This archive report was first published on 3 September 2019.
On September 3, 2019, Telkom Kenya Managing Director Mugo Kibati expressed concerns that Safaricom's objection to the company's planned merger with Airtel was an attempt to frustrate the deal.
According to Kibati, the delay of the deal will hit workers who are expected to switch over through a recruitment process under the merged entity and risks entrenching Safaricom as a dominant player.
As part of the merger plan, Telkom had issued a one-month notice of redundancy to its employees, informing them of the intention to terminate their employment as a result of the transaction.
However, Safaricom has not responded to these allegations, and the company has instead written to the Communications Authority to urge the regulator not to approve the intended merger of businesses.
"We have no quarrel at all with our colleagues at Safaricom, we are simply trying to restructure and improve our own business and for the good of the industry," Kibati said.
"It is unfortunate, however, that Safaricom now wants to delay this process that seeks provide customers with more credible options," he added.
The Communications Authority had issued a Kenya Gazette notice on July 12, 2019, expressing its intent to grant approval of the proposed merger of Telkom and Airtel businesses.
However, the regulator has since put a pause on the approval process following an investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) into allegations of misappropriation of Public funds in the process of the recapitalisation and restructuring of the balance sheet of Telkom Kenya Limited in 2012.
