KENYAN PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN WHO SUED SAFARICOM SEEKING 115 TRILLION FOR DAMAGES PRIVATELY FILED THE DATA IN QUESTION BEFORE A CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

KENYAN PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN WHO SUED SAFARICOM SEEKING 115 TRILLION FOR DAMAGES PRIVATELY FILED THE DATA IN QUESTION BEFORE A CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

By Chris Ojow

On record it is only the late Nicholas “total man” Biwott who sued several Major media house’s in Kenya for defamations and was compensated huge sums of money.

Kenyan Prominent Businessman Benedict Kabugi Ndung’u will definitely be in the history books, seeking a whooping hundreds of trillions Kenya shillings for himself and on behalf of the entire gamblers Countrywide.

After the Kenya’s giant telecommunication Safaricom for allegedly and unlawfully leaking personal data for its 11.5 million gambling customers using the company lines to gamble in various gambling platforms Nationally .

The applicant who privately filed Safaricom leaked data through Maina and Maina Advocates firm before a Constitutional Court at Milimani Law Courts Nairobi County Kenya, accused Safaricom of violating the privacy of millions of Kenyan innocent gamblers .

The alleged recklessness and failure by the giant telecommunication Company in Kenya to protect the personal information of millions of subscribers, is a serious offence and could possibly destroy the image and reputation of Safaricom .

The applicant seeking for 115 trillion Kenya shillings is simply to divide the money into 10 million Kenya shillings for each of the 11.5 million subscribers who’s personal information and rights to privacy was infringed by the giant telecommunication, for failing to protect them inline with the communication act of Kenya and the Constitution of Kenya and he also demands Ksh.100 million shillings from Safaricom for personal damages.

Justice Weldon Korir during the highlighting of the application for directions, allowed the petitioner to file further affidavit /more evidence supporting his application , where by the petitioner’s prayers also seeking to allow more victims to join him in his quest for justice was granted without objection from the respondent Safaricom .

The applicant is on record to have reported the serious issue to several Police Stations within the Country and apparently no actions was taken instead, the law enforcements units Conspired with the respondent allegedly fabricated charges against the applicant and charged him in the lower criminal court at Milimani Law Courts Nairobi County Kenya .

Following the injustice meted on the applicant he opted in his prayers to urged the Constitutional Court to compel the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate and report the findings in court before the hearing of the suit on 23rd of October 2019 at 9am East Africa Time.

Benedict Kabugi Ndungu through his Lawyers Maina and Maina Advocates says that he was approached by a stranger named Mark, who apparently and shockingly had a personal data of 11.5 million Kenyan gambling Safaricom subscribers.

Kenyan constitution prohibits and protects the privacy of subscribers in any telecommunications companies platforms , and still a lot of ambiguity in laws.

As the applicant through his officers of the Court privately filed the alleged disputed data before Court as ordered by the Constitutional Court, which contains personal information of the alleged 11.5 million subscribers, identifying details of subscribers, including full names, mobile phone numbers, gender, age, National identity numbers, passport numbers as well as the total amounts gambled Contrary to the law that protects the subscribers .

Two giant telecommunication company Safaricom employees were recently charged before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi at Milimani Law Courts Nairobi County Kenya and the case is still drugging even the pre trial is yet to be conducted.

The two ICT Safaricom Staffers were charged with several counts and pleaded not guilty for trying to transfer privileged information on a subscriber from the company’s database and allegedly sharing it with an outsider, they were released on lenient bond terms.

The Constitutional Court in Kenya allowed the petitioner to present leaked Safaricom data before it and Justice Weldon Korir while delivering a short ruling granted the petitioner to file further affidavits to back-up his petition and privately filed the leaked Safaricom leaked personal information , which the Court assured the parties that it will keep the data safe and not meant for public inline with the law.

The Judge further assured the affected 11.5 million Safaricom subscribers that their personal information will be protected inline with the Constitution of Kenya and Communication act of Kenya and it will not be made public even during the hearing of the matter till it’s determination.

While delivering the short ruling after highlights by both parties Safaricom and the applicant, Justice Korir gave the respondent Safaricom 30 days to file their response even with the never ending protest by Safaricom on privacy issues of the data which they were assured by the Constitutional Court.

During the brief highlights by both parties the respondent Safaricom never opposed the petitioner’s request to back up his evidence through filing affidavit to back up his petition in a suit where he is seeking 100,000,000 million Kenya shillings for damages and on behalf of the other 11.5 million subscribers, where he want all the subscribers be compensated 10,000,000 Kenya shillings each.

Justice Weldon Korir briefly informed the parties that the alleged leaked Safaricom data once filed before Court will be only shared by the two parties Safaricom and the applicant during the hearing till determination of the sensitive matter .

Businessman Benedict Kabugi Ndungu who gambles using Safaricom line was approached by a stranger named Mark, with a Safaricom data of 11.5 million Kenyan subscribers with an intention to illegally sell to him the information to boost his winning chances .

He argues that the giant telecommunication Safaricom is a public listed company and a leading telecommunications network in Kenya, boasting of a subscribers base estimated at over 30,000,000 subscribers.

Ndungu also filed the petition in his own interest as individual capacity, aggrieved Kenyan gambler and as a Safaricom subscriber who has used his Safaricom number/line to gamble.

And further filed the application on behalf of all Safaricom subscribers who gambles using their Safaricom lines and interests of the Kenyan public.

The applicant stresses that the data received , processed by the giant telecommunication Safaricom from its subscribers is private, protected and confidential under article 31(c), (d) of the Constitution of Kenya.

And the Company must guarantees the right to privacy, right not to have information relating to their families or private life unnecessary received and possessed by strangers.

Safaricom by virtue of operating under a Constitutional statutory mandate to ensure that the data received from its subscribers is treated in a secure and confidential manner must at all times operate within the laws of the Country.