The High Court denied a request by a Nakuru-based doctor to stop Safaricom from implementing the expiration of Bonga points, the telco’s loyalty points.
The publicly traded telco had previously announced that all unredeemed Bonga points would expire after three years, implying that points accumulated prior to December 31, 2019 would expire on January 1, 2023.
Safaricom justified the decision as a business decision to encourage redemption and generate revenue, which was valued at KES 4.5 billion in March of last year.
Dr. Magare Gikenyi, a Nakuru-based surgeon, filed a petition to the high court claiming that Safaricom’s decision to prohibit the redemption of Bonga points would cost him KES 4.5 million.
The high court judge Mugure Thande, however, ruled that the petition was filed too late and declined to halt the telco’s action. The case will be brought up again on March 6th.
Dr. Gikenyi argued that Safaricom’s announcement came as a surprise to the public and claimed that many Kenyans would be negatively affected due to the company’s poor administrative actions, citing factors such as the country’s diverse geography, high illiteracy rates in certain areas and lack of internet access in some regions.
The medic stated that it was in the best interest of justice for the planned expiration dates of Bonga points to be suspended and later declared illegal due to the fact that it prioritized profits over the welfare of Kenyans, who have helped the telecommunications company to thrive.
Furthermore, Dr. Gikenyi argued that Safaricom’s decision was a blatant abuse of its business dominance, causing harm to many poor subscribers.
“It is unfair for the respondents to fail their subscribers by forcing them to redeem their loyalty points, or else they lose them through its arbitrary and irrational actions,” he said, adding that the behaviour of punishing its subscribers goes against the rules of business loyalty and legitimate expectation of customers.
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