Miguna Miguna Decries Being Robbed Safaricom Bundles: "It's Unacceptable"

• Miguna Miguna took to X (previously Twitter) to air his frustration at Safaricom after his data bundle package expired before the due date
• The lawyer was disturbed that the 3.5 gigabytes package that he was to use through Thursday, May 23, ended just two days after the purchase
• Having felt the annoyance of one of its eminent customers, Safaricom rushed to address the issues the fiery lawyer had raised

Eli Odaga, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Lawyer Miguna Miguna has fiercely taken on Safaricom over an internet mobile internet package that was depleted shortly after purchase.

A frustrated Miguna wondered why a package meant to last through a week would run out two days after purchase.

Miguna's issue with Safaricom

He said the sudden depletion was akin to robbery, calling out the telecommunication giant for a supposed fraud.

The package in question was a weekly 3.5 gigabytes package.

"This is daylight robbery. I purchased bundles yesterday. Safaricom told me they would expire on May 23rd. However, this morning, they suddenly sent a message stating that they expire on May 18th, and I have barely used them. This is unacceptable!" he lamented.

Did Safaricom respond to Miguna Miguna?

Safaricom was, however, too quick to address the lawyer's plight.

In a follow-up tweet, Miguna revealed that representatives from the company contacted him and handled the matter.

"They have addressed the issue," he said.

He thereafter turned the vexation on the Kenyan netizens who had made fun of his lamentations, querying why a person of his stature would be dealing with bundles.

In retaliation, Miguna clarified that he got a home internet package, explaining that he only needed the mobile internet to cover up during power outages and whenever he was on the move.

"There is no problem with me or anyone else buying bundles. Everyone has the freedom to choose what they need. Also, even those with WiFi (like me) often rely on bundles when power goes off (blackouts are notorious in Kenya), when on the move, or when on short stopovers).

The primitive belief that a lawyer shouldn’t buy bundles is unfortunate because it’s the more than 45 million ordinary Kenyans who suffer from poor services, exploitative rates and lack of quality customer care," he said.

Miguna further held that it was in his place to demand better internet services, which he paid for.

Internet outage in Kenya

Meanwhile, mobile network subscribers in Kenya recently encountered downtimes affecting their browsing experiences.

Several internet service providers acknowledged the hitch, stating that it had been caused by a major sub-sea fibre cut affecting internet services in East Africa and South Africa.

After complaints, network providers, among them Safaricom, said they are working to restore stable internet connections.

The technicalities were ultimately dealt with after two days, returning full internet capacity for the users.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.