Kenyan court orders Safaricom to pay software developer $10.8 million in M-Pesa copyright case

A Kenyan High Court ruling on May 8, 2026, has placed Safaricom’s M-Pesa platform under renewed legal and financial scrutiny after ordering the telecom operator to pay software developer Peter Nthei Muoki Ksh1.4 billion ($10.8 million ) for copyright infringement linked to a child-focused mobile money feature.

The court also went further, directing Safaricom and Beluga Limited to pay Muoki 0.5 percent of gross annual M-Pesa revenue each financial year starting March 31, 2025. The ongoing payment applies as long as the company continues to operate its Manage Child Account service, the M-Pesa Go product, or any similar parent-controlled wallet system.

Proposed M-Teen concept contested

At the heart of the dispute is Muoki’s claim that Safaricom used his original concept without permission. He told the court he developed a system he called the “M-Teen Account,” designed as a sub-wallet for teenagers and young users aged 13 to 24. The idea, according to his filings, allowed parents to monitor and manage spending through a controlled mobile wallet structure.

Muoki said he presented the proposal to Safaricom in March 2021 but was told the idea could not be implemented at the time due to regulatory concerns, including identity verification requirements and oversight issues involving the Central Bank of Kenya.

He maintained that while the proposal was set aside, Safaricom later indicated it was considering a similar product direction. Months later, he told the court, he discovered Safaricom had begun testing a closely related feature under a different name. He argued that the Manage Child Account system and related tools mirrored his original M-Teen Mobile Wallet concept.

Muoki concept qualifies literary work

Safaricom rejected the claims, arguing the idea was not original and saying it had already begun developing a parent-child control feature in 2020 through a contract with Huawei. The company said the work was prompted by concerns about minors accessing betting platforms.

Huawei, however, denied any knowledge of Muoki’s proposal and said it independently began working on similar functionality in September 2020. In its ruling, the court dismissed Safaricom’s reliance on external direction, noting that it was not for the Central Bank of Kenya governor to guide private companies on product design. The judge also questioned the lack of documented instructions behind the development of a commercially significant service.

The court found that Muoki’s concept qualified as a protected literary work under Kenyan copyright law and noted that it had been sufficiently documented and registered with the Kenya Copyright Board. On damages, the court said one percent of Safaricom’s M-Pesa revenue for the 2024 financial