Safaricom has reinstated its popular “No Expiry” data bundles after nationwide outrage erupted over sudden, silent reductions that cut allocations by nearly half. The telco made the U-turn less than a week after subscribers noticed drastic changes that effectively doubled the cost of mobile data overnight.
Beginning around October 22, customers reported that long-standing bundles had been quietly altered. The 255MB package priced at Sh51 dropped to 102MB, while the 1GB bundle costing Sh250 was slashed to 500MB. No communication was issued to customers beforehand, sparking immediate backlash.
Social media was flooded with complaints as Kenyans accused Safaricom of implementing stealth price hikes during an already harsh economic period. The outrage grew louder on X (formerly Twitter), where ordinary users, consumer advocates, and political figures demanded answers.
Safaricom eventually responded, attributing the changes to a “technical issue.” The telco restored the original allocations and sent apology messages to subscribers:
“Dear customer, the issue with your non-expiry bundles is fixed and extra bundles added. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Customers who had purchased the reduced bundles have also reportedly been refunded the difference.
Analysts and consumer rights groups say the incident highlights the need for stronger regulatory oversight, including mandatory advance notices for bundle changes, transparent pricing disclosure, and better protection for vulnerable mobile users.
