A Kenyan residing in the UK has moved to court seeking to stop a directive by the Communication Authority of Kenya requiring mobile services operators to register their customers afresh.
Mr Karanja says the regulator has urged mobile services operators to ensure that their subscribers disclose all other telephone numbers registered under their names.
A Kenyan residing in the UK has moved to court seeking to stop a directive by the Communication Authority of Kenya requiring mobile services operators to register their customers afresh.
In a petition certified as urgent by the High Court, Mr Eliud Karanja Matindi says the directive by CA requiring Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom Kenya to carry out fresh registration of all their mobile telephone subscribers, including subscribers who are already registered, is illegal.
Mr Karanja says the regulator has urged mobile services operators to ensure that their subscribers disclose all other telephone numbers registered under their names, including those registered with other mobile telephone service providers.
The activist said the directive might force the telcos to suspend the services of any of their subscribers who will not have registered their mobile telephone lines as required from April 15, with deactivation of service 90 days after such suspension, if still not registered.
“As a precondition for this fresh registration, all natural persons must submit to have their photographs taken, processed and retained,” he said adding that the failure to meet the conditions will lead to the suspension followed by deactivation 90 days later.
The collection of photographic images is allegedly for security purposes as part of their know your customer process to safeguard their customers as well as for due diligence in accordance with Anti-Money Laundering purposes.
Mr Karanja wants the court to compel the telcos to delete and expunge from their records and systems photographs of persons who are registered mobile subscribers, collected during the registration process.
He further wants the High Court to quash the Kenya Information and Telecommunication Regulation 2014.
According to activist, the directive from the CA is unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void and any collection, processing and retention of photographs by mobile telephone service operators is unconstitutional.
Karanja has faulted the conduct of the Data Protection Commissioner, KNHR, National Gender and Equity Commission and Attorney General for failing to intervene to stop or oppose CA’s directive.
“The Directive from the 1st Respondent for the 1st and 2nd Respondents and the Interested Party to carry out fresh registration of their existing and already registered mobile telephone service subscribers is unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void,” he said in an affidavit.
Justice Hedwig Ong’udi certified the case as urgent and directed him to serve CA and the mobile telephone operators with the court documents within seven days. The case will be mentioned on April 6 for further directions.
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