The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has deactivated more than 124,000 SIM cards in a bid to curb illegal registration of SIM cards in the country.
In a report by CA on Thursday, June 23, the authority disclosed that the number of active SIM cards declined by 124,689 from January to March 2022.
The total number of registered SIM cards in the country now stands at 64.9 million down from 65.1 million.
‘‘The decline in SIM subscriptions is partly attributed to the ongoing SIM registration exercise during which a number of SIM cards have been deactivated,’’ CA stated.
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The authority further stated that the move was meant to curb the illegal misuse of SIM cards for criminal purposes.
The move comes even as the CA extended deadline for the registration of SIM cards by six months from April 15, 2022 to October 15, 2022.
CA CEO Ezra Chiloba had earlier indicated that any user who would not have their SIM cards registered as by the deadline would have their SIM cards switched off by their operators.
The authority said the registration exercise was meant to ensure 100 per cent compliance with the SIM Card Registration Regulations, which, among other things, require operators to retain a copy of identification documents of every subscriber.
