Following the expiration of the deadline for SIM registration on October 15, 2022, thousands of Kenyans’ cell phone services have been suspended. “Dear customer, your line has been suspended pending registration update. Visit the nearest M-Pesa or Safaricom shop to update your ID,” the telecommunications company said in one of its messages to its clients.
The cutoff date for SIM registration was October 15, 2022, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
The move, according to the CA, will enable the government to sift out fraudsters and criminals who utilize illegal cell phone connections to commit crimes.
The organization made it clear that customers whose cell phone lines would be blocked following the registration deadline would still be able to reactivate them in coming days, stating that registration is a continuous process and cannot be limited to a certain day.
Data from the Communications Authority (CA) as of October 13 showed that Safaricom was leading in terms of registration compliance with 91% of its subscribers.
While only 40% of Telkom Kenya’s customers were registered, 78% of Airtel Kenya’s subscribers were verified.
