Safaricom fails to suspend $68m suit

Safaricom has failed to in its bid to suspend the hearing of a case of alleged infringement of intellectual property brought by an innovator who claimed the telco giant rolled out a product similar to one he shared with the group in 2021. High Court Judge Josephine Mong’are dismissed Safaricom’s application seeking to suspend the petition filed by Peter Nthei Muoki and Beluga Ltd, The East African reports. Muoki moved to court last year seeking to be paid for gains and profits derived from the infringement of his copyright and for the court to order the telco to pay him royalties and licensing fees, alternatively, for the court to direct Safaricom to pay him Ksh10bn ($68m) for the product. Safaricom has asked the court to suspend hearing of the case, which is slated for 31 October, pending the determination of an appeal the telco has filed against an order directing it to produce a list of documents, including a letter to Huawei Technologies (Kenya) Company Limited to propose a solution for parent-child control product functionality under the M-Pesa platform. Muoki has sued Safaricom and Huawei Technologies (Kenya), claiming that the telco wanted to launch a product known as ‘Manage Child Account’ under a USSD code. The businessman, however, said the product is similar to his product known as ‘M-Teen Account’, an M-Pesa sub-wallet to enhance parental control on their children's spending behaviour or patterns.