Four Kenyans Take CCK and Others to Court Over Fake Mobile Phones Directive

Four individuals – Japheth Muroko, Roni Achoki, Mark Ndung’u and Mike Mutembei Makarena – have gone to court seeking orders to stop Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) from switching off more than 2 million “fake phones” being used in the country. Others enjoined in the suite are Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)

The individuals claim that members of public purchased the phones through licensed shops without knowing that the handsets are not genuine. They further claim that the average buyer of mobile handset has no capacity to know whether a mobile phone handset is genuine or not.

The four have also accused KBS of not supervising and vetting the entry of mobile handsets into the Kenyan market. In the suite, the four argue that the duty of consumer education falls on CCK.

Part of the suite read;

“The failure of the respondents to carry out their statutory duty cannot now be visited upon the millions of innocent Kenyans likely to suffer deprivation of fundamental right to own property and basic means of communication.”

The four are seeking the courts intervention to suspend CCK order barring the sale and switching off of fake phones until a proper legal mechanism is put in place to handle the case of those who will be affected by the directive.

CCK is categorical that it will switch off fake handsets come Sunday 30th September. The exercise will take more than 15 hours as the switch-off will be in stages.