Nairobi – Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday accused Kenyan telecoms firm Safaricom of pressuring a leading media group following a report that it was involved in police surveillance.
The Nation Media Group published an investigation in October that accused Safaricom of handing customer data to the security forces to track suspects.
RSF said Safaricom responded by threatening legal action against The Nation and then withdrawing advertising.
The France-based watchdog also said anonymous social media accounts attempted a smear campaign against The Nation, using fake government notices that claimed to be investigating the media group for spreading misinformation.
“The investigation carried out by the Nation Media Group is in the public interest, especially as it has enabled the general public to be informed of Safaricom’s involvement in a state scandal,” said Sadibou Marong, RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa director in a statement.
“It is unacceptable that, ever since the report was published at the end of October, the telecommunications operator has continued scrambling to cover up the media’s revelations, even though the journalists gave Safaricom the opportunity to comment,” Marong added.
The Nation’s report claimed that Kenyan security agencies have “for years had virtually unfettered access to mobile phone customers’ sensitive call data records, along with location data, helping them to track and capture suspected criminals”.
The report was particularly sensitive given widespread fear and anger in Kenya over a recent spate of abductions, blamed on the security forces, targeting people involved in anti-government protests earlier this year.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
