Vodacom expects the Kenyan Court of Appeal to, in the coming weeks, hear its challenge to a High Court ruling that nullified its acquisition of a 15% stake in Safaricom from the Kenyan government.
Group CEO Shameel Joosub, speaking during a media call yesterday, said the deal is before the Court of Appeal of Kenya in Nairobi, which should hear it in the coming weeks. He added that Vodacom was “quite confident in terms of our positioning”.
Joosub says he expects South Africa’s largest network operator to succeed, noting it would also be possible to approach the Supreme Court if needed.
Vodacom said in December 2025 that it would buy a further 20% stake in Safaricom from the Kenyan government and Vodafone for a combined $2.1 billion, taking its shareholding from 35% to 55%.
Court in the act
However, businessman Tony Gachoka and academic Fredrick Ogola, along with two other Kenyans, challenged the government’s sale of its 15% stake, arguing that the process was unlawful. They alleged there had not been adequate public participation and that the price paid of $1.6 billion to the government undervalued its Safaricom stake.
In September, even though the transaction had been completed in June, Kenya’s High Court declared the sale null and void because it was unconstitutional, citing inadequate public participation, concealment of material information, an arbitrary pricing process and unresolved national-security concerns over the transfer of effective control to foreign investors.
Joosub, however, says Vodacom “did everything by the book”.
“Essentially, the deal went through all the processes; it went through the parliamentary process, it was extensively consulted on,” Joosub says. “And so, it had all the requisite regulatory approvals, and everything was properly done.”
Joosub notes that Vodacom had made arguments addressing all the High Court’s issues. The Government of Kenya, Vodafone Group and Vodafone Kenya – the vehicle through which the sale was completed – have lodged appeals against the judgement, while Gachoka and Ogola appealed certain undisclosed aspects of the ruling.
Despite the sale being declared null and void, the Court of Appeal ruled that the shares and money paid for them must remain as they are until the appeal is heard, enabling Vodafone Kenya to retain the Safaricom shares with the purchase money remaining untouched.
Risky business
Vodacom says in its interim results booklet that it expects an appeal date to be set before the end of December 2026.
In the six months to September, Safaricom delivered service revenue growth of 13.1% and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth of 27.5%, and Vodacom says the consolidation of Safaricom aided group revenue gains of 25.6% to R102.5 billion.
“The combination of Vodacom and Safaricom creates one of the continent’s largest fintech platforms,” Joosub says in the group’s Stock Exchange News Service Announcement, released on Tuesday.
The High Court ruling also put Vodacom in breach of certain loan agreements, although it has secured agreements with its lenders waiving defaults linked solely to the judgement.
Vodacom says the ultimate outcome of the appeal remains uncertain and that, if unsuccessful, it would have to reassess the accounting implications, given that it currently accounts for 55%.
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