Court boosts roll-out of Equity’s thin SIM

The planned roll-out of Equity Bank’s thin SIM technology got another boost after the High Court lifted orders barring its implementation.

Justice George Odunga suspended orders he had granted stopping the launch by Finserve Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of Equity Bank, until a case filed by Kituo Cha Sheria was heard and determined.

Justice Odunga said Kituo Cha Sheria had obtained the orders from the court on December 17 last year by failing to disclose that there was another related case filed by another party, which was still pending before another judge.

“The hearing of a case filed by Kituo Cha Sheria challenging the thin SIM technology will continue, but I have vacated the stay orders which I had earlier granted,” ruled Justice Odunga.

STOP DELIVERY OF JUDGEMENT

Kituo Cha Sheria had also requested the judge to stop delivery of judgment in the other case and instead have the matters consolidated.

Justice Odunga, however, said that was a jurisdiction that could be exercised in such a superficial manner.

“Arresting a judgment and any judicial process for that matter is a power which ought not to be exercised lightly,” he said.

The ruling comes a month after the High Court dismissed another application filed by businessman Bernard Murage, who challenged the roll-out on claims that Equity had not given proper assurance to its clients concerning the safety of their personal data.

Justice Isaac Lenaola had, on May 29, ruled that since the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had approved the roll-out, the court had no reason to interfere with the merit of a decision clearly falling within the relevant statutory agencies, when there were no allegations of irregularities on their part.

“I, therefore, find that the alleged threat to the right of privacy has not been proven and the petitioner’s complaints in that regard are dismissed,” Justice Isaac Lenaola concluded.

SECURITY OF DATA

According to Kituo Cha Sheria, the CA authorised the bank to use the technology without a full audit of the security of data or personal identification numbers (PINs) on the primary SIM that will be overlaid by the thin one.

It wants implementation stopped, arguing that there is a high risk in case of fraud and which Equity may not adequately compensate, given the huge amount of money that could be lost.

“The mobile money market currently serves over 25 million people in the country and beyond, and these include banks, insurance companies, utility providers as well as security agencies with monthly transactions of approximately Sh200 billion,” said Kituo Cha Sheria.

Equity bank defended itself, stating that it did not intend to roll out the thin SIM to the mass market any time now as alleged, because the technology was still in the development phase. Further, the bank argued that it has worked in other countries where it has been tested.