A Nairobi based advocate Moses Mabeya has moved to the High Court seeking orders that could pave the way for a nationwide class action against Safaricom PLC over its alleged practice of deactivating and reassigning mobile phone numbers without adequate notice, claiming the process has exposed millions of subscribers to financial losses and privacy violations.
In a constitutional petition filed before the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court, petitioner Moses N. Mabeya accuses Safaricom and several state agencies of failing to protect consumers from what he describes as a long-running and systemic practice of recycling SIM cards without sufficient safeguards. The suit names the Communications Authority of Kenya, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, the Competition Authority of Kenya and the Attorney General as respondents, while the Law Society of Kenya, Okiya Omtatah and the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority have been listed as interested parties.
According to Mabeya, the dispute arose after the petitioner allegedly discovered that his mobile number had been registered in another person’s name despite previously using it for mobile money, banking services, social media accounts and other personal communications. He claims the number was later deactivated and reassigned without prior notice, an opportunity to be heard or adequate protection of his personal data.
Man alleges that the practice allows mobile numbers to be reassigned while leaving behind financial assets such as M-PESA balances, Bonga points, airtime, data bundles and savings linked to the original subscriber. It also claims the process exposes former customers to risks including identity theft, loss of digital accounts and breaches of privacy.
Mabeya is seeking the court’s permission to prosecute the matter as a representative suit on behalf of all affected Safaricom subscribers over the past 10 years. He is also asking the court to compel Safaricom to preserve and disclose records relating to deregistered and reassigned mobile numbers, including data on unclaimed balances associated with those accounts.
In addition, the petition seeks an interim order requiring Safaricom to deposit Ksh50 billion into a joint interest bearing escrow account as security for potential subscriber claims pending the determination of the case.
Justice Gregory Mutai has directed the petitioner to serve all respondents and interested parties within three working days. The respondents will have 14 days after service to file their responses, after which the matter will be mentioned on September 17, 2026, to confirm compliance and issue further directions.
