Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) had threatened to block the switching off on the grounds that it would infringe on the rights of consumers while the counterfeits pointed to regulatory failure.
Cofek executive director Stephen Mutoro said that they decided not to go to court following a survey indicating that more Kenyans support the switch-off of the counterfeit phones as a deterrence to crime
A survey carried out by Infotrak Harris in major urban centres mid last month showed that more than half of the 1,000 respondents support switching off the counterfeits.
CCK has postponed the switch-off of counterfeit mobile phones three times with the deadline having been pushed from September and December last year and from April this year. The new deadline is September 30.
Owners of the more than two million counterfeit phones that are expected to be switched off next month will not be compensated.
The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) says it has reached an agreement with the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek), which had threatened to go to court to block the phones being switched off.
“It’s not feasible for us to compensate the phone owners because the turnover of those phones is high. Many people do not use them for more than three years. Consumers should replace the phones before then,” said Francis Wangusi, the CCK director-general.
Cofek had threatened to block the switching off on the grounds that it would infringe on the rights of consumers while the counterfeits pointed to regulatory failure.
“We have decided not to go to court following a survey indicating that more Kenyans support the switch-off of the counterfeit phones as a deterrence to crime,” Cofek executive director Stephen Mutoro said.
Mr Mutoro said increased vigilance by the government agencies could go a long way in arresting suppliers of counterfeit gadgets. It is estimated that there are more than two million fake handsets in Kenya. Assuming an average value of Sh3,000 per handset, the loss to consumers could be in the range of Sh6 billion.
A survey carried out by Infotrak Harris in major urban centres mid last month showed that more than half of the 1,000 respondents support switching off the counterfeits.
The polled towns were Mombasa, Machakos, Embu, Nyeri, Eldoret, Nakuru, Nairobi, Kakamega and Kisumu.
SMS alerts
Eldoret had the most support at 76 per cent while the highest opposition was in Nairobi at 40 per cent, perhaps due to the high population in the capital city and wide distribution channels.
CCK has postponed the switch-off of counterfeit mobile phones three times with the deadline having been pushed from September and December last year and from April this year. The new deadline is September 30.
“We postponed because of technicalities but the database is now ready. We have sensitised consumers and we are not postponing it again,” said Mr Wangusi.
Service providers will send short message (SMS) alert to the owners of fake mobile phones, he said. CCK would also involve more consumer organisations to have a wider reach especially in remote areas.
The regulator’s data shows that mobile subscription stands at 29.2 million while the Central Bank estimates that Sh116 billion was transferred through mobile phones in 2011.
Phone users can check status of their phones by dialling *#06#, which will display the identification (IMEI) number which is sent to 1555. In most phones, the IMEI is printed inside the handset below the battery.
The IMEI of genuine handsets does not contain repetitive numbers, alphanumerical, decimals, fractions or letters.
