Man wants Safaricom compelled to make MPESA PIN private

A Man has moved to court seeking to have Safaricom Limited review its Mpesa privacy policies with a view to ensuring that Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) of customers are strictly private.

Joseph Kihanya wants the court to give recommendations to the telecommunication provider that will restore confidence on all Safaricom customers. He also wants the Safaricom compelled to publish its privacy terms and conditions for Mpesa customers and that no Safaricom employee or other persons other than the owners of those monies can have access to the same.

In a certificate or urgency, the petitioner argues that Safaricom customers are exposed to untold risks due to information leaked by employees or persons with private information not excluding their PIN numbers. He add that the situation ought to be urgently redressed to prevent loss of monies by theft.

“I am apprehensive that my PIN number could be given to persons who might withdraw the money I have deposited with this service,” he argued.

Kihanya filed the petition after an expose was aired in a local television revealing two city council askaris who received million of shillings in their Mpesa account.

The two, Alfred Marenya and Benson Akasi, were revealed for public consumption.

He also wants the court to recommend actions towards the withdrawal of license for journalist John Allan Namu for breaching private information of individuals without regard of those persons thus infringing on their human rights.

Kihanya says the information published looked authentic and believable giving cause for readers to believe that Safaricom share its account balances with strangers, and worse still the media.

Safaricom through its senior manager Weldon Siongok, however, claims it has put in place a comprehensive privacy policy which is set out in its Mpesa customer terms and conditions.

Siongok argues that it was also compelled to disclose information to Marenya and Akasi’s Mpesa accounts through a court order of the Chief Magistrate Court dated March 11th who were being investigate over murder.

High Court Judge Isaac Lenaola directed that Journalist John Allan Namu, Marenya and Akasi be listed a respondents in the case ahead of the hearing on August 2nd.