Telecoms sued over retaining money on dormant SIM cards

Kampala. A man has asked court to order four telecom companies to display in leading newspapers all mobile money balances on dormant SIM cards whose owners have died.

In the suit filed at Mengo Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala, Mr Gideon Tugume claims that since the introduction of mobile money services by MTN, Airtel, UTL and Africell, many Ugandans and non-Ugandans have died in accidents, naturally or otherwise, leaving money and or air time deposits on their SIM cards.

Retained SIM cards
He says after three months, the telecom companies give out such SIM cards to new subscribers with new passwords but retain the deceased’s money and air time balances on an illegal account.

“Surprisingly even if one goes outside the country for study, work or to do anything beyond three months, all the money and airtime on the SIM card are retained by the defendants,” Mr Tugume’s petition states in part.

“This is not only illegal but also felonious in nature where Ugandans have lost billions of money as unclaimed balances on their SIM cards and this information is hidden by the defendants,” he adds.

Mr Tugume says on February 4, he called Airtel Uganda to ask about his phone number, which he had kept for three months but was being used by someone else who claimed to have got it from the same company with a new password and using Mr Tugume’s registered details.

Remittances
He avers that the telecom companies are holding billions of shillings in unclaimed mobile money and airtime balances which must either be given back to the owners, their relatives or remitted to the government’s Consolidated Fund account.

Mr Tugume says on November 26, 2018, about 37 people drowned in Lake Victoria while on a boat cruise and that each of them had mobile money balance on their SIM cards.
However, he says to-date, information about their money and airtime has never been known.

[email protected]