Kenya: High Court Bars Telcos From Reassigning Phone Numbers

The High Court has declared that registered mobile phone numbers constitute personal data protected under the constitution, and they cannot be arbitrarily deactivated or reassigned without the owner’s consent.

In a ruling on Thursday, March 19, Justice Lawrence Mugambi affirmed that mobile numbers are digital identifiers that link information to an individual’s private affairs.

Mugambi quoted Articles 31 (c) and (d) of the Constitution, which safeguard the right not to have private…