There is no crisis, extend SIM card registration to December, DP Ruto urges Communications Authority » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 12 – Deputy President William Ruto has called for an extension of the ongoing SIM card registration until December 2022.

The exercise according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is scheduled to lapse on Friday.

In his plea to the authority, Ruto asked them to be “humane” and stop Kenyans from queuing.

“Kenyans are queuing everywhere, it is not necessary for them to queue for a SIM card for them to be registered, we have enough time. What is this magic about Friday?” he posed.

Ruto said “there is no crisis” and asked the Ezra Chiloba led – agency to re-consider “unless you are up to no good”.

He warned that if the authority “is the agent of the dark forces we want to tell them that they will fail and fail miserably.”

The Kenya Kwanza Alliance which Ruto leads has since threatened to file a case to stop the ongoing nationwide SIM card registration by mobile network operators in the country

The Authority has clarified that the ongoing exercise has nothing to do with elections and that the validation exercise is targeting subscribers who are not duly registered and has nothing to do with elections.

Chiloba insised that anyone who will not comply will be switched off on April 15 as directed.

He however, noted that anyone who confirms through *106# that their Identity Card is registered on their lines, does not need to register afresh.

“You do not need to physically present yourself at the operator’s customer service centers unless it is necessary,” he said adding that “the regulations do not require subscribers to submit photos of themselves during registration or verification exercise.”

Long queues continue to be witnessed across various parts of the country with Kenyans on a rush to beat the April 15, 2022 deadline so as to comply and have their lines fully registered.

CA has maintained that the exercise is anchored in law citing the 2015 SIM card regulation that mandates the Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to validate the details of their subscribers.

“The requirement to update subscriber registration details is being done primarily to protect consumers of telecommunication services – who is you and me. Incidences of sim-boxing, financial fraud, kidnapping, terrorism and related crimes prevail in situations of compromised sim card registration processes,” Chiloba said.