Wamuzi News Ke
Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi, has issued a stunning rebuke to Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro over his relentless criticism of the government’s proposed partial divestiture of Safaricom shares, triggering a fierce political clash over one of the country’s most valuable strategic assets.
Mbadi accused Nyoro of seeking publicity and politicising a complex economic transaction that he insists should be debated in Parliament rather than aired in the media.
Speaking at a bursary event in Bondo Constituency, Mbadi described Nyoro’s televised challenges as unjustified and disruptive, challenging him to raise his concerns through formal parliamentary channels instead of staging public confrontations.
“If you have anything that you think is not right with the divestiture in Safaricom’s shares, I will appear before the National Assembly where you sit,” Mbadi told reporters, underscoring that any lawmaker can summon officials before the relevant committees.
The Treasury CS’s sharp warning comes as tensions escalate over the government’s intention to sell about 15 percent of the state’s stake in Safaricom to Vodacom Kenya, a move expected to yield billions in funding for national infrastructure projects.
Critics, led by Nyoro and others, have argued that the sale undervalues the company and risks undermining Kenya’s control of the telecom giant, a pillar of the national economy. Mbadi dismissed Nyoro’s public calls for a televised debate as grandstanding.
He said the appropriate venue for rigorous dialogue is the Finance and Planning Committee and the Debt and Privatisation Committee of the National Assembly, where both sides could present evidence, ask questions, and subject the proposal to detailed scrutiny.
“You don’t need a TV station,” Mbadi stated. “We need a structured dialogue, and I will come with all the facts.” Political observers say Mbadi’s pushback highlights growing unease within government ranks as lawmakers press for transparency and value realisation in the partial divestiture of Safaricom shares — a sale that would reduce the state’s stake from 35 percent to 20 percent while raising Vodacom’s total control to a majority position.
Mbadi also took aim at the venues where Nyoro has aired his criticisms, including funerals and church gatherings, which he said are inappropriate platforms for unpacking complex economic policy.
“The people at the funerals have come to bury their loved ones. Allow them, give them peace to bury their loved ones,” Mbadi said, reiterating that detailed discussions should occur within parliamentary committee hearings when sessions resume in January or February.
While Nyoro has publicly challenged the sale, arguing that the government is underselling Safaricom and not protecting Kenyan interests, Mbadi accused him of double standards — noting that Nyoro once supported the idea of selling Safaricom under previous administrations.
The Treasury boss maintained that the divestiture plan is designed to help the national economy “take off,” with proceeds seeded toward strategic infrastructure rather than routine government spending.
