- The decision, he noted, was made to the Council by the National advisory security committee.
- He told MPs that the shareholding status has, however, not been changed at the State law office.
Former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani has dragged the National Security Council into the debate surrounding the alleged illegal buyout of Telkom Kenya arguing it is the one that sanctioned it.
Yatani said following the advice from the organ they were forced to abandon an earlier plan to have the telecommunication network merged with Airtel.
“Helios investment and I, meaning the Treasury had approved the merger until we were advised that, that was a dangerous route to go and we must abandon the process,” he said.
He was appearing before the joint Parliamentary Committee on Communication and Finance's controversial takeover plan, on Wednesday.
Yatani told MPs probing the matter that he had no reason to question the decision made by the top security organ to proceed and approve the release of Sh6.09 billion to the company.
The decision, he noted, was made to the Council by the National advisory Security Committee that the government take 100 per cent of the ownership.
“A decision was made, NSC is the top security organ of this country and we had no reasons to doubt it as wanting...look at its composition-who chairs it, who deputises, and who are the other members who sit on it?” the CS posed.
Yatani also stated told the Committee chaired co-chaired by Dagoreti south MP John Kiarie and Kuria Kimani (Molo) that the National Treasury is now the 100 per cent shareholder of Telkom.
He stated that the shareholding status has, however, not been changed at the State law office since the Telkom Kenya board that is supposed to initiate the changes is set to be properly constituted.
The London-based Helios through Jamhuri Holdings Ltd owned 60 per cent of the stake in Telkom before the government in a controversial sale, some days before the 2022 general elections acquired it.
“The National Treasury has the shares certificate, which has not been done because the board, as directed by the National Treasury, did not meet since they did not have a quorum. So the records at the registrar of companies might not have changed,” he said.
The move to fully acquire the mobile network, he stated, was informed by the decision by Helios that it had continued to make losses.
Helios, he said, accused the government of failing to play its regulatory role of being an enabler in the industry by ensuring there is a win-win situation among all players and that the State had unprocedural taken its assets.
“The arena was not even...they claimed the government had taken its land along Ngong road valued then at Sh10 billion which its efforts to reclaim it has been successful,” he said.
France’s Orange was the initial majority shareholder in Telkom Kenya before its privatization in 2007 when it sold the stake to Helios.
The directors of the company failed to honour the summons to appear before the Committee on Wednesday.