By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, April 16, 2026 - Telecommunications giant Safaricom PLC has issued a public apology following widespread complaints over the performance of its newly launched My OneApp, after users reported difficulties accessing services and navigating the platform.
In a statement released on April 16, 2026, the company admitted that the rollout fell short of expectations, acknowledging that many customers experienced significant challenges, particularly when logging into the application. “We are sorry for giving you a poor experience,” Safaricom said, conceding that the app did not deliver as promised.
The apology comes after days of mounting frustration among users, with complaints ranging from login failures and sluggish performance to unexpected logouts and limited accessibility, especially for diaspora and roaming customers.
Safaricom explained that the My OneApp was designed to consolidate its services, including M-Pesa and traditional telecom offerings, into a single platform aimed at improving user experience and security.
However, the rollout exposed critical gaps between design intent and real-world usability.
But beyond the technical failures, a deeper issue has emerged, one that Safaricom’s apology only partially addresses.
While the company acknowledged the poor user experience, critics argue that the more significant failure was the lack of clear and timely communication before and during the rollout.
Many users were automatically migrated to the new platform through app updates without prior notice or adequate guidance, effectively forcing a transition on millions of customers who rely on M-Pesa for daily transactions.
For a platform that underpins a significant share of Kenya’s financial transactions, such a shift without structured communication created not just inconvenience, but risk.
Industry observers note that digital transitions of this scale typically require phased rollouts, user education, fallback options, and real-time support frameworks. In this case, the absence of those elements amplified user frustration and eroded trust.
The result was not just a product issue.
It became a customer confidence issue.
The rollout has also sparked debate around product identity, with some users and analysts questioning the decision to brand the platform as “My OneApp” without clearly anchoring it to Safaricom and M-Pesa’s widely recognised ecosystem.
M-Pesa, one of the most successful mobile money platforms globally, carries significant brand equity built over more than a decade.
By subsuming it into a broader, less clearly defined application, Safaricom may have inadvertently diluted a core trust signal for users.
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Calls are now emerging for the company to reconsider the branding strategy, potentially reintegrating clearer Safaricom and M-Pesa identity markers within the app to maintain user familiarity and confidence.
In markets where digital finance depends heavily on trust and ease of use, branding is not cosmetic, it is functional.
The stakes for Safaricom are significantly higher than a typical app launch.
With over 50 million subscribers and dominance in both mobile and mobile money services, the company operates infrastructure that millions of Kenyans depend on daily for payments, savings, and business transactions.
Any disruption, even temporary, carries real economic consequences.
The My OneApp challenges revealed how tightly integrated Safaricom’s services are with everyday life, and how sensitive that ecosystem is to system changes.
Safaricom has indicated that its teams are working “around the clock” to resolve the issues and improve functionality, promising a smoother experience for users both locally and abroad.
However, restoring functionality may be the easier part.
Rebuilding trust will take a little bit longer.
Because in the end, this episode is not just about an app that failed to perform.
It is about expectations that were not managed.
And in a digital economy where reliability is everything, the lesson is clear:
Innovation must move at the speed of trust.