Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has confirmed that the Linda Mwananchi paybill has been restored hours after it was allegedly shut down.
In a statement on Thursday night, July 23, Sifuna said the paybill was reinstated after the Linda Mwananchi supporters rallied behind the fundraising platform.
“Eish! You told them off, and they got scared. The Paybill is back up,” Sifuna wrote on his Facebook page.
Earlier, Sifuna had claimed that Safaricom had shut down Linda Mwananchi's paybill number.
In a statement, Sifuna alleged that the mobile service provider closed his paybill after receiving orders from highly placed individuals.
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"Safaricom have closed down the Mwananchi paybill after 'orders from above," the Nairobi Senator stated.
Linda Mwananchi also confirmed that the paybill number was down, but noted that it was because of a technical issue.
“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,” the movement stated.
Linda Mwananchi’s mobile account has seen increased activity since Sifuna unveiled the paybill and asked Kenyans to send their contributions.
Sifuna 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,” the Nairobi Senator said.
He assured Kenyans that the money would not be used to enrich any individuals, but was to fund their nationwide tours.
Linda Mwananchi supporters had donated Ksh2,210,838 to the movement as of Wednesday, July 22.
“As it stands, we have raised Ksh 2,210,836.82 in 36 hours and counting. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed,” Linda Mwananchi announced.
