Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Director General, Ezra Chiloba, has cautioned Kenyans against waiting for the deadline to get their sim cards registered.
Speaking to journalists in West Pokot on Thursday, April 14, Chiloba warned that the government will go on and switch off the unregistered sim cards when the set deadline lapses. He added that there is no guarantee for an extension.
The CA boss added that an extension will only be given if a review of the process is done by the authority in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders. Nonetheless, he stated that an extension was unlikely.
"There's no guarantee of an extension of the deadline. It is not the intention of CA to make citizens suffer by virtue of not being registered.
"Our aim is that each and every citizen using a SIM card must have it registered. Whether it is going to be extended or not that is something we are going to talk about," he stated.
Additionally, he defended the CA against criticism after a section of Kenyans raised concerns over the long queues they were experiencing during the registration process.
Chiloba stated that CA advised various operators to make the process easy and digital for Kenyans.
"When we started this process two years ago, we did not want to create a situation like the one we see now. We still have challenges when it comes to the SIM registration and that is why we have a review meeting with all operators today (April 14) to discuss their experiences so that we make a decision on what is going to happen.
"It all depends on the operators on how they want to treat their customers. Our position as CA is that we did not expect anyone to queue and we encouraged them to put in place measures that will enable their customers to be compliant," Chiloba stated.
The ongoing process has seen a section of Kenyans criticise the government agency for the directive with some lawyers revealing that they will sue the telcos if they are blocked.
"I acknowledge a text to update my SIM Card registration to avoid disconnection. I understand the cost of the update is Ksh300. You have my ID Card with which the SIM Card was registered. I will take legal action against you, should my line be disconnected.
"No Kenyan should be inconvenienced or put to unnecessary expense even for Ksh1 by mobile phone services providers. It is time we said no. Let us see if they will disconnect the over 10 million subscribers if we all say no to this unlawful and unwarranted demand," Westland's MP aspirant, Nelson Havi stated.
