Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa has responded to a concerned customer who questioned why the telecommunications company reallocated her late mother’s phone number to another user.

The customer, who raised the issue publicly, wondered how the phone number could be passed on to someone else soon after her mother’s death.

During an interview on national TV, Ndegwa explained that the reallocation of unused phone numbers is a necessary practice driven by the increasing demand for mobile numbers in Kenya.

“Why can’t they let customers retain and retire their numbers upon passing?

I usually get an eerily feeling when I dial my late mother’s line, and it goes through, and a man with a rusty voice answers,” one of the safaricom line users identified as Stacy asked.

Ndegwa responded to Stacy by saying; “I empathise with Stacy. The reality of phone numbers is allocated by the regulator (CA).

So, if you are not using a number because the person has passed away or has become dormant, we have to return that number, and someone else can use it.

Someone cannot retain a number that they don’t utilise.

If you have not used your number for six months, it will be reallocated,” Ndegwa reiterated.

He emphasized that Safaricom, like other telecom companies, faces pressure to manage the available number pool due to the high number of subscribers.

Ndegwa noted that once a phone number remains inactive for a specific period, typically due to the death of the user or other reasons, it is marked for reallocation.

This is done to avoid a shortage of numbers as Kenya’s mobile network continues to grow.

The Safaricom CEO reassured customers that the process of reallocation follows strict guidelines, ensuring that the number is only reassigned after a sufficient period of inactivity.