Katiba Institute defends journalist against Safaricom's lawsuit
The research and litigation institution said it is concerned that the journalist faces the risk of being ordered to pay heavy costs that follow the lawsuit filed by Safaricom Limited.
Katiba Institute has come to the defence of a Kenyan investigative journalist, Robert Wanjala Kituyi, who is facing a strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) lawsuit filed by leading telephone service provider Safaricom after he requested information from the company.
In a statement, the research and litigation institution said it is concerned that the journalist faces the risk of being ordered to pay heavy costs that follow the lawsuit filed by Safaricom Limited.
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The particulars are that on November 6, last year Wanjala wrote a letter to Safaricom seeking to know how many court orders were received by Safaricom from police authorities between June and October 2024 seeking personal data or communication details of individuals under investigation, the data privacy measures of customers put in place by Safaricom in compliance with these orders and steps taken by Safaricom in case of ambiguous or overreaching orders.
The journalist further sought to know if the company ever denied giving information because of the ambiguity and overreaching nature of such court orders and how many denials (if any).
The request was made following a period of a recorded rise in abduction cases and enforced disappearances in the country.
"It was alleged that Safaricom shared personal data of individuals with police officers who were accused of conducting the abductions. Safaricom refused to respond to him," the statement notes.
Wanjala then went further and sought the intervention of the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) to obtain the information legally under the provisions of the Access to Information Act.
The CAJ invited Safaricom to respond to the request, but, again, the company declined to answer, and on February 5, this year, the commission determined that Safaricom Limited breached the right to access information and ordered it to share the information sought with Wanjala.
Katiba Institute says that instead of complying with the CAJ order, Safaricom went to court and filed a case, Civil Appeal No. HCCA E207 of 2025 in the Civil Division of the High Court at Milimani against Robert.
The company is appealing the case because it cannot be forced to give such information as it is a private entity; hence, the law on disclosure does not apply to it.
It also argues that the information sought is limited for several reasons, amongst them that it will undermine its commercial interests and that public interest favours non-disclosure of such information.
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