Kenya: Report says that Safaricom is a helpful hand in the breaches of incepting intelligence for the Security Organization!

The international Non-Government Organization Privacy International dropped another gem today with a report on the surveillance and on how the Kenyan Authorities get their ability to get intelligence and how they use the communications platforms to get knowledge. The worrying way is how the Safaricom and the Kenyan Authorities together spies on the population.

This report through different methods and also interviews, as much as people who have worked on the inside has told stories how the Security organization has used the giant Kenyan Telecommunication Company Safaricom. All should be done with court orders, still there are proof now of internal squabble inside Safaricom where there are even undercover agents inside the company. Take a look at key points of the report!

Court order to require Intelligence:

“In practice, if not in law, Kenya’s surveillance regime appears bifurcated. The NIS intercepts both communication content and acquires call data records without warrants to gather intelligence and prevent crime, and police agencies acquire communications data with warrants to prepare criminal cases. If it’s ‘just’ for intelligence, explained one police ATPU investigator, then warrants are not sought: “For the sake of investigations, the DCI [Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer] attached to Safaricom will just give [it to] you… When you take someone to court, you have to make it proper now.” Safaricom stated to PI that they “only provide information as required by courts…and upon receipt of relevant court orders.” (Privacy International, P: 16, 2017).

Internet Providers and NIS:

“One internet service provider recalled the difference between his experiences with the police and with the NIS: “A [police] agency comes to me, and they give me the Occurrence Book (OB) number of the case they are investigating…. The NIS has unfettered access to data.” The NIS simply contacted this operator for the data it required. “They will say ‘give us [data for] whenever X calls Y over this time period’, for example…In instances involving terrorism, no warrants are produced. We have to comply or there is the threat that our licenses [will] be revoked.” A Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) officer confirmed his account: “they’ll get their license revoked [if they do not comply]… If I were them, I’d comply too” (Privacy International, P: 17, 2017).

Safaricom CID Connection:

“The major telecommunications providers have at least one law enforcement liaison, a police officer of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (CID) on secondment. This analysis focuses on Safaricom, by far Kenya’s most popular mobile service provider with over 60% of the market share. At Safaricom, around ten CID officers sit on one floor of the Safaricom central bloc. They provide information to all police branches” (Privacy International, P: 20, 2017).

“The reported presence of NIS officers undercover in Safaricom and possibly other telecommunication network operators presents serious concerns as to whether any civilian authority or mechanism would be able to effectively oversee the process of communications interception. “The way we know they are here is that they’ll be present, seconded from somewhere else, but then suddenly they’ll disappear,” explained one CA employee. “And then you hear your colleagues saying ‘didn’t you know, that guy was NIS?’ They keep very much to themselves. You’ll even find your boss some time suspecting you of being NIS.” According to sources, by building rapport with civilian officers, NIS are able to informally access communications data. “Of course [the NIS officer in Safaricom] will liaise with the Safaricom engineer… Once there is information that he needs, or that our office needs, he gets in, he talks to the engineer, he is given access,” explained a current NIS officer. “Because in Safaricom, every time you log into the database to check for a certain number, you have to put your code there. … It depends on the rapport he has with the engineers…. They trust him.” (Privacy International, P: 21, 2017).

The use of Safaricom and the surveillance shows the problematic relationship between the government and the private telecom company. That the State Security Agents are not using warrants getting intelligence and private intercepts online shows how little the value of the citizens are. When the government security agents can breach public space without court orders and when they have undercover agents inside the biggest telecom in Kenya, shows how they breach the public sphere to get access and intelligence from the inside. This is a worrying side. Peace.

Reference:

Privacy International – ‘Track, Capture, Kill: Inside Communications Surveillance and Counterterrorism in Kenya’ (15.03.2017)

Kenya: Re: Clarification on Disbursements to the County Government of Mombasa (13.03.2017)

Opinion: Ruto and Kenyatta should have hiked on the Ferry from Mtongwe; They we’re lost at sea throwing shade at Joho in his backyard!

