Police fail to link telcom CEOs with SIM card crimes
BUSINESS DAILY By OKUTTAH MARK
Wednesday October 9,2013
Mobile telecom executives Tuesday came under intense pressure as security agencies deepened investigations into the deadly terrorist attack on Westgate mall three weeks ago.
Police said the corporate executives had been questioned over the violation of SIM card registration rules that has allowed continued use of non-registered lines to make calls on their networks.
Safaricom’s Bob Collymore, Airtel’s Shivan Bhargava and Telkom Kenya’s Mickael Ghossein spent between two to three hours at different CID offices in Nairobi recording statements on measurers they have taken to prevent use of unregistered SIM cards or sale of pre-activated ones.
Mr Collymore reported at CID headquarters on Kiambu Road while Mr Shivan was at the Industrial Area Police Station.
Mr Ghossein who had initially been to the Kilimani CID offices on Monday night was back at the station in the morning for further questioning.
Essar’s yuMobile chief executive Manthur Taneja was spared the swoop on telcom executives.
Mr Taneja said he had not received any summonses from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the industry regulator, or the police by close of business on Tuesday.
The four telecommunication executives later held a joint media briefing where they denied having any unregistered SIM cards operating on their networks and expressed displeasure at the government’s handling of the sensitive national security matter.
“All the four operators have gone over and above what is required by law and in accordance with the international standards of mobile system security. We are in full compliance with the law and will continue working with the various regulators and law enforcement agencies in the execution of their public duty,” the telcom executives said in a joint statement.
But CCK director-general Francis Wangusi insisted that there was evidence of use of unregistered SIM cards on the mobile networks and demanded that the operators deactivate them or face prosecution.
The CEOs said police had not indicated whether they would be charged in court.
Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo said on Monday that the security agencies wanted to establish which mobile network(s) may have been used during the terrorist attack.
Mr Wangusi said security agents had since Saturday been able to buy pre-activated SIM cards from operators and continued to use them.
Tuesday’s swoop came a day after Mr Kimaiyo, ICT secretary Fred Matiang’i and Mr Wangusi warned that top executives of Kenya’s four mobile phone operators would be arrested and charged with allowing unregistered subscribers to use their networks and for facilitating the sale of pre-activated SIM cards.
The operators have since March been required to take details of those buying SIM cards and disable all unregistered users on their network.
The crackdown comes as the government tightens security around the country following the September 21 attack that left 73 dead, 240 injured and 39 missing. On Tuesday, at least seven agents were charged in court with the offence of failing to register SIM cards.
Thomas Karuga, Paul Gitau, Joseph Ndicho, Eunice Mulimi, Miriam Wairimu, Appalynalius Machuki, Joseph Maingi and Margaret Njeri were arrainged at the Milimani Magistrates Court.
Mr Karuga, Mr Gitau, and Ndicho denied the charges and were released on cash bail. The other four pleaded guilty to the charges and were fined Sh50,000 each.
Failing to register a subscriber as specified for telecommunication services is an offence under Section 4(1)(3) of the Kenya Information and Communications (Registration of subscribers of telecommunication services) Regulation Act.
Mr Karuga and Mr Gitau claimed that plain clothes police had visited their shops, purchased SIM cards and paid the registration fees but hurriedly left before they were registered only to return shortly thereafter to arrest them.
SIM card vendors face up to Sh300,000 fine or three years in prison or both if found guilty of failing to register their customers. Mobile phone operators face an even more severe penalty of Sh500,000 if found to have allowed use of unregistered SIM cards on their networks.
There are no prescribed charges or penalties for the CEOs of the mobile phone firms or provisions that hold them personally accountable for use of unregistered lines on their networks.
On Monday, Parliament started investigations into the Westgate attack behind closed doors.
SIM card registration is meant to enable security agencies obtain the details of any subscribers engaged in criminal activity such as hate speech, conmanship, extortion or ransom seeking in kidnapping cases.
Statistics released by CCK Monday indicate that the number of registered SIM cards stood at 29.88 million at the end of September up from 25.54 million in December.
Data submitted by the operators, however, showed that Safaricom and Orange have no unregistered subscribers, while Airtel and Yumobile had 385,267 and 298,872 respectively.
On Monday CCK gave the operators with unregistered subscribers on their network 48 hours to deactivate them. Once suspended, affected customers have a 90-day window to register.
Suspended cards cannot be used to make phone calls, send text messages, use mobile money transfer services or access data services. In July 2009, President Mwai Kibaki directed that all SIM cards be registered but the process started a year later, mainly due to lack of a relevant law.
In June 2011, then Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta proposed that identification becomes a legal requirement through the Finance Bill 2011.
This allowed amendment of Section 27 of the Kenya Communication Amendment Act and Gazettement of regulations requiring companies and individual subscribers - including minors - to register their SIM cards.
Organisations and small businesses have to provide telcom companies with their official numbers and physical location while parents register on behalf of their children.