The return of bank-to-MPesa fees has been put on hold by an injunction from the High Court given to Safaricom and the Central Bank of Kenya.
The decision
was taken in response to a request made by a man by the name of Moses Wafula,
and it was made by Judge Mugure Thande of the Milimani Law Court.
The court
issued the instructions on Thursday in advance of the petition against the
return of the fees by mobile money operators being heard and decided.
Court
proceedings on the matter are scheduled for January 23, 2023.
Moses
Wafula, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, asserts that reinstatement fees for bank
and mobile wallet transactions violate both his rights and the rights of the
general public.
According to
court documents, "The Applicant contends that the 1st Respondent herein
and the Government of Kenya have violated, infringed, and continue to threaten
his rights and the rights of other members of the public in light of the
directive issued by the Intended 3rd Respondent on December 6, 2022."
Following a
letter from the Central Bank of Kenya that the charges would be reinstated as
of January 1, 2023, the petition was submitted last year.
The petition
was submitted last year in response to a Central Bank of Kenya notification
that the fees would be reintroduced as of January 1, 2023.
The
transaction fees were removed in March 2020 as a result of Covid-19's urgent
measures to reduce living costs.
According to
a press release from CBK on December 6, the new rates would be lower than the
fees that were in existence prior to the emergency measure.
According to
CBK, the average maximum fees for transfers from bank accounts to mobile money
wallets will be decreased by 61 percent, and from a mobile money wallet to a
bank account would be reduced by 47 percent.