Mobile phone register must respect privacy
The government’s order for a database for all mobile phone subscribers might be regrettable if viewed to be rolling back the remarkable freedoms Kenyans enjoy in regard to telephone ownership and communications.
There are few other places in the world where mobiles phones are so widely available at such friendly prices; and to cap it all, where lines from any of the networks are available for virtually free even from roadside kiosks and hawkers will be activated instantly with no bureaucracy on the identity of the subscriber.
But sometimes, the public good must override some freedoms. There is no doubt that lack of records on subscribers has provided the gateway for criminals to enjoy the luxury of anonymous communications.
Kidnappers, extortionists, murderers and even terrorists have been freely using our telecommunications, secure in the knowledge that there is no record of the telephone lines they can acquire, use for a short time in commission of a crime, and discard immediately.
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