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"id": 194052,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/194052/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. C. Kilonzo",
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"speaker": {
"id": 46,
"legal_name": "Charles Mutavi Kilonzo",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the mobile phone sector has grown. As a matter of fact, it has, indeed, virtually replaced the old land lines. Looking at the background of this sector, the figures at the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) indicate that there were about 11.4 million subscribers in Kenya at the end of the year 2007. This market is shared among the key players. The key player is Safaricom which has 9.2 million subscribers, both active and inactive. The Safaricom IPO prospectus which was issued recently shows that the subscriber base consists almost, exclusively, of prepaid customers. Out of the total subscriber base, 99 per cent are prepaid. When you come to Celtel, the World Cellular Information Service Data indicates that Celtel has May 14, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1023 about 2.1 million subscribers. Again, majority of these subscribers are prepaid customers. Of course there are other players like Econet Telkom. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, what is the rationale? Why do we need to have SIM cards registered? There is a clear need for registration of subscribers as a mandatory regulatory requirement of all mobile service providers. Why do we need to compulsorily register SIM cards? First and foremost, we need to do it because of national security, and of course, personal safety. Once we do that, we will have enhanced the national security and personal safety. Criminals often exploit the anonymity of the fact they cannot be identified through a SIM card. This makes them avoid being known. In certain cases around the world, there have been bombings which have happened by use of mobile phones and detonators. A good example is Singapore where criminals used prepaid SIM cards to communicate and commit crime. Registration of subscribers is critical to law enforcement agencies on the ability to investigate serious and organised crime. Imagine if you went to a police station to report a case where someone called you, you welcomed him into your house thinking that he was genuine and he attacked you. Even though you may have that person's number, what would the law enforcers do? Currently, criminals have an effective anonymous means of communication. They can communicate freely and nobody would track them. The fact that the service providers do not require or impose full proof identification upon purchase of SIM cards renders the identification of the actual users virtually impossible. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, during the post election violence, the use of mobile phones played a key role in inciting people especially through the use of sms. This was a very clear case of how the law enforcers would have acted if only they knew the people who were sending the sms. Con men are doing thriving business. Lack of mandatory registration has enabled con men to fleece unsuspecting members of the public. I know and I am almost sure that virtually all of you have been receiving messages reading; \"You are the lucky winner of Kshs1 million from Safaricom.\" That is one! Another one reads: \"You are the lucky winner of Kshs250 million from Unilever.\" When you call these fellows they ask you to send them airtime so that they can make some payments to facilitate in processing the cheque. Recently, I had to rescue my own councillor. He had boarded a vehicle somewhere in Machakos and he called and told me that he was the lucky winner of Kshs1 million from Safaricom. I told him that he was being conned but there was no action he could take. If you can walk into a supermarket or a kiosk and buy unlimited numbers of prepaid SIM cards and throw them away after committing a crime using them that tells you about the mandatory need of registration of SIM cards by service providers. What do you do to fellows who call you to abuse you? You are all politicians, you must have received many abuses. You cannot do anything! A fellow calls you without identifying himself, abuses you, yet there is nothing you can do about it! Should you be denied your right to take legal action? Mandatory registration of SIM cards will allow the aggrieved party to sue and get compensated. However, most important, it will allow the relevant Government agencies, in particular, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to keep track of potential and the actual revenue base of the players in the mobile phone sector. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, currently, the two agencies, the CCK and the KRA, depend on information that the service providers wish to give at their own discretion. This is a sector that is making billions of money. If I am not wrong, last year alone, Safaricom posted a profit to the tune of almost Kshs18 billion. The KRA relies on what these fellows tell them. There should be a clear-cut way where the KRA can estimate the revenue. This can only happen through 1024 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 14, 2008 registration of SIM cards. Of course, compulsory registration will also assist the Government in policy development and regulation of mobile banking. At any time, the Government should know which areas have a concentration of mobile phones and which areas need to be developed. Further still, compulsory registration will ascertain the actual numbers of bona fide subscribers not only for organisational planning and accountability but also improvement of customer service and development by keeping accurate data. