Nairobi News

Hashtag

Safaricom subscribers protest after company fails to gift them as promised


Several Safaricom subscribers on Sunday afternoon demonstrated within Nairobi’s CBD after the company allegedly failed to gift them as promised.

The subscribers claimed they were invited to Uhuru Park to receive their gifts through text message which Nairobi News saw.

The text messages were sent on May 04, 2019.

“Come to Uhuru park tomorrow and get your free Safaricom gift, free customer care, lots of fun and games for the kids. Thank you for participating in KochKocho,” read the message.

One subscriber by the name Mark Mwangi said he received the text message while in Limuru.

TEXT MESSAGE

“The text message did not indicate the start and end time of the event, so I woke up and went to church first. When I got there later in the day I found stranded subscribers and no gifts as promised,” he said.

According to Mwangi, some subscribers came from as far as Kisumu and Mombasa.

The text message which the protesting subscribers claim they received from the company. PHOTO | AMINA WAKO
The text message which the protesting subscribers claim they received from the company. PHOTO | AMINA WAKO

“Bobby Collymore should just address this issue. I feel wasted. I came all the way from Limuru. But what about those who came from Kisumu and Mombasa? They have used more than Sh3,000 in transport and accommodation. He (Collymore) should hear their cry,” he said.

When Lucy Odhiambo from Ruai received the message, she says she was so excited. Early Sunday morning she tagged along her three children and headed straight to Uhuru Park.

DISAPPOINTED

“I was excited by the fact that I expected a lot of fun and games for the kids. I came with all my three children only to find thousands of people stranded at Uhuru Park. There was nowhere for the kids to play,” she lamented.

Joseph Nyandika, who says he travelled all the way from Kamulu, was similarly disappointed.

“When I received the message, I thought receiving the gifts would have been a simple process because they had all our details. I’m a very disappointed customer,” he said.

But there were a few lucky subscribers who said they received caps, t-shirts and pens.

Efforts by Nairobi News to reach Safaricom’s Communications and PR team over the matter proved fruitless.