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Kenya: Law to Curb Phone Misuse On the Way
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The Nation (Nairobi)
15 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May 2008
Nairobi
All 11 million mobile phone subscribers were on Wednesday put on notice - use the handset to promote crime, immorality and send hate messages at your peril.
A new law to regulate and monitor the industry is in the offing and would see subscribers register using their national identity cards or passports in order to acquire a sim card.
MPs threw their weight behind a private member's motion seeking to amend the Kenya Communications Action Order to make it mandatory for phone subscribers to register with the service providers.
The motion by Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo was supported by members who attributed the recent post-election violence to hate messages sent via SMS.
The MPs also blamed the rising cases of crime to the liberal use of mobile phones by subscribers, most of who were not registered by mobile phone providers.
Give teeth
If the motion is passed, it will force service providers to register names of all their subscribers in a database, give teeth to authorities to arrest those misusing the service and bar underage children from owning and using the handsets.
Said Mr Kilonzo: "We need to have all sim cards registered with the mobile phone service providers for the sake of national security."
The ODM-K legislator proposed that the Communications Commission of Kenya and the Kenya Revenue Authority work together with the service providers to register and track down violators.
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Saying Kenya would not be the first country to enact such a law, Mr Kilonzo named Sudan, Sweden and Australia as some of the states that were dealing decisively with what he called "mobile phone thuggery".
It was supported by assistant ministers Prof Ayiecho Olweny (Education), Danson Mungatana (Medical Services) and Robinson Githae (Local Government) and MPs Ekwee Ethuro (Turkana Central, PNU), Johnston Muthama (Kangundo, ODM-K), Sophia Abdi Noor (Nominated, ODM) and Hussein Ali (Mandera East, ODM).
Debate on the motion continues.
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