Telcomms chief executives face arrest over unregistered customers

Communications Authority warns the CEOs of Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya that they face fines or jail terms if they do not deactivate unregistered numbers.

Mobile phone operators are once again on the spot for failing to register their customers as required by law.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has accused the three mobile phone operators of hawking SIM cards in a bid to grow subscriber numbers and resultant revenues.

This is without regard for the law, which requires the firms to take down basic customer information before activating SIM cards.

The industry regulator has warned the chief executives of Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya that they face fines or jail terms if they do not deactivate unregistered numbers on their networks.

Francis Wangusi, the CA director general, said the operators had aggressive marketing campaigns during which they oversaw their dealers and agents hawk SIM cards - dishing them out to customers without taking their details.

Unregistered numbers

"We have seen a resurgence in the number of unregistered numbers of the networks and we have warned the operators… by now they should not be having unregistered numbers on their networks… the three voice operators appear to be careless about their SIM cards and our concern is about the three operators,” he said.

“In particular, the authority has confirmed that hawking of SIM cards is still rampant in the country in blatant breach of the law. The SIM-card Registration Regulations outlaw the hawking of SIM cards.”

The regulations, which came into force in 2015, require operators to have the basic details of their customers such as their national identification card numbers and physical addresses.

This was in part aimed at fighting crime as a number of criminals are known to use mobile phones in their illegal activities. It was also aimed at curbing mobile money fraud following increased use of mobile phones to conduct monetary transactions.

The chief executives were in 2013 arrested and interrogated for failing to switch off unregistered subscribers. The clamour for SIM card registration was strengthened by the regulations.

The firms file quarterly numbers with the regulator and have consistently said they do not have unregistered SIM cards.

"CA will carry out a system audit to establish the accuracy of the information that the operators have been giving us," said Mr Wangusi.

Security authorities

He added that CA had aided security authorities in the apprehension and prosecution of 62 SIM card ‘hawkers’, about half of who have been convicted and fined.

"So far 62 SIM card hawkers have been apprehended and convicted in courts of law. Thirty-four (34) of them have been slapped with penalties, while warrants of arrests have been issued against the others," he said.

The SIM-card Registration Regulations that outlaw the hawking of SIM cards also prescribe a fine of up to Sh500, 000 or 12 months' imprisonment.

Customers are required to provide accurate information; incorrect data could see one fined up to Sh100, 000 or imprisoned for six months.