Safaricom, Kenya’s leading telecommunications operator, dismissed 118 employees over fraud-related offences in the financial year ended March 2026, as the company intensifies efforts to strengthen internal controls and protect customer information.
The dismissals increased from 113 recorded in the previous financial year, marking the fourth consecutive year that the company has reported a rise in employee dismissals linked to misconduct and fraud.
The figures were disclosed in Safaricom’s 2026 Sustainable Business Report, released on October 27.
According to the report, offences that can lead to dismissal include theft, falsification of company records, unauthorised access to customer call records, security and compliance violations, and other criminal offences.
Safaricom also issued three disciplinary warnings during the period and referred 14 cases to law enforcement agencies, twice the seven cases reported in the previous financial year.
Fraud remained the most frequently reported concern through the company’s ethics hotline, highlighting the continuing challenge of tackling misconduct within a business that operates extensive telecommunications and mobile money services.
The company said suspected fraud could be identified through customer complaints or its internal fraud management systems.
Flagged cases are investigated by managers or the Ethics and Compliance team before the appropriate disciplinary action is recommended.
Beyond employee dismissals, Safaricom recovered KSh953 million, approximately $7.34 million, linked to inflated agent commissions during the financial year.
The recovery was lower than the KSh1.7 billion recorded in the previous year.
The company attributed the recovery to proactive monitoring and data analytics used to identify irregular commission payments.
However, its report did not establish a direct connection between the recovered funds and the employees who were dismissed.
Safaricom also reported progress in reducing fraud, achieving an 82 per cent reduction against its target of 90 per cent.
The company said it recovered 46 per cent of reported fraud losses, underscoring the importance of improving both fraud detection and the recovery of stolen funds.
As digital financial services continue to expand, the telecommunications operator is strengthening measures to protect customers against identity theft and fraudulent transactions.
One of its initiatives is the Single View SIM-swap platform, which helps agents verify customer identities and identify high-risk transactions before replacing telephone lines.
Safaricom said fraudulent SIM swaps had declined by 65 per cent following the adoption of the platform, which uses automated checks covering customer identity, device activity and suspicious transaction patterns.
The company also monitored approximately 1.25 billion attempted cyber intrusions and investigated more than 130,000 security events during the financial year.
The latest disclosures highlight the growing importance of employee accountability, data protection and stronger fraud prevention systems as telecommunications companies expand their digital payment services.
For Safaricom, sustaining customer confidence will depend on its ability to strengthen internal oversight, respond effectively to suspected misconduct and protect millions of users who rely on its services for everyday communication and financial transactions.
Source: Business Daily Africa
