Kenya's leading telecommunications company Safaricom Limited has distanced itself from claims of helping police track down vocal social media users who have been pushing the #Reject Finance Bill campaign, especially on X.
Safaricom came under fire after 12 digital activists went missing with some such as Osama Otero tweeting their last moments before they were picked up by unidentified men in the middle of the night.
A user identified as Hanifa who was recently detained after last week's protests shared her suspicions online highlighting it seemed how her fellow activists had been handpicked one by one just like flies. She intimated the government had help and it could only be the telecommunications company.
“100% @safaricomPLC,” Hanifa wrote on her X space.
The tweet quickly gained momentum with other users echoing her thoughts while sharing the accuracy was a little eyebrow raising.
Francis Gaito on his part wrote, "It's becoming clear that Safaricom has been aiding in the abductions of Kenyans all for exercising their rights to protest," as he went on to share speculations on why he is convinced that Safaricom is selling people out.
Responding to the allegations, Safaricom assured its users that they did not share their personal data with any third parties unless on legal cases that were mandated by the court.
“We don’t share customer data unless it’s explicitly against a court order. On this issue, there has been no request or court order served," the tweet from Safaricom's customer care X page read.
Issuing an official statement moments later the telecommunications house wrote, "Safaricom notes the online conversations on data privacy. We respect our customer's privacy and adhere strictly by the country's data protection laws.
On the current issue in discussion we confirm we haven't received any court order requiring us to share customer information with any government agency.
Signed, Safaricom PLC,"
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