NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 26 – Members of Parliament have called for a probe into the deactivation and subsequent reassignment of dormant Safaricom numbers, warning that the practice could leave customers exposed to fraud, loss of funds and unauthorized access to personal information.

📻 Breaking It Down

The concerns were raised in the National Assembly after Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss presented a petition by Thompson Kirongo seeking an investigation into the telecommunications company’s handling of inactive SIM cards.

The petition has been referred to the Public Petitions Committee, which is expected to establish whether the practice complies with laws governing consumer protection, data privacy and the management of financial assets.

Kirongo argues that the system could disadvantage customers who are unable to use their lines for extended periods because of illness, travel, incapacitation or other circumstances.

📌 What You Need to Know

Presenting the petition, Shollei  said customers who later sought to reactivate their lines could discover that they had lost access to mobile money services, financial accounts and personal information previously associated with the number.

The petition has also drawn attention to numbers registered to deceased persons, particularly where they remain connected to M-Pesa accounts, bank accounts and other financial services.

The petitioner wants Parliament to determine how such numbers are handled during the administration of estates and whether reassignment could interfere with the rights of beneficiaries and authorised representatives under the Law of Succession Act.

Lawmakers also want information on what happens to funds linked to dormant or deactivated numbers and whether money that remains unclaimed is transferred to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority where applicable.

Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza told the House that he had personally encountered problems caused by the reassignment of a mobile number.

He said he once sent money to a number saved in his phone under the name of a known contact, only to discover that the number had since been allocated to someone else.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya