Safaricom ordered to pay innovator Sh1.4b over Mpesa Go copyright dispute

Safaricom claims it developed child-focused Mpesa product following concerns raised by the Central Bank of Kenya regarding minors accessing betting platforms. [File, Standard]

Safaricom has suffered a major legal setback after the High Court ordered the telecommunications giant to pay Sh1.4 billion in damages to inventor Peter Nthei and Beluga Limited for infringing copyright in the development of its child-focused Mpesa product.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Josephine Mongare found that Safaricom unlawfully used Nthei's copyrighted "M-TEEN Mobile Wallet" concept in creating its "Manage Child Account" and "Mpesa Go" products.