Safaricom switched off the first batch of unregistered SIM cards as defined by the recently formed law that requires all SIM cards used in the country be registered.
This coming after the Information PS Bitange Ndemo directive that those found with unregistered will be arrested for 3 years or fined not less than Kshs. 300,000 would be a welcome move since Safaricom says that all users will require to do once blocked is to go and register to be back online.
According to CEO Bob Collymore, blocked SIM cards will not be able to access calls or any network services till the owners take initiative and registers them. Safaricom shops and dealers will still be accepting registrations for reinstatement.
The first switch off was conducted on Thursday night and this will go on over the weekend as they reconcile the data collected during registration. The bulk of the registration was done in the last days before the 31st December 2012 deadline. Safaricom is said to have registered over 85% of subscribers.