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, are we the first ones to come up with this law? We are not. Countries with some enacted regulations to enforce registration of SIM mobile phone users include Switzerland, Australia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and even our neighbours in Sudan. In Europe, in response to the London bombings, the Council of European Union discussed mobile retention of telecommunications data to facilitate investigations by law enforcement agencies. In Australia, telecommunication service providers are required to collect and retain customer information for all types of subscriptions, including prepaid mobile phones. This requirement is specifically in the Telecommunications Act of that country of 1997. It was amended in 2000. Therefore, we are not the first ones seeking to do this. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Australia maintains a National Integrated Public Number Data Base for emergency services and law enforcement purposes. Each mobile phone operator is required to submit registration information to this national body, which collects all the numbers registered. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in Malaysia the Government has put in place policy guidelines on the registration of end users of pre-paid cellular services. These guidelines came into effect on 31st January, this year. In Singapore, likewise, regulatory controls on pre-paid sim cards were introduced on 1st, November, 2005. There are many other countries. We are not going to be the first one. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, when the players come, you might get resistance because they are doing business. They know that registration means they are going to incur costs. However, we are saying that in a sector where companies are making billions of shillings, should we compromise the security of this nation for the sake of profits? What is the proposed way forward in Kenya? Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is need for a review of the Kenya Communications Act, No.2 of 1998, to make it compulsory for service providers to register the customers' particulars. The Ministry of Information and Communications, in collaboration with the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), should work together with mobile service providers on a practical regulatory regime of pre-paid sim cards. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this is the time for all patriotic citizens to consider national interest, with the hind sight of what Kenya, as a nation, went through during the post- election violence over the last four to five months. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Government might need to support the amendment of the Kenya Communications Act, 1998, to make it mandatory for mobile service providers to register, electronically, the details of the service providers. I am stressing this point, because I know the Government collects a lot of taxes from the mobile phone service providers. It should not be influenced by the tax element alone, and forget the duty and role of Government to provide security to this nation. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, what am I saying basically? I am not saying that if you are not registered your phone will not work. Indeed, we should have a grace period of six months' notice to existing subscribers to register their particulars. Customers should not be required to pay for registration of sim cards. Users should also continue to use their pre-paid sim cards during the six-month period. May 14, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1025 Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is only when they do not register during the said period that the pre-paid sim card can be deactivated. But why do we need to register? There should not be a long form with ten questions. All we need are the particulars. If you are a Kenyan citizen then your Identity Card or passport should do. If you are a permanent resident in this country, then your resident identity card, or a passport, should do. If you are a service man in the forces, the police force and the rest, the service identity card will do. What about foreign workers? The work permit will do. For foreign tourists, if they want to buy a sim card, let them produce their passport. We, who have had the opportunity to travel worldwide, know that it is only in Kenya where you walk into a shop, get a sim card and walk away. In other countries, even if there is no law, there is a policy within the sector, which requires that you identify yourself. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the other consideration and requirement that we might have to think about is the minimum age. The service providers, Safaricom, Celtel and businessmen would want to sell sim cards to anybody. Is it in order to sell a sim card to Standard One, Two or Three pupils? These are considerations we need to look into. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we might also need to think about the maximum number of sim cards, one should be allowed to have. In countries like Singapore and Malaysia, one is allowed to have ten sim cards. Why would you buy a sim card today, change the number tomorrow and so on? It means that you have a hidden agenda. At the same time, we need to have protection of privacy. We do not want the Government to intrude into the privacy of its citizens. The subscriber details captured by the mobile phone companies should be strictly confidential. If law enforcement agencies require subscriber details, they will have to go through established legal procedures. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, to sum up, I think this is a law that, if enacted, will be one big step in assisting law enforcement agencies to fight crime. With those many sentiments, I beg to move and ask Mr. Ethuro to second."
}