The High Court of Kenya has delivered a ruling on the reassignment and/or recycling of the deactivated but previously registered mobile telephone numbers owing to an extended period of inactivity or non-use.
This follows a petition arguing that registered mobile numbers constitute an individual’s digital identity and are linked to sensitive personal information.
The petitioner contended that the unfettered reassignment of these numbers poses a substantial risk of exposure to third parties, thereby violating the right to privacy.
Court Says Mobile Numbers Are Protected as Digital Identity, Must Not Be Recycled
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, March 19, Justice Lawrence Mugambis declared that a registered mobile phone number constitutes a digital identifier linking personal data that relates to an individual’s private affairs, hence qualifies for protection under Article 31 (c) & (d) of the Constitution to safeguard the right not to have information relating to private affairs unnecessarily required or disclosed.
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Justice Mugambi ordered the Attorney General to take all necessary measures within six months to safeguard digital identities linked to registered mobile numbers.
“A mandatory order is hereby issued, directing the Attorney General, within six months from the date of this Judgment, and in collaboration with all relevant Departments (Including but notlimited to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, the Communication Authority of Kenya and the relevant Ministry) to take all necessary and appropriate measures to safeguard digital identity associated with the registered mobile telephone number against unfettered deactivation, and subsequent arbitrary reassignment or recycling,” read the ruling in part.
Condition when Mobile Numbers Reassignment is Allowed
However, the court added that any reassignment of deactivated or previously registered mobile numbers must be done with the previous owner’s informed and verifiable consent.
Reassignment can occur only after a reasonable period following public notice, and only after a thorough verification process confirming that the original owner cannot be located or has clearly revoked their rights to the number.
The court also emphasized that technical safeguards must be implemented to prevent unauthorized exposure or transfer of personal data linked to the previous owner.
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Court Orders Protection of Prisoners’ Digital Identities
The petitioners pointed out that prisoners have been losing their digital identities due to long periods of inactivity during incarceration.
This, they say, exposes them to privacy breaches, as previously registered numbers are reassigned to third parties who may access information linked to those numbers without any notice of the change.
They further claimed that this contravenes the right to equality, as no law in Kenya prohibits anyone from having a phone or from being deprived of their digital identity.
In relation to prisoners, the court directed the Attorney General, working with the Kenya Prisons Service and other relevant agencies, to formulate and publish regulations within six months to protect the digital identities of prisoners linked to their registered mobile numbers.
The scheme must ensure that numbers already registered before incarceration are not reassigned or recycled, allowing prisoners to continue using them after completing their sentences.
Alternatively, if full preservation is not possible, the Kenya Prisons Service must introduce regulations allowing prisoners supervised access to activate or update their mobile numbers as needed, in line with the Persons Deprived of Liberty Act.
The court warned that if these measures are not implemented by midnight on September 19, 2026, all reassignment or recycling of deactivated numbers will automatically stop to safeguard constitutional privacy rights.
