Safaricom has explained the circumstances under which it deducts customers’ Bonga Points to recover unpaid Okoa Jahazi debt after a subscriber questioned a recent deduction from his account.
The clarification came after sales and marketing professional Movin James Amboka publicly sought an explanation for the deduction of approximately KSh60 in Bonga Points, saying the points had been used to repay an Okoa Jahazi debt without his knowledge or consent.
In a post on LinkedIn, addressed to Safaricom, Amboka asked the telecommunications company to explain the legal and contractual basis for the deduction.
He also requested the company to identify the terms and conditions that authorized the deduction.
“I am writing to seek an explanation regarding the deduction of approximately KES 60 worth of my Bonga Points to repay a Kopa debt without my knowledge or consent,” he wrote.
“Kindly explain the legal and contractual basis upon which this deduction was made and provide the specific terms and conditions that authorized it. To the best of my knowledge, I did not consent to my Bonga Points being used in this manner.”
Ambok further said that if the matter was not satisfactorily resolved, he would pursue legal remedies and report the issue to the relevant regulatory authorities for investigation.
Safaricom Clarifies Why Customers’ Bonga Points Are Used to Repay Okoa Jahazi Debt
Responding to the complaint, Safaricom said the deduction is part of the repayment terms for its Okoa Jahazi service.
“Hello Movin, Okoa Jahazi repayment period is within 5 days. If the debt is not cleared after 15 days, Bonga Points available are used to settle the debt,” Safaricom said.
Also Read: Why Some Safaricom Customers No Longer Access Popular Data Offers
How Okoa Jahazi Works
According to Safaricom’s terms and conditions, Okoa Jahazi allows eligible subscribers to borrow airtime or bundles in denominations of KSh5, KSh10, KSh20, KSh50, KSh100, KSh250, KSh500 and KSh1,000, as well as flexible amounts under the Okoa Jahazi service.
Safaricom charges a 10 percent service fee on every airtime advance. This means customers receive the requested airtime less the applicable service fee, while the service fee is credited separately into a talktime account.
The company states that subscribers are required to repay the airtime advance within 120 hours (five days) of receiving it.
Repayment can be made through several channels, including airtime scratch cards, M-Pesa, Sambaza, third-party top-ups, direct bank top-ups, Pinless Top-up (Bamba Poa), PrePay Roaming Top-up and Bonga Points.
Also Read: New Safaricom Ownership Structure After 15% Stake Sale
Safaricom further states that the outstanding amount is automatically deducted from a customer’s subsequent airtime top-ups until the debt is fully recovered.
Where the advance remains unpaid after the five-day repayment period, the subscriber becomes ineligible to access another Okoa Jahazi advance until the debt is cleared.
The terms also allow Safaricom to recover unpaid balances from a customer’s existing resources, including airtime, minutes or Bonga Points. Customers with outstanding Okoa Jahazi balances for more than one week are also sent payment reminders.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
