By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 2 July 2026 - A recent complaint by a Safaricom customer has sparked fresh debate over whether the telecommunications giant can legally deduct customers' Bonga Points to recover unpaid Okoa Jahazi loans.
The issue came to the fore after a subscriber claimed that approximately KSh60 worth of his loyalty points had been used to settle an outstanding airtime advance without his knowledge or consent.
The incident has drawn attention to the fine print contained in Safaricom's Okoa Jahazi Terms and Conditions, with many subscribers admitting they were unaware that their Bonga Points could be used to recover unpaid debts.
The matter was raised publicly by sales and marketing professional Movin James Amboka, who questioned the deduction in a LinkedIn post directed at Safaricom. Amboka said he discovered that his Bonga Points had been deducted to repay what he described as a Kopa debt and sought clarification on the legal basis for the move.
"I am writing to seek an explanation regarding the deduction of approximately KES 60 worth of my Bonga Points to repay a Kopa debt without my knowledge or consent," he wrote.
He further challenged the company to explain which contractual provisions permitted such deductions.
"Kindly explain the legal and contractual basis upon which this deduction was made and provide the specific terms and conditions that authorized it. To the best of my knowledge, I did not consent to my Bonga Points being used in this manner."
Amboka warned that if the matter was not satisfactorily resolved, he would consider pursuing legal remedies and report the issue to the relevant regulatory authorities for investigation.
Safaricom responded by explaining that the deduction was not arbitrary but formed part of the repayment conditions governing its Okoa Jahazi service. According to the company, customers who borrow airtime or bundles through the service are expected to repay the advance within five days.
If the debt remains unpaid beyond that period, the company is permitted to recover the outstanding amount using available customer resources, including Bonga Points.
"Hello Movin, Okoa Jahazi repayment period is within 5 days. If the debt is not cleared after 15 days, Bonga Points available are used to settle the debt," Safaricom said.
The clarification has brought renewed attention to how Okoa Jahazi operates. The service allows eligible Safaricom subscribers to borrow airtime or data whenever they run out of credit, with borrowing limits ranging from KSh5 to KSh1,000 depending on a customer's eligibility and usage history.
Every airtime advance attracts a 10 percent service fee, meaning customers receive the requested airtime less the applicable fee while remaining responsible for repaying the full amount advanced.
Under the terms of the service, customers are required to repay the loan within 120 hours, equivalent to five days.
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Repayment can be made through several channels, including airtime top-ups, M-Pesa, Sambaza transfers, third-party airtime purchases, direct bank top-ups, Pinless Top-up (Bamba Poa), PrePay Roaming Top-up and even Bonga Points.
Safaricom's terms further provide that any subsequent airtime top-up made by a customer with an outstanding Okoa Jahazi balance will automatically be used to offset the debt until it is fully cleared. Customers who fail to repay within the stipulated period become ineligible to access another airtime advance until the outstanding balance has been settled.
Importantly, the terms also authorize the company to recover unpaid balances using resources already available in a customer's account. These include airtime balances, call minutes and accumulated Bonga Points. Customers with overdue balances also receive reminder messages before additional recovery measures are undertaken.
Bonga Points are widely known as Safaricom's loyalty reward programme, earned through spending on voice calls, SMS, airtime and selected products and services.
Subscribers typically redeem the points for airtime, data bundles, smartphones, shopping vouchers, utility bill payments, donations and a variety of partner offers.
However, many customers may not realize that the same points can also be treated as a repayment source for outstanding Okoa Jahazi advances under the company's existing terms.
The latest clarification highlights the growing importance of understanding the terms attached to digital financial products.
As more Kenyans rely on mobile-based credit services for everyday needs, consumer experts say subscribers should pay closer attention to the conditions they accept before using such facilities.
While Okoa Jahazi offers convenient access to emergency airtime and bundles, failure to repay within the agreed period can result in unexpected deductions from customer resources, including loyalty rewards that many assume are reserved solely for redemption offers.
The incident also underscores a broader trend in Kenya's digital financial services sector, where mobile operators and lenders are increasingly relying on automated recovery mechanisms to manage unpaid balances.
For Safaricom customers, the message is clear: Bonga Points are more than just a reward, they can also become a repayment tool if an Okoa Jahazi debt remains outstanding.