Safaricom defended itself, saying it does not provide customer data to security officers
The Kenyan telecommunications company Safaricom has finally admitted to using Neutral Technologies' software allegedly used by telecommunications companies to provide personal data to help the police carry out kidnappings.
The Kenyan telecommunications company Safaricom has finally admitted to using Neutral Technologies' software allegedly used by telecommunications companies to provide personal data to help the police carry out kidnappings.
However, the company has clarified that it only uses the software to successfully track down financial fraudsters.
The statement issued by the Safaricom company said that: "Neutral Technologies has an international reputation and operates in more than 30 countries to help telecommunications companies detect and prevent financial fraud. This is why in 2012 Safaricom hired Neutral Technologies to implement a financial fraud control system across all our lines.”
Safaricom has added that: "However, this program is not used to achieve the provision of data or information of our customers to third parties, including security officers."
Safaricom has made the clarification following a special report published in the Daily Nation newspaper, edition of October 29, 2024 where it was blamed for giving the data of its customers to the police to achieve kidnapping.
The special report was published following a month-long investigation by journalists, which revealed how the police have been obtaining the mobile data of customers of telecommunication companies and using it to kidnap people who are portrayed as critics of the government.
Some of the abductees are found killed and their bodies dumped in forests or along rivers.
