Switch off 5m unlisted phones: Kibaki
Telkom Kenya corporate affairs director Angela Mumo takes President Kibaki through a smart phone during the launch of Orange 3G network at Laico Regency Hotel, on September 7, 2011. Photo/FREDRICK ONYANGO
Five million mobile phone subscribers could soon be switched off from networks following a presidential directive on unregistered SIM cards.
The Ministry of Information and Communication is expected to immobilise these numbers as a measure to curb crime. (Read: Unregistered SIM cards to be blocked in January)
According to the Communications Commission of Kenya, 81 per cent of the 25 million subscribers have been registered since listing started last year.
The percentage represents 20.22 million subscribers registered as directed by the regulator to mobile operators.
On Wednesday, President Kibaki noted that unregistered numbers continued to be used to perpetuate crime.
“To safeguard the lives of many Kenyans using mobile phones, I once more direct the Ministry of Information and Communication to ensure that there is no phone number in use that is not registered,” said the President as he launched Telkom Kenya’s Third Generation Network (3G) at Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi.
However, the directive has no legal backing and has been a contentious issue in trying to enforce SIM card registration. The President first ordered SIM card registered in 2009.
Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta proposed in the Finance Bill in his Budget speech to make SIM card registration compulsory. This has yet to be done but is being discussed in Parliament.
This explains why the regulator has not been quick to crack the whip on operators with unregistered mobile phone numbers on their networks.
Last week, the acting CCK director-general, Mr Francis Wangusi, said they were relying on goodwill to enforce the directive.
“We are aware there are still people out there selling new mobile phone lines without registering them. We, however, believe the operators will corporate with us on this and have the lines registered,” Mr Wangusi told journalists
The registration has also relied heavily on mobile money transfer services that makes it compulsory for subscribers to register first.
Criminals use mobile phones to fraudulently receive money from subscribers while others use phones to demand ransom for kidnapped victims.
