings and Disclosures) Regulations, 2023, which says a listed company “shall make immediate public disclosure of information which might reasonably be expected to have a material effect on market activity and the price of its securities”.

Safaricom is worth about KES 1.46 trillion, roughly 35 per cent of the Kenyan stock market. A court ordering 6,009,814,200 of its shares back to the state qualifies for such a notice.

Safaricom’s position is awkward: it did not sell the shares and it did not buy them. The Government of Kenya sold, Vodafone Kenya bought, and Safaricom is the company being argued over. It is also the sixth respondent in the case, alongside Vodacom Group and Vodafone Kenya.

What the judgment did

On Tuesday a three-judge bench of Francis Gikonyo, Roselyne Aburili and Tabitha Ouya declared the sale unconstitutional, quashed the parliamentary approval and every agreement behind it, and ordered the 15 per cent restored to the government. The judges found no meaningful public participation and an arbitrary pricing framework.

The trade they cancelled settled eleven weeks ago, at KES 34 a share, taking Vodafone Kenya from 40 per cent of Safaricom to 55.

Vodacom told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Wednesday it will appeal and apply for a stay. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the National Treasury is studying the judgment. Safaricom’s notice matches neither.

Safaricom closed Tuesday at KES 36.50, above the KES 34 the state accepted in June. By mid-morning on Wednesday it was at KES 34.75, down 4.79 per cent.

For anyone holding Safaricom shares, nothing about the network, M-Pesa or the dividend changed this week. What is in dispute is who owns 15 per cent of the company and who keeps the KES 244.5 billion. Vodacom’s stay application decides whether the shares sit where the High Court has put them or where the June trade left them.