Deputy President William Ruto has criticised the ongoing registration of SIM cards that have seen hundreds of Kenyans queue in mobile lines dealers.
Speaking on Tuesday during the signing of coalition agreements with eight parties at Ngonga Racecourse, Nairobi, the DP said that there is no need to rush the exercise.
Ruto said the country is currently facing a number of crises worth more attention than the SIM registration exercise.
"I want to ask our people in the CA, please, it is not necessary for them to queue for a sim card for them to be registered. We have enough time, what is this magic about Friday?" Ruto asked.
He added that the exercise can wait and that the April 15 deadline can be pushed to December.
"Unless you are up to no good. If the CA is the agent of the dark force, we want to tell them, they will fail, and they will fail miserably."
CA Director general Ezra Chiloba had earlier said that the ongoing mandatory SIM card registration has nothing to do with the upcoming general elections.
Chiloba said regulations on SIM card validation was formulated in 2015, hence no direct connection to the nearing August polls.
Chiloba was attempting to quell speculations around the objectivity of the entire process which has been given a deadline.
The telcos agreed to provide a self verification USSD code and online platform with standardised menus and messages for easy registration even for those in diaspora.
The operators said the USSD code *106# shall be used by all operators for verification, meaning subscribers do not have to physically present themselves at the operator's customer service centres, unless it is necessary.
"We have agreed that this is not re-registration or fresh registration exercise. It is an opportunity for operators and their customers to validate respective details of registration. The exercise will address the documentation gaps that have become common place," Chiloba said.