“Governor Joho and Governor Kingi are all about talk and no action. They have offered nothing new. They have nothing to show for all the money they have been given to invest on your behalf. Only talk”Uhuru Kenyatta (GoK, 2017).

“It is a sad thing to have leaders who don’t understand…don’t play with me….Mombasa is for everyone,” (…) “Why follow me? Why should we follow each other? I am not his wife,” (…) “Clean the city. Do your job, don’t follow us. If he plays with us we will flog him” – Uhuru Kenyatta (Otieno, 2017).

Well, today the Jubilee Alliance Party leadership and the ruling regime with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto had a rally in Mtongwe Ferry Launch. There also Orange Democratic Movement leader and Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho. This was not accepted as they even had to attack him at the rally. This seem like the tactic from the Jubilee this go around. In Turkana County the Jubilee leaders personally attacked Josephat Nanok.

Now, they are trying to attack Honourable Governor Joho by all means was the key figure and the one they had prepared to make like fool. They even used his willingness to pop-by the rallies in his backyard. This is for now and has been his stronghold. This is the man who was elected with a grand majority in 2013 and the Jubilee wants to unsettle his position. That has been in the works for months as CS Joseph Nkaissery have tried to take his gun, bodyguards and detaining him because they could on the last go around.

Governor Joho has been in the spotlight in the same reasons as Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago in Kampala; he is an opposition leader in a big and important county. Lukwago is the elected leadership of Kampala; the same is Joho of Mombasa County. It seems like what the National Resistance Movement (NRM) does to Lukwago, the same is the Jubilee doing to Joho. It is like machoism without anything to win for the ruling regime.

That Kenyatta and Ruto need to show strength and leadership, that is natural as they want to be looked as saviours and statesmen. Still, the acts of Kenyatta in Turkana and now in Mombasa are differing for the vision or wished perception any civil leader wants. That Jubilee has the upper-hand before this election. However, these sort of attempts to benign them, instead they belittle themselves and their own achievements.

Kenyatta and Ruto, should be grown men who could show of their own achievements, Jubilee has nearly ended their first term. Therefore, they should have enough facts to not bend into fiction. Where the Jubilee government claims that none of the governors in the counties they are visiting is delivering. Still, the government themselves has grand corruption and big scandals in their years in office.

So it not like Jubilee government have delivered the policies or the service delivery they promised in office. Kenyatta and Ruto should have offered a token of goodwill to the governors in Turkana and in Mombasa; instead they act like big-men who stand above them. They are right now higher in the hierarchy, but still they should be able to cross political affiliation. That is something that is hard for the President and his Deputy. They are in the backyards of Nanok and Joho, but there they had to act with vile attempt glory. Instead of showing grace and being statesmen, that is too far and too much to wish for.

If they cannot show grace and some tact, what is to expect of the rest of months ahead, the Turkana and Mombasa rallies proves the reality of their visions of themselves. Where they are acting as they are above Joho and as previous rally above Nanok. Certainly this is not the impression the ruling regime wanted to give. Peace.

Reference:

GoK – ‘President raps Coast ODM governors as “all talk and no action” as he wraps tour’ (13.03.2017) link: http://www.president.go.ke/2017/03/13/president-raps-up-coast-odm-governors-as-all-talk-and-no-action-as-he-wraps-tour/

Otieno, Brian – ‘[AUDIO] Stop following me like I’m your wife, Uhuru tells Joho at Mtongwe ferry launch’ (13.03.2017) link: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/03/13/audio-stop-following-me-like-im-your-wife-uhuru-tells-joho-at-mtongwe_c1523952

Full version: Joho blocked from attending President’s event (Youtube-Clip)

By blocking Joho Uhuru only made him King – Manyora (Youtube-Clip)

Kenya: CS Nkaissery Declaration of Certain Administrative Locations of Baringo County as Disturbed and Dangerous Areas (28.01.2017)

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Kenya: Recuitment and Deployment of National Police Reservists (01.03.2017)

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Immediate Suspension of All Operation in Baringo County by The Kenya Red Cross Society (25.02.2017)

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Kenya: Human Rights Violations and Brutality on Residents of Baringo (23.02.2017)

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Gov. Joho we’re arrested and only show the weakness of Jubilee leadership, nothing else!

