Kenya drops plan for tourists to declare mobile phone IMEI after public concerns

Kenya drops plan for tourists to declare mobile phone IMEI after public concerns

Passenger stranded at JKIA on November 5, 2022/BEN KIRUI

The federal government has reneged on its plan to impose a brand new coverage requiring all passengers getting into Kenya to declare their cellphones’ IMEI numbers upon arrival following considerations raised by the general public. 

Within the new improvement, Tourism CS Rebecca Miano introduced that vacationers wouldn’t be required to adjust to the brand new directive, citing the federal government’s dedication to make Kenya simply accessible to foreigners. 

“KRA has introduced that Vacationers will NOT be required to declare their devices IMEI numbers upon arrival. Kenya’s strategic location because the gateway to East Africa positions it as a regional hub for tourism and enterprise and should subsequently stay simply accessible,” Miano acknowledged. 

The choice adopted consultative discussions with the related authorities to chart an acceptable approach ahead. 

This was introduced by Communications Authority’s Director Common David Mugonyi throughout a summon by the Nationwide Meeting’s Committee on Communication, Data and Innovation.

Through the listening to, the lawmakers questioned whether or not KRA would infringe privateness legal guidelines underneath the guise of knowledge safety. 

Mugonyi, nonetheless. assured the general public that the Authority wouldn’t entry Kenyans’ knowledge. 

“This engagement has nothing to do with the transactions we feature out on our telephones. We wish to guarantee the correct merchandise are within the nation, and the tax compliance side is strictly for that. KRA won’t have entry to folks’s knowledge,” Mugonyi mentioned. 

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