I know a number of people who value their privacy and feel highly offended when people give their personal details out to strangers. In this regard I have some friends who would kill me literally if they find out that I dare give their numbers to strangers. Then there those who change their numbers once they know their numbers are known by many. They want to keep their lives simple and private.
Personally as a blogger , things are slightly different. My details are a bit public and you could easily get my number somewhere. But still I was highly offended when I started to receive campaign messages from people I don’t know. First there was this sms:
Asante sana watu wa kikuyu na kabete kwa miaka saba ya kazi ya kujitolea pamoja kusaidiana.nimeongea na watu wetu wameniuliza nisimame senator ndiyo niwahudumie vyema zaidi. Naomba uniunge mkono na unisaidie . Nimejitolea. Tutafaulu. WAMATANGI KIMANI
Then there was this
Kazi yetu miaka 7 Kiambu county;
-Tumesomesha vijana 7000 Computer,Driving na vitabu mashuleni bila malipo
-Tumepatia vijana 300 ajira kwa boda boda project
-Tumepeana tanki za maji 7000 shuleni, nyumbani, makanisa
-Community service vans husaidia raia
-Masomo kwa wakulima
Wamatangi Kimani Foundation-Tuko Pamoja@
They kept on coming. I blocked the number and Ignored the matter. My thinking at the time was that may be they had gotten my number from one of the Mpesa agents or something. But when I got message from IEBC then I realized that it is Safaricom giving out my number to people I don’t know. IEBC is doing a good job urging people to go register as voters but nobody has the right to give people’s numbers to them without consulting the subscribers first. When I became a subscriber of Safaricom back in the year 2001, there was no agreement that they can give my number to anybody or any company. For that Safaricom is out of line to give people’s numbers to IEBC regardless of justification they think they have. I know you can stop the SMS by sending stop to 28683 but that can never be an excuse
It is time companies in Kenya take the privacy of the clients/ subscribers seriously. The word “consent” is clear and well defined, I don’t want my number to be given out without being asked first.
With the registration of Sim cards, it means the network operators in Kenya already have all the personal details of people. How safe are people going feel knowing that their personal information can be given out to any Tom, Dick and Harry? If it is the Government then they need to get court orders or ask the people concern for their permission. It is time Safaricom, Orange , Airtel and Yu come out and tell the public their policies regarding this matter.
this is termed a big fish frying small ones…and it can only be solved by the big fish becoming large. and we are becoming large in time….
I think is basic, if someone ask for the numbers, consult the subscribers first or at least make them aware that their numbers are being out.
WANANCHI KARIBUNI NYOTE MKUTANO HAPA NAKURU AFRAHA STADIUM JUMAPILI 2/2012 TUSHIKANE PAMOJA TULETE MUAMKO MPYA KENYA. KARIBUNI. KIMANI NGUNJIRI.
I asked Safaricom how IEBC managed to get my number, I did not get a reply.
There is also the issue of email addresses. I receive newsletters to services I did not subscribe to. It looks like there is someone who sells email addresses to companies.
My sentiments exactly.
I think IEBC got numbers from Kenya Power because the number 5551 that I occasionally use to check my power bills is the same that comes in as a message from IEBC. Perhaps its some of these service providers that distribute numbers. I queried KP via twitter and they did not respond.
I have never given Kenya Power my number, so I don’t see how they got it from them. The other option would be IEBC got the numbers from different sources, and that would explain yours