The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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The High Court of Kenya has ordered that the current situation be maintained in a case opposing the government’s plan to sell a 15 per cent stake in Safaricom, as the legal dispute escalates.
Justice Francis Gikonyo, speaking for a three-judge bench, said the court will hear an application for conservatory orders within 10 days before issuing a ruling. In the meantime, earlier status quo directives issued on March 23 will remain in place.
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The court also postponed other pending applications, including those seeking to add more parties to the case, noting that timelines for these will be determined after the conservatory orders application is decided. It, however, allowed an application to amend the petition to include Vodafone Kenya Limited as a respondent.
The judges clarified that there are currently no formal conservatory orders in effect, explaining that previous directions only required maintaining the status quo while the bench was being constituted.
Lawyers representing the respondents argued that the petitioners were misleading the court by implying that conservatory orders exist, insisting that the earlier directives had already lapsed and cannot be treated as such.
They further stated that the case is not yet complete, as petitioners have been asked to amend their filings, and therefore the court cannot grant substantive relief at this stage. The respondents also downplayed claims of public interest, saying the petitioners cannot represent the entire population, and maintained there is no evidence that Parliament acted unlawfully in approving the proposed sale.
During the proceedings, Senior Counsel Kalonzo Musyoka urged the court to extend the orders, arguing that the National Assembly had already approved the sale starting April 1 in defiance of earlier court directions. He also pushed for Vodafone Kenya Limited to be added as a respondent and requested permission to amend the petition.
Kalonzo emphasized the economic importance of Safaricom, noting its major contribution to Kenya’s economy and its globally recognised M-Pesa platform.
The case, which challenges the National Treasury’s plan to offload part of its Safaricom stake, is now set to proceed with the hearing of the conservatory orders application within the timelines given by the court.
