Bolt Kenya appeals judgment that could have seen its licence revoked by Nov 3

Bolt Kenya has revealed that it is appealing a judgment that could have seen its operating licence in the country revoked by November 3. Country Manager, Linda Linda Ndungu revealed this to Technext when contacted for a response to the matter.

Recall that Technext reported that a driver, Kennedy Wainaina Mbugua had petitioned the Transport Licensing Appeals Board of Kenya against the Estonian company. Kennedy accused the company of breaching his data and harassment when he complained.

In its judgment, the board had ordered the Estonian company to pay a compensation of about $662,000 to the aggrieved driver. It also ordered the company to show proof that it has an office in Kenya which is a requirement for operating in the country. The board ruled that Bolt’s Kenyan licence will be revoked if it fails to comply with these orders by November 3.

Asked for a reaction to this judgment and whether Bolt would obey the orders or file an appeal in court, Bolt Kenya Country Manager, Linda Ndungu told Technext that the company is already in court for an appeal.

“Bolt is currently in court over this issue and will continue to pursue the timely resolution of this matter within the confines and jurisdiction of the courts. As such, we cannot divulge additional details of the matter at this juncture

Linda Ndungu

A bit of backstory

According to court documents obtained by Technext, The driver, Kennedy Wainaina approached the Appeals Board with a complaint that Bolt breached his data privacy on its platform. This breach has exposed him to fraudsters and other criminals looking to defraud and take advantage of him on the platform.

See also: Bolt Kenya ordered to pay the driver $662,743 for deactivating account for 168 days

However, when he tried to complain to the company, their response was to kick him out of the platform by disabling his account and withholding all the funds in it. As a result of this, he has been unable to earn a living for a period now amounting to 168 days.

He further accused Bolt of not operating a physical office in his county (Nakaru County), or anywhere else in the country. This, he claimed, is in breach of the requirements set out in the National Transport and Safety Authority (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations 2022.

This breach, Mr Wainaina claims, is enough to suspend Bolt Kenya’s operating licence

In its ruling, the board determined that in deactivating the driver’s account, Bolt acted capriciously and with impunity. It then revealed that its effort to find out from Bolt Kenya if indeed it has a physical office in Kenya or if indeed it has tried to resolve the matters raised by Mr Wainaina 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 nonresponsiveness by the Respondents, the position asserted by the Appellant largely remains uncontroverted,” the judgement reads in part.

The Board also ruled that Bolt Kenya is operating against the law by not operating a physical office in Kenya. The Board noted that 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 under Regulation 13 (1) (b), of the NTSA (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations 2022.

Responding to the board’s determination that Bolt doesn’t have an office in Kenya and didn’t make an effort to disprove the accusations from that concern, Linda Ndungu insisted that the company not only has a duly registered company in Kenya but that its African headquarters is located in the country.

“Bolt has a duly registered office in Kenya as required by law for any operating business. In July this year, Bolt opened its Africa Regional Head Office in Nairobi to leverage the city’s strategic position to serve as a regional hub for its operations in Africa. The office is located on Riverside Drive in Nairobi and it acts as the regional nerve centre for Bolt whose operations in Africa cut through seven countries including; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Tunisia,” she said.

She said in efforts to further enhance driver relations and address their concerns Bolt also launched a Driver Engagement Centre in Kenya. Linda explained that this entails the provision of a range of benefits, including improved driver support, effective communication channels, training opportunities, community building, issue resolution, driver appreciation, and positive branding. 

Bolt Kenya’s recent regulatory issue

Africa’s largest ride-hailing company has been having a stretch of run-ins with the regulatory body in Kenya of late. When its licence expired in October, Kenya’s e-hailing regulatory body, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) refused to renew the company’s operating license.

This was due to allegations that the company charged a commission higher than the prescribed 18 per cent. The company was also accused of charging an illegal booking fee. Following an agreement to abolish the booking fee, the NTSA eventually renewed the company’s license on Tuesday.

Just a day later the company found itself embroiled in yet another regulatory issue which also threatened to end with a revocation of its licence. Asked if she feels there is a concerted attack on Bolt’s Kenyan operations, Linda Ndungu attributed the continuous regulatory problems coming its way to being a market leader in the industry.

“As a market leader in our industry, we understand that maintaining a prominent position can often attract heightened scrutiny. While we have recently navigated legal complexities in Kenya, we view these occurrences as part and parcel of operating in a dynamic business environment. Rather than perceiving them as a concerted attack on our business, we approach emerging issues as pointers to areas that both the business and the industry as a whole can continue to strengthen over time.”

She said that the e-hailing giant’s commitment to resolving any issues within its mandate as a business is unwavering as this is part of its greater commitment to creating a better business environment and continually raising the industry standards.

She expressed optimism that Bolt’s licence won’t be revoked when it is all done. “We however reiterate that our licence remains valid and normal business operations continue even as we pursue legal redress in court“.

See also: Bolt at 10: Small beginnings, big wins and global problems