App based ride hailing and courier platforms operating in Kenya Uber, Bolt, Glovo and Little will be required from September 20 to verify and record the contents of customer parcels, along with sender and recipient details, under new licensing rules issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
The regulations require licensees to keep electronic records of postal articles, including details identifying both the sender and the recipient of each transaction. These records must be made available to the CA, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the police upon request.
The rules form part of ongoing government efforts to curb illicit trade in items such as drugs and firearms, as digital tools increasingly become part of the state’s strategy against tax evasion.
Riders are required to screen and verify package contents without opening them, unless there is suspicion that a parcel contains prohibited goods, or a revenue official or KRA orders it opened. Drivers also retain the right to decline a parcel that appears unsafe or suspicious, return it to the sender, and report it to police.
The new framework replaces the 2010 postal and courier regulations and introduces penalties of up to Ksh1 million, six months in prison, or both, for violations. Courier firms will also be required to compensate customers for lost or damaged parcels under policies filed with the CA, and to handle complaints within set timelines.
The tighter data rules follow an earlier CA move in July that shifted digital courier operators from the cheaper National Courier Operator license also used by matatu saccos into a new 10 year Courier Hailing Service Provider category with higher fees. Under that framework, operators pay a Sh5,000 application fee, Sh100,000 initial license fee, and an annual fee of Sh100,000 or 0.4 percent of turnover, whichever is higher, plus a universal service levy of 0.5 percent of annual turnover.
Uber, Bolt and Little have in recent years expanded beyond taxi hailing into parcel delivery amid rising demand for online shopping and faster drop offs, a market Glovo has long specialized in. Analysts note the rules effectively turn riders into part of the country’s surveillance and tax enforcement infrastructure, reflecting Kenya’s broader push to formalize and monitor the fast growing e-commerce and logistics sector.
