Kenya court dismisses US$2 billion lawsuit against Safaricom, Vodafone

A Kenyan high court has dismissed a US$2 billion class action lawsuit against Safaricom and Vodafone.

The case was thrown out on the orders of Justice Nixon Sifuna who noted that the petitioners—the plaintiffs—had no case because they had failed to comply with the orders of the court.

In March 2023, three petitioners sued Safaricom, claiming it operates its loan service Fuliza illegally. Gichuki Waigwa, Lucy Nzola, and Godfrey Okutoyi argued that Safaricom was using M-Pesa as a banking service for which it had no licence.

The petitioners also argued that they, and other M-Pesa users, should enjoy accrued interests from the M-Pesa deposits Safaricom loans to Fuliza users.

The case sought for KES305 billion ($2 billion) in damages for fraudulent misrepresentation and non-disclosure of information.

The case has now been dismissed as the petitioners failed to comply with an October 4 ruling which required them to serve Safaricom and 21 other defendants—including Vodafone—the evidence they were to share in court.

“By the plaintiffs’ own indolence and consistent non-compliance of the court orders, they dismissed their own suit,” the judge ruled.

It’s not the end though. The three petitioners still have the chance to file a fresh case, but so far, it looks like they either have no evidence to back up their claims in court or are uninterested in chasing what is sure to be a long and arduous process.