The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has issued three penalty notices totaling KES 9.4 million to data controllers for failing to comply with the Data Protection Act and violating data privacy rights.
Mulla Pride Ltd, which operates the KeCredit and Faircash mobile lending apps, was fined KES 2.98 million. The company was found guilty of using names and contact information obtained from third parties to send threatening messages and phone calls.
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The penalty aims to ensure digital lenders and financial institutions notify data subjects when collecting and processing their data.
Casa Vera Lounge, a Nairobi restaurant, was fined KES 1.85 million for posting a customer’s image on its social media platform without consent. The penalty is intended to ensure establishments seek consent from customers before posting their images online.
Roma School, an Uthiru educational institution, was fined KES 4.55 million for posting minors’ pictures without parental consent. The penalty sends a message to schools and facilities handling minors’ personal data to obtain consent from parents or guardians before processing minors’ data.
The penalties were issued under Sections 62 and 63 of the 2019 Data Protection Act and Regulations 20 and 21 of the 2021 Data Protection Complaints Handling Procedure and Enforcement Regulations.
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Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait urged entities to comply with the Data Protection Act by implementing data protection principles and safeguards. She also called on data controllers and processors to ensure personal data use aligns with the act’s provisions. Failure to comply will result in enforcement procedures.
The data protection office also announced it has conducted a compliance audit of the digital credit provider WhitePath and an inspection of Naivas Supermarkets following recent data breaches. Once the investigations are complete, findings will be shared with the data controllers for swift action.
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