CA, State House clash on Huduma Namba directive

State House has downplayed a directive issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Thursday indicating that the government would switch off SIM cards of individuals not registered for Huduma Namba by the conclusion of the ongoing 45-day registration exercise.

The order, which would have affected telecommunications firms, was made by CA Director-General Francis Wangusi in Kisumu.

“Once the process of Huduma Namba listing is done, we will ask the service providers to shut down the SIM cards of those who will not have acquired the Huduma Namba,” Mr Wangusi said.

“For those without SIM cards, they will not be able to purchase one until they get the Huduma Namba because we have a lot of people using identification cards for people who died to acquire SIM cards,” he added.

But State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita on his official Twitter account last evening denied that the government had okayed the directive.

“For the avoidance of doubt Huduma Number registration is a voluntary exercise in compliance with the ruling of the courts. There is no directive from the government to institute any punitive measures against those who don’t register. More emphasis will be laid on civic education!”

If effected, the directive would have resulted in Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom losing a chunk of their subscribers. It also would have hit voice and SMS communication between subscribers, as well as affecting the volumes of cash transacted via mobile money.