The Kenyan government's plan to sell part of its stake in Safaricom for KSh149 billion ($1.16 billion) in the 2025/26 financial year has ignited a firestorm of criticism online—heightened by yet another public blunder from the Office of the Government Spokesperson, currently held by Isaac Mwaura.
The uproar began on 26 May 2025, when blogger Cyprian Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) shared a screenshot of a tweet by Ike Ojuku (@IkeOjuku), who had flagged a post from the official @SpokespersonGoK account.
The post, reacting to a Business Daily headline about the Safaricom sale, simply read: “Weuh”—a slang expression of disbelief.
Nyakundi captioned it, “Someone forgot to switch accounts ?,” implying that a government official had inadvertently posted a personal reaction on an official channel. Though swiftly deleted, the post circulated widely and sparked ridicule.
Ojuku’s comment accused the government of being “addicted to selling everything” and warned that the Safaricom sale could be tied to broader concerns about citizen surveillance, given the company’s dominance in telecom and mobile money.
The backlash online was immediate. @SparrowJack254 commented, “They’re so bad at this,” while @_Ombertie_KE referenced the government’s alleged greed.
@Jbm_Evan added to the suspicion by speculating that proxies might be used to buy the stake quietly. Many saw the gaffe as yet another sign of poor communication and increasing desperation by a cash-strapped government.
The blunder adds to a growing list of public embarrassments for Isaac Mwaura’s office. Just days earlier, Mwaura found himself in the middle of a national seal controversy—a far more serious constitutional matter.
On May 19, Mwaura stated that the Public Seal had been transferred to the Head of Public Service (HOPS) following due legal process.
However, on May 22, he clarified that the Public Seal is held by the Attorney General, as per Article 9 of the Constitution and the Office of the Attorney General Act.
He acknowledged that Parliament had removed the proposal to amend the National Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill, which would have made the HOPS the sole custodian of the seal.
Meanwhile, the @SpokespersonGoK account has gone silent following the now-infamous “Weuh” tweet, only deepening speculation over internal discord or miscommunication.
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