Nairobi, Aug. 4 -- The Court of Appeal has rejected a bid by British telecommunications giant Vodafone Group to exit a legal fight involving Safaricom and a former distributor over a terminated dealership contract.

The Court of Appeal ruled that although Vodafone PLC was improperly joined in the petition without the court's permission, it should remain in the proceedings to avoid delaying the case.

The Appellate Court said that the High Court erred by allowing Vodafone to participate before granting leave to join it as a party. However, they held that the procedural defect could be cured in the interest of substantive justice.

"This Court is not bound by rigid procedural technicalities where the substantive interests of justice, partic...