Case Note
Taifa DT Sacco Society Limited v Otieno
A man who had never joined a SACCO kept receiving its credit and debit alerts after inheriting a recycled mobile number from an existing member. The ODPC ordered KES 250,000 in compensation for the SACCO's failure to stop the messages fast enough. The High Court reversed entirely: the complainant was not a data subject in respect of that number because no data of his was ever processed — only the original member's — and a month's delay in verifying a number reassignment the telco carried out without the SACCO's knowledge was reasonable, not a breach. The Court was blunt that the Act "should not be used as a cash cow," warning against turning number-recycling inconvenience into a compensation industry.
Whether you are defending a complaint, appealing a determination, or bringing a privacy claim of your own, the forum you choose and the procedural record you build early usually decide the outcome.
Muchangi Patrick & Associates Advocates represents complainants and respondents before the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and on appeal, judicial review and constitutional petition before the High Court.
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