Kenyans Warned of No Extension in the Ongoing SIM Card Registration
Kenyans are in a last-minute dash with long queues witnessed across the country to beat the registration deadline, with only nine days till unregistered Sim Card lines are switched off.
Leah Mukangai 
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has issued a directive that anyone who fails to register their SIM cards for Safaricom, Telcom, or Airtel by April 15, 2022, risks having their connections disconnected forever. Huge numbers have been seen waiting up at mobile outlets across the country in recent days to get registered.
According to Director General Ezra Chiloba, CA has made the move, which is centered on facilitating communication by eradicating cybercrime difficulties and digital fraudsters, a required necessity.
Communication Authority Director-General Ezra Chiloba.PHOTO FILE
This follows repeated failed attempts by the Authority in 2012 and 2018 to implement the rule and turn off unregistered lines. The Communications Authority has reaffirmed that, unlike prior notices in which the government eventually provided additional registration dates, there will be no extension this time.
“There would be no extension so those still dragging their feet should wake up to the reality and register with their respective telecom service providers or face permanent deactivation," CA Director General reportedly stated.
Chiloba ordered all mobile network operators to hurry up the data cleanup process and stated that no further time would be added once the grace period expired, adding that unregistered sim cards have security consequences.
According to the CA DG, there will be no unregistered SIM cards on any of the telcom service providers that will be in business after April 15.
"We want before the end of April all the networks to be cleaned up by deactivating all unregistered and improperly registered SIM cards from the networks," Chiloba added.
He further stated that Kenya will join other countries that have adopted similar policies and collected biometric data through a registration process by telecom firms in order to improve cybersecurity.
The authority has also warned that people in possession of unregistered SIM cards would face fines of up to Ksh300,000 or a six-month jail term, or both.
The current registration process necessitates the presentation of a photo ID, which was not required in the past when an ID card was only needed.
