This archive report was first published on 16 September 2019.
On September 16, 2019, a dispute arose between Telkom Kenya and Safaricom over a Sh906.6 million debt in the midst of a merger between Telkom and Airtel.
Telkom Kenya argued that Safaricom had inflated the debt, stating that its merger with Airtel would not affect its ability to clear the unpaid bill.
However, Safaricom insisted on receiving the Sh1.2 billion ahead of the merger, citing a July 12 Kenya Gazette notice on Telkom Kenya's position after the firm's union with Airtel.
"The amounts being reconciled by our teams are less than the figures quoted by Safaricom in the media; Safaricom figures are incorrect and we will be engaging with them," Telkom Kenya said in a statement.
The row over the debt size could delay approvals for the merger, which aims to create a stronger challenger to Safaricom's dominance in the mobile telephony market.
"The intended transaction will enable the two players (Telkom and Airtel) through the combined entity, Airtel-Telkom, to have the scale necessary to take on the market and have a stab at having a competitive environment," Telkom said.
