Friday, January 23,
2026 - President William Ruto has strongly defended his administration’s
privatization strategy, dismissing criticism from Kiharu MP, Ndindi Nyoro, over
the planned Safaricom share sale.
Speaking on Friday, January 23rd, Ruto described
Nyoro’s opposition as “political conmanship and intellectual deceit,” insisting
that the move is about transforming Kenya rather than serving electoral
interests.
Nyoro had raised concerns that bypassing a competitive
international bidding process could cost the country billions of shillings.
He argued that Safaricom’s 6 billion shares being sold to
Vodafone should fetch at least Ksh.45 each, rather than the proposed Ksh.34.
“We should not be discussing anything below Ksh.45 per
share, but we have been held hostage by the buyer,” Nyoro stated.
Nyoro also alleged that the Communications Authority had
triggered an 80‑billion‑shilling loss through a controversial license renewal
waiver, claiming private entities stand to benefit from transactional costs
tied to the Safaricom deal.
In response, Ruto outlined an ambitious plan to raise Ksh.5
trillion by next year to finance development projects nationwide.
He revealed that the government expects Ksh.110 billion from
the Kenya Pipeline Initial Public Offering (IPO) within a month, and Ksh.240
billion from the Safaricom divestiture.
Combined, these transactions would generate about Ksh.350
billion, which will be leveraged to secure between Ksh.3.5 and 4 trillion for
infrastructure and growth.
“This is not about politics. This is not about the next
election. This is about transforming Kenya,” Ruto emphasized.
The President further dismissed doubts about Safaricom’s
valuation, stressing that public listed companies are transparently valued
through capital markets and stock exchanges.
“Any public listed company, the tested, proven, transparent
valuation is done at the exchange.”
“It’s not done in boardrooms or by committees,” he said.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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