Kenya's Safaricom is facing a lawsuit from 7 customers over the delay in mobile number portability that allegedly resulted in losses to the subscribers businesses. The lawsuit comes as Kenya has moved forward on allowing users to change mobile operators without losing their current numbers. All is not going as smoothly it appears. Local media reports said that the 7 business owners have reported their numbers were either completely or partially deactivated for a number of days, reported Joy Online. “The actions of the defendant are unconstitutional, unlawful and meant to force the plaintiff to remain in the defendant's mobile network thereby depriving them their constitutionally protected freedom of consumer choice,” lawyers for the customers were reported to have said. Local reports in Kenya have pointed to a number of issues that have arisen as a result of the government's attempts to launch the portability scheme. Earlier this month, Porting Access Kenya claimed that the bulk of the delays were due to problems at Safaricom, but the operator has vehemently denied that claim, the same report said.. The telecoms regulator, Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) has stepped into the dispute and is trying to settle the technical difficulties in managing the service. BM
