Bolt To Pay Driver Sh1 Million For Unfairly Deactivating His Account

NAIROBI Kenya October 31 -Taxi-hailing company, Bolt Operations OU has been ordered to compensate a driver Sh1million for unfair removal from its system after he complained of data breach.

The Transport Licensing Appeals Board (TLAB) on Tuesday October 31 ruled that Kennedy Wainaina Mbugua be immediately compensated Sh1,008,000 for the 168 days he has been out of work from May 15 to October 31, 2023.

The compensation is at the rate of Sh6,000 per day.
Mbugua is a Transport Network Driver, duly registered in Kenya under the National Transport and Safety Authority (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations 2022, according to the court documents and had been offering transport network services through the platform of the Bolt.

Mbugua, the appellant, filed a Memorandum of Appeal dated May 18, 2023 mainly aggrieved by the breach of his data privacy on the Bolt’s platform and the decision of NTSA to license Bolt as a transport network company, having not met and or breached the requirements set out in the NTSA regulations.

However, when Mbugua complained, instead of resolving the issue, Bolt retaliated punitively, by deactivating the Mbugua’s transport network portal account without following the imperatives of natural justice and the attendant procedural requirements.

The regulations require such transport network operators to put in place elaborate activation and deactivation procedures which meet the constitutional requirements of Article 47 of the Constitution as read together with Section 4 of the Fair Administrative Action Act 2015.

“In deactivating the account of the Applicant the 2nd Respondent acted capriciously and with impunity,” the Board ruled.

In the eventuality that a transport network company fails to comply with any provisions/requirements, the NTSA is mandated to suspend or cancel their license as per the regulations, including failure to comply with any of the provisions of these regulations.

With regard to the issue of violation of privacy and data breach, the Board however ruled that Mbugua should approach the Office of the Data Commission for redress.

“In the end, we find that the Appellant has adequately discharged his burden to the requisite legal threshold. It is our considered view that the 2nd Respondent has failed to comply and or prove compliance with the law including various requirements of the National Transport and Safety Authority (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations, 2022.
The Tribunal directed Bolt to, within f48 hours, file with the Tribunal a compliance matrix in the terms of Regulation 7 of the NTSA Regulations which shall be duly verified by NTSA.
Bolt Operations was also ordered to immediately restore the status prevailing as at May 31, 2023, with regard to the Mbugua’s rights to its transport network platform; immediately refund him the full amount cashed out from his transport network platform on May 17, 2023; and also compensate him Sh1.008million.
In the event of any failure to comply with orders four orders, the Board ruled that Bolt Operations licence be suspended with effect from November 3, 2023, and the firm shall forthwith cease transport network operations.
Mbugua said Bolt has not met and or has breached the requirements for licensing a transport network company since it has no physical office.
Further, it has no any local contacts for complaints and as at May 2023 it only had a London telephone number on their platform.
Mbugua further claimed that Bolt was in breach of drivers’ privacy, has harassed drivers on its platform, has not complied with the applicable transport network regulations, and has exposed drivers to cyber-crime and fraud related risks.
The TLAB’s effort to find out from Bolt if indeed it has a physical office in Kenya or if indeed it has complied with the requirements questioned by Mbugua proved futile.
“Indeed, save for mere denials, the Respondents did not offer any direct response to the substantive claims by the Appellant. As such, based on the material tendered by the Appellant, and the non-responsiveness by the Respondents, the position asserted by the Appellant largely remains uncontroverted,” the ruling reads.
Regulation 8 of the NTSA Regulations 2022 dictates that when making licensing decisions, NTSA is to make consideration to legal compliance and the public interest.
“It is an inherent duty upon any Transport Network Operator to put in place systems and mechanisms to ensure the security, protection and privacy of both drivers and passengers,” the Board ruled.
The TLAB is headed by lawyer Adrian Kamotho Njenga who was in May this year appointed by the Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 39 (2) of the National Transport and Safety Authority Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport appoints Adrian Kamotho Njenga to be the Chairperson of the Transport Licensing Appeals Board,” the notice read.
As the chairperson of the board, Kamotho is tasked to hear appeals against decisions of the NTSA relating to the issuance of licenses, revoking a license, and suspending a license.
On October 30, the NTSA renewed the operating licence of the Bolt, effectively allowing it to conduct its transport activities in the country.
The licence had earlier been denied after NTSA informed Bolt to address some concerns regarding drivers.