Kenya: Safaricom accused of aiding state surveillance & facilitating abductions of government critics; Safaricom denies allegations
Kenya’s largest telecoms operator Safaricom is facing widespread public backlash overits alleged involvement in the unexplained abductions of government critics. Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said there have been more than 80 cases of abductions and forced disappearances since youth-led anti-government protests that rocked major cities between June and August last year. Activists have accused Safaricom of sharing customer call records and location data with alleged state agents, allowing them to track and capture targets. Some government critics have shared publicly that they dumped their Safaricom lines to avoid government surveillance and arrest, encouraging other Kenyans to do the same.
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Safaricom to respond; it responded through MMC ASAFO which represents the company. The response states that the allegations are not only false but also malicious or out of ignorance about how Safaricom's system works. MMC ASAFO also shared a response Safaricom sent to the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Muslims for Human Rights on 18 November 2024 in response to their letter denying the allegations.
MMC AFACO further stated that Safaricom has formally filed a complaint against Nation Media Group with the Media Council Complaints Commission. The basis of the complaint is that the publication violated the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya for being misleading, inaccurate, inflammatory, biased and generally lacking in accountability.
Safaricom's full response to the allegations is available below.