State agency in dock as battle of telecom firms rages

By KURIAN  MUSA

KENYA: Two leading telecommunications firms have been directed to file their supplementary documents on a matter against the Competition Authority of Kenya.

Airtel Kenya through lawyer Peter Waiyaki has served the respondents — the Competition Authority — with the application for judicial review of its decision to stall talks between Airtel and Safaricom Limited.

The battle for the control of the lucrative local mobile service market turned ugly after the authority terminated a hearing conference of the complaints raised by Airtel.

Justice George Odunga sitting in Nairobi has allowed the matter to proceed and issued directives to the aggrieved parties as well as the interested party Safaricom to file their responses within 14 days.

He further directed that the Competition Authority and Safaricom file further affidavits they intend to use during the review that would help end telecom business rivalry.

John Ohaga for Safaricom said his client was ready to take on the case and he agreed to file the written documentary submissions as directed by the judge. “I need 14 days to see what has been filed and be able to make appropriate responses and write the submissions after being served by the responses from the other parties,” Ohaga said.

Purported settlement

On March 11, the case will be listed in the judicial review court for highlighting of the submissions of the two firms and the Competition Authority. Airtel wants the authority to be forbidden from implementing the decision. Competition Authority of Kenya is accused of not providing Airtel with the particulars of the purported settlement offer by Safaricom, which necessitated termination of the hearing conference.

According to the documents filed in court, the authority terminated a conference hearing, which was supposed to be held on October 29, 2013 after Safaricom requested to solve the matter under settlements procedures a day before the hearing.