The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has postponed its Stakeholder Validation Forum on the proposed Kenya Information and Communication (KICA) Regulations 2026, originally scheduled for Thursday, May 21.
The notice cites unavoidable circumstances, with a new date to be communicated in due course.
This postponement is not a minor scheduling hiccup. The forum was meant to be the final public checkpoint before 15 sets of regulations updating the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA) are gazetted and become law.
Once gazetted, they govern how Kenyans buy phones, how broadcasters operate, how telecoms set prices, and what rights consumers can enforce against their service providers.
The breadth of the proposed changes explains why the validation forum matters. Among the 15 regulations is the Type Approval framework, which requires any phone or tablet applying for approval from March 24, 2026, onward to carry a USB Type-C charging port with a detachable cable.
The move sparked uproar and confusion among importers, in part because it did not provide a transition period, unlike other markets such as the EU that enforced similar rules in phases.
While the CA later clarified that existing stock and devices already in circulation remain legal, the directive disproportionately affects importers of low-cost feature phones, commonly known as “kabambe,” which typically rely on Micro USB charging.
Beyond device standards, the proposed regulations cover broadcasting content oversight, consumer protection, tariff-setting, interconnection, and licensing.
A review of the 15 regulations by KICTANet found that most of them lean heavily toward state-controlled solutions without properly considering alternatives like co-regulation or market-based approaches.
The review also noted that the cost-benefit analysis pays little attention to the impact on SMEs and consumers. That criticism highlights why public participation at this stage is not just procedural, but necessary to correct gaps in the proposals.
The Statutory Instruments Act requires affected stakeholders to be consulted before subsidiary legislation takes effect, though the quality of those consultations varies.
KICTANet has advised stakeholders to track public consultations, attend validation meetings, and participate in the drafting of regulations before they become law, noting that the KICA regulations had been under review for nearly 5 years.
Five years of revision arriving at a postponed forum, during a period of national unrest and public anxiety about rising costs, is not a neutral outcome.
Every Kenyan who uses a mobile phone, watches television, or buys internet data has a vested interest in the formulation of these rules.
The regulations that emerge from this process will shape the cost and quality of digital access for years. The Ministry has directed stakeholders to monitor ict.go.ke and ca.go.ke for updates on the rescheduled forum.
