Faced with the challenge of prosecuting people who use mobile phones to send hate messages, the Kenyan Parliament has made a bold step to make sure all subscribers register their numbers.

Police face the challenge of identifying the real phone owners because most SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards are sold on the streets without any registration while some people have used their phones to send hate messages via SMS (Short Message Service), then discarded the cards.

Parliament is debating a new law to regulate and monitor the 11 million subscribers who may use their phones for criminal purposes. If passed, the law will require subscribers to register using their national identity cards or passports in order to acquire a SIM card.

The motion is seeking to amend the Kenya Communications Act (1998) to make it mandatory for phone subscribers to register with the service providers. Currently, there is no requirement for registration for prepaid customers, but post-paid customers are required to give their identity card details as well as bank account details.

The motion, brought by Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo, was supported by legislators who attributed the recent post-election violence to hate messages sent via SMS.

During the debate, members of parliament blamed mobile phones for the rising cases of crime, arguing that criminal gangs communicate easily without being detected. This was also attributed to the liberal use of mobile phones by subscribers, most of whom were not registered by mobile phone providers.

If the motion is passed, it will force service providers to register names of all their subscribers in a database, which will also allow authorities to arrest those misusing the service.

Citing national security, Kilonzo said Kenya would not be the first country to enact such a law. He said that Sudan, Sweden and Australia were dealing decisively with what he called "mobile-phone thuggery."

Mobile phones have been used by con artists who announce that people have won prizes and are required to send money to the number, but once the money is transferred, the number becomes inaccessible.

Police are determined to work with mobile phone providers to apprehend criminals, said police spokesman Eric Kiraithe. Last year, the police worked with Safaricom to apprehend Simon Matheri, a criminal who was terrorizing a village in Gachie, about 30 kilometers from Nairobi. With the help of Safaricom, police arrested Matheri at his hideout after identifying its location.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

Whitepapers

• Best Practices for HP Servers and HP Enterprise Virtual Array in a Microsoft Exchange
• Compliance, Protection, Recovery: A Layered Approach to Laptop Security
• Endpoint Security: Data Protection for IT, Freedom for Laptop Users
• IT Departments on Data Security: A Research Concepts Survey
• Laptop Security Tool Helps Allina Hospitals Track 97% of IT Assets
• The Case for an Untethered Enterprise

View more WIRELESS & MOBILE whitepapers

Webcasts

• Key Considerations for a Successful 802.11n Deployment
• Free BlackBerry Technical Seminar, July 9
• The High-Touch Remote Helpdesk: Centralized Support for the Decentralized Organization
• From Wired to Wireless with Confidence - On Demand
• High Availability for SQL Server 2005 Using Array-Based Replication and Host-Based Mirroring Technologies
• Technical Overview of Exchange Server 2007 with HP Servers and Storage

View more WIRELESS & MOBILE webcasts

Special Reports

• Learn how to Keep your Mobile Workforce Connected
• The Wireless Explosion

View more WIRELESS & MOBILE special reports