The past few weeks, the local media has been awash with details that the Public Investments Committee (PIC) wants the government t0 institute proceedings to establish the real owners of Safaricom one of Kenya's most profitable telecommunication company that raked in 17B pretax profit for the last financial year. Information available at Safaricom's web show that its sharehodlers are Telkom Kenya and Vodafone Plc.

This parliamentary watchdog wants the much anticipated Safaricom Initial Public Offer (IPO) slated for latter this year shelved due to the failure by recent investigations to unmask the owners of a shadowy company with a 5% stake in Kenya's most profitable firm.

This therefore means that the planned sale of 25% of Safaricom shares to the public through the Nairobi Stock Exchange that was anticipated to raise close to 34B may be put on hold until the owners of Mobitelea ventures are known.

This is a shadowy company that is alleged to own 5% of Safaricom though the company CEO was quick to scoff at the report claiming that the reals owners of the company are Vodafone Plc with 40% and government through Telkom Kenya with 60% shareholding. The report says that in 1999, Telkom Kenya owned 70% of Safaricom Ltd while Vodafone Kenya Ltd owned 30%.
Mobitelea Ventures Ltd is a firm registered in Guernsey Island and whose directors are obscure through other nominees. The firm owned 10% in 2002, which was reduced to 5% in 2003 when Vodafone Plc "bought" back part of the shareholding.

However, the evidence available from the office of the Registrar of Companies indicates that Safaricom's authorised share capital is 1,000 with;

Last year, it emerged that in February 1998, when Vodafone Plc entered the Kenya, the UK firm had used a pseudonym Shoromo Ltd and only changed its name to Vodafone Kenya Limited on October 15, 1998. More...

For the clearly illustrated shareholding structure check out pesa tu blog.

Many think the claims that the shareholding structure of Safaricom cannot be clearly identified is a scheme to defraud the public. Although as a requirement, companies intending to issue shares through an IPO through the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) should reveal all the fundamental information, including shareholding, that would influence any investors purchase of the shares, this remains to be seen. Kenya Re didnot reveal the details of the forensic audit report claiming that it was sub judice to the court proceedings on the same only making them available for inspection at the company premises which many may not bother.

The Government has said the sale of Safaricom shares to the public will go on, as scheduled, despite recommendations to shelve it by a parliamentary committee last week.