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“We firmly stood by our rights & questioned the illegal and frivolous charges under which were placed under arrest” – Hassan Ali Joho (13.01.2017)

Again and again the Kenyan Authorities goes against the Orange Democratic Movement own Coast or Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho. Like he is the terminator or the villain out of one of the superheroes films that he is going to shot wild and go on a rampage against civilians because he owns a few guns that he has licensed. That isn’t weird as the Police are following him and detaining him when they have the ability.

The Police chief of the Coast are a remarkable man, one of kind who has to follow order, smile and grin to media, still looking mad and angry because the citizens shouldn’t go for a ODM candidate or stand by their elected ODM Governor. That is what the Police Commander Nelson Marwa is saying, but not in words, in actions!

Others arrested with him and was listed by the Police because they have licensed firearms, we’re the Mombasa Senator Hassan Sarai, because why not right? Got to silence the Opposition, especially knowing that the election season is around the corner.

On that day as he was arrested and others Deputy Vice-President William Ruto at a Jubilee Rally sneezed this out: “Today we face a rudderless, clueless, disorganized and leaderless opposition”. Well, if you we’re arbitiary charged and taken to the Police Office at any sort of junction your organization skills and campaigning would lag behind honourable Ruto, right?

So the arbitrary arrest of Joho is evident that the Jubilee government doesn’t plan to have a fair race in the coming months. They plan to suffocate and give no breathing space for the opposition as their own misgivings and scandals are brining lots of eating receipts from government funds, as much as the giant promises of previous elections has by all means to get shuffled. Like the promises of fancy stadiums in bigger towns and other investments in infrastructure that hasn’t been brought to court.

So the Joho and the ODM, the other opposition might get under fire from the authorities, they get challenged as they cannot get time to focus or keep their parties in check. If they did they could have the time to undress the kings and queens in the Jubilee party that thinks this is sure WIN and without any questions they should have a second term.

There were only Sarai who parts of the group that the ruthless Police Commander detained at his Police Station today. Another lucky one was MCA Ali Azhar. So the Police had decided to be hampering with freedoms of their elected citizens. Since they could so and show the world that Jubilee can make anybody criminals. That is what this shows. They have no integrity to do it or any sustainable evidence of any criminal intent of the elected officials. Still, they all ended with spending the day in the Police Station.

IGP Boinnet will claim he wasn’t taken to the Police Station or even arrested, but did it seem like he was there for a cup of tea and biscuits, are you serious with the trying to deceive your citizens Mr Officer? That Hassan Ali Joho we’re all free, if he was so free? Why wasn’t the politicians who showed up at the Police Station leaving the premises and not themselves stuck there trying to get him out of the Police Custody?

Did you IGP Boinnet see what I did there? I questioned your motives and the reason why other people in the same position of Joho happen to be arrested in an arbitrary arrest at the station today. So I wonder what their reasoning will be, not like the pictures of his release and his time in the Police Station will be forgotten quickly.

The Jubilee has not played smart detaining a political leader on the same they are claiming the opposition are rudderless, as much the election is coming up the government and ruling regime better act more mature. This is petty crap that isn’t honouring the democratic values and neither the openness of the Kenyan political landscape. That they are closing the doors and making it hard for the opposition before the election will only give leverage to the Opposition. That is unwise of Jubilee, but they have worked for months and for years pending things on Joho. So they will continue to pound him for his popularity in the Mombasa County.

Certainly the arbitrary arrest of the Governor Hassan Ali Joho of Mombasa today is a supposed to frighten and show power of the current leadership. Instead it shows their weakness, since they don’t believe in their own policies and leaders to challenge him in fair fight. They have to criminalize a political opponent. Cheers and hurray for Jubilee! Peace.