You risk being penalised of up to Sh300,000 over unregistered sim-card

Those people who have not re-registered their sim cards risk being penalised` of up-to Sh300,000 per violation, the Communication Authority of Kenya has said.

According to the Kenya Information and communication the exercise of sim card registration was gazetted on August 14, 2015 and the telecommunication operators has been aware of the compliance requirements and that it has nothing to do with the upcoming general election ahead of the 2022 August 9 elections.

“We don’t want to cause panic, we just want to make understanding, this exercise is mandatory and the telecommunication operators need to keep the update of records of all the subscribers,” said Ezra Chiloba Director General, Communication Authority at a press briefing yesterday at Movenpick Hotel to emphasise on the ongoing sim card registration.

This is not a re-registration or fresh registration exercise, it is an opportunity for operators and consumers to validate respective details of registration.

This ongoing exercise is meant to protect consumers of telecommunication services from incidents such as fraud, sim-boxing, kidnapping, terrorism and related crimes prevailing on the situations of compromise sim card registration process.

The telecommunications operators are under obligation to register all subscribers and keep the records of all sim card sold and records of registered subscribers.

All operators are expected to provide a self-verification USSD code and online platform with standardised menus and messages. The USSD code •106# is to be used by all operators for verification.

This means the subscribers do not have to physically present themselves at the operator’s customer service centres unless it is necessary.

“It is a more than a validation of existing customer data,” said Prasanta Sarma, CEO of Airtel.

The regulations do not require subscribers to submit photos of themselves during registration or verification exercise.

However, records of subscribers must include Identification documents such as the National ID, service cards for disciplinary forces, passport and birth certificate whichever is applicable.

“We have already seen how facts around this exercise has been misinterpreted, we are committed to ensuring that the integrity of the registration details of all sim card subscribers is maintained,” added Chiloba. This process continues for those who are buying new sim cards.