Kenya Extends Deadline for Mobile-Phone Register After Only 62% Comply

Kenya extended by a month its deadline to register all of the country’s mobile-phone owners after only two-thirds completed the process.

The program, which began on June 21, registered 12.4 million owners or 62 percent of the estimated total, Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary in the Information Ministry, told reporters in the capital, Nairobi. The deadline, which was today, was extended to Aug. 31, he said.

“At the end of August we will disconnect” those who aren’t registered, Ndemo said.

Kenya is creating the register of mobile-phone owners’ names and personal details to help authorities track people who use the devices to carry out offenses including kidnappings, theft, fraud and hate crimes, the Communications Commission said on June 21. New subscribers will be registered by retailers at the time of purchasing a SIM card, the commission said.

Kenya has four mobile-phone operators including Safaricom Ltd., the biggest by customers and market value, Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s domestic unit, Telkom Kenya and Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd.

Safaricom registered 71 percent of its 11.3 million customers, while Bharti Airtel registered 54 percent of its 1.03 million subscribers, according to the ministry. About 7.3 million of Essar Telecom’s 110,013 owners have been registered and 3.98 percent of Telkom Kenya’s 552,294 subscribers confirmed their personal data, Ndemo said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net.

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