Nairobi — The Court of Appeal (CoA) has lifted conservatory orders that had suspended the government's planned sale of a 15 percent stake in Safaricom to South Africa's Vodacom, allowing the transaction to proceed.

The decision is a boost for the government, which plans to channel proceeds from the sale into the National Infrastructure Fund and the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

In March, High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi temporarily stopped the proposed sale, valued at about Sh204 billion, following a petition by Fredrick Ogola and Tony Gachoka, who raised concerns over data sovereignty, public participation and other constitutional issues.

In May, a separate petition led by former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka also sought to block the transaction, citing alleged constitutional violations.

Later that month, a High Court bench comprising Justices Francis Gikonyo, Roselyne Aburili and Tabitha Ouya suspended the sale, citing unresolved questions on data sovereignty, public participation and other legal issues.

The suspension came after the National Assembly approved the government's partial divestiture from Safaricom in April, paving the way for the State to offload part of its stake through the Nairobi Securities Exchange's Block Trade Platform.