Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on Thursday, July 23, claimed that Safaricom shut down Linda Mwananchi's Paybill Number.
In a statement issued on his official account, Sifuna alleged that the mobile service provider closed his paybill after receiving orders from highly placed individuals.
"Safaricom have closed down the Mwananchi paybill after 'orders from above," the Nairobi Senator stated.
Linda Mwananchi confirmed that the paybill number was down, but noted that it was because of a technical issue, which it was resolving with the telco giant.
The political outfit asked Kenyans to be patient as the matter was being addressed and thanked them for their patience and understanding.
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"We are currently experiencing technical issues with the Paybill mode of payment. We have reached out to the provider to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Kindly bear with us," Linda Mwananchi wrote.
Several Kenyans shared screenshots of failed transactions while attempting to send money to the paybill. One of them reached out to Safaricom online for an explanation for the mishap.
"Hello, thank you for contacting us. We also apologize for the experience. Kindly message us the mobile number that you are transacting with, registered name, ID number and year of birth, for us to check and advise," Safaricom Care responded on X.
Linda Mwananchi's mobile account has seen increased activity since July 21, when Sifuna read out the paybill and asked Kenyans to send their contributions.
The Nairobi Senator further explained that the Paybill Number was under his name because they were yet to register Linda Mwananchi as a political party.
"We have not yet enrolled it as a party, and when we decided to register a paybill, we used my name. You can send me even Ksh10; I will announce how much you have contributed as time goes by.
"We will show you all the money that has come in and how we have used it, including paying our DJ and meeting other logistical expenses," he stated.
Sifuna assured Kenyans that the money would not be used to enrich any individuals, but was to fund their nationwide tours. According to the last update, Kenyans had raised a total of Ksh2.2 million.
The former ODM Secretary General had previously clapped back at COTU-K Boss Francis Atwoli, who claimed that he did not have the funds to run for the presidency.
