{"id":119972,"date":"2025-08-19T09:03:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T09:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/tech-support-or-surveillance-safaricoms-entry-into-judiciary-digitization-sparks-trust-deficit\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:03:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T09:03:04","slug":"tech-support-or-surveillance-safaricoms-entry-into-judiciary-digitization-sparks-trust-deficit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/tech-support-or-surveillance-safaricoms-entry-into-judiciary-digitization-sparks-trust-deficit\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech support or surveillance? Safaricom\u2019s entry into Judiciary digitization sparks trust deficit"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 \u2013 A new partnership between Safaricom PLC and the Judiciary has sparked unease among Kenyans, with critics warning that the collaboration could pave the way for state overreach and surveillance disguised as judicial modernization.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa announced that the telco will support the Judiciary in integrating technology into judicial processes, including e-filing, virtual hearings, and digital case management.<\/p>\n

He said the move aims to expand access to justice and make court processes more efficient and inclusive.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafeguarding justice means ensuring that decisions [are] delivered with a sound understanding of the technology landscape,\u201d Ndegwa said Monday during the opening of the 2025 Judges Colloquium themed \u2018Digital Transformation, Technology and Law \u2013 Tech Justice.\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/a>Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa speaks at the 2025 Judges Colloquium\/Judiciary <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have partnered with the Kenya Judiciary Academy to provide capacity-building in technical areas such as mobile communications and mobile money systems, equipping judicial officers with the insights they need to interpret cases involving technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partnership\u2014also involving the Communications Authority of Kenya, GSMA, and other actors in the justice and technology sectors\u2014has been framed as a step toward aligning Kenya\u2019s judicial system with the realities of the digital era.<\/p>\n

But skepticism abounds.<\/p>\n

Critics argue that the arrangement risks blurring the lines between justice and state surveillance, particularly given Safaricom\u2019s past accusations of colluding with authorities to monitor political dissent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Safaricom\u2013DCI\u2013Judiciary pipeline is complete\u2014for faster, effective, and seamless oppression,\u201d one Kenyan wrote on social media.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Communications Authority of Kenya Director-General, David Mugonyi, speaks at the 2025 Judges Colloquium\/Judiciary <\/p>\n

Others questioned how a company that has faced numerous lawsuits from its own customers can be entrusted with safeguarding justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow in the hell is this even possible? Safaricom has been sued across this country\u2014what justice will you serve to those litigants who have filed complaints against it?\u201d asked another critic.<\/p>\n

Concerns are amplified by Kenya\u2019s recent history. Public trust in law enforcement plunged after last year\u2019s anti-Finance Bill protests, during which human rights groups accused state agencies of unlawful surveillance, enforced disappearances, and violent crackdowns. <\/p>\n

Many of the victims were young activists who relied heavily on mobile phones and social media for mobilization.<\/p>\n

Enabling State surveillance <\/h2>\n

Safaricom has consistently denied claims of collusion. In June 2025, the company issued a statement rejecting allegations that it shares customer information with state agencies without due process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe confirm that we have not received any court order requiring us to share customer information with any government agency,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Safaricom] respects our customers\u2019 privacy and adherse strictly to the country\u2019s data protection laws. We do not share any customer data unless explicitly required by a court order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite these assurances, mistrust persists. Rights activists and a section of Kenyans warn that the Judiciary\u2019s embrace of Safaricom\u2019s digital infrastructure could deepen fears of surveillance, especially as the government continues to face accusations of silencing dissent.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafaricom again, with backend access. Tracking and tracing all background movements\u2014silently, in broad daylight, without the Judiciary\u2019s acknowledgement,\u201d wrote Saddique Shaban, another critic of the deal.<\/p>\n

Still, the Judiciary has defended the collaboration, insisting that leveraging technological advancements is essential to expediting and modernizing justice delivery.<\/p>\n

Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Winfridah Mokaya said Kenya\u2019s judicial system has become a model globally for embracing technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kenya Judiciary has become a model among world nations as a driver of efficiency by harnessing technology in its processes. This is evident from the regular hosting of foreign delegations who come to benchmark with us,\u201d Mokaya said, noting that over the last two years alone, Kenya has hosted seven high-level delegations focused on judicial technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology now underpins nearly every aspect of our operations\u2014from case tracking to registry services, judgment writing to communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenya Judiciary Academy Director and Supreme Court Judge, Dr Smokin Wanjala, added that judges must keep pace with rapid technological advances to ensure their rulings remain both jurisprudentially sound and technologically relevant.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the institutional and operational front, the Judiciary is undergoing profound technological transformations, making it imperative for judges to understand how these developments shape and impact our work,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 \u2013 A new partnership between Safaricom PLC and the Judiciary has sparked unease among Kenyans, with critics warning that the collaboration could pave the way for state overreach and surveillance disguised as judicial modernization. Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa announced that the telco will support the Judiciary in integrating technology […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119972\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}