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Kenya’s largest telecoms operator Safaricom is facing widespread public backlash over its alleged involvement in the unexplained abductions of government critics.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said there have been more than 80 cases of abductions and forced disappearances since youth-led anti-government protests that rocked major cities between June and August last year.
Activists have accused Safaricom of sharing customer call records and location data with alleged state agents, allowing them to track and capture targets. Some government critics have shared publicly that they dumped their Safaricom lines to avoid government surveillance and arrest, encouraging other Kenyans to do the same.
Safaricom “needs to be held to account,” Willie Oeba, a spoken word artist and one of the protest movement’s leading figures, told Semafor Africa, saying it needed to follow the country’s data protection laws. “People including family members of abductees have told me that they are considering leaving Safaricom altogether but are unsure of alternatives.”
Safaricom has not yet responded to Semafor Africa’s queries on its alleged involvement in the unexplained abductions. In October, Safaricom denied sharing customer data with the state without court orders after Kenyan newspaper the Nation reported that it had given authorities “virtually unfettered access” to customer data through its internal data management system.
Power utility Kenya Power has also been criticized for allegedly allowing state agents access to location data for its customers’ power meters, installed in homes and businesses. The company did not immediately respond to questions from Semafor Africa over the allegations.
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The government of Kenya owns a 35% stake in Safaricom, with Vodacom and Vodafone owning a combined 40%. Retail investors own 25% of the company. It controls 65% of the telecommunications market in Kenya, with a subscriber base of 47 million.
Five men who disappeared shortly before the Christmas holidays — including cartoonist Gideon Kibet, known for his satirical depictions of Kenyan President William Ruto, and 24-year old Billy Mwangi, who had shared AI-generated images of Ruto in a funeral casket — were found alive on Monday.
The government has denied involvement in their disappearances and said the cases are under investigation, while on Monday police cracked down against demonstrators in Nairobi protesting against the abductions.
Martin’s view
The public backlash against Safaricom and Kenya Power represents the growing anger toward perceived allies of the government at a time of high unemployment, difficult economic conditions, and restricted civil freedoms. Artists who performed at Kenya’s independence day celebrations last month, an event attended by Ruto, faced heavy criticism online.
For Safaricom, any potential boycott could have profound financial implications. When internet access in Kenya was throttled after demonstrators stormed Parliament in June, protesters called for mass boycotts against the company. Safaricom however, denied limiting internet access and blamed the disruption on an undersea cable cut.
A renewed association with an unpopular administration could provide Safaricom’s rivals with an opportunity to gain market share. This is despite many customers’ reliance on tools such as its mobile money service M-Pesa — through which more than half of Kenya’s GDP flows annually.
Room for Disagreement
Ruto and his allies have denied any government involvement in the abductions and disappearances.
Majority leader Kimani Ichungwah claimed that some of the abductions were staged to incite protests similar to those in June last year when Parliament was stormed by demonstrators and partially set ablaze.
Notable
- Last month Bloomberg reported that Safaricom raised concerns about the security risks posed by its US rival Starlink in Kenya, arguing that the company should be subject to the same rules as local operators.
- Reuters reported this week on how Kenyan police allegedly covered up the killings of protesters by mischaracterizing their deaths in official reports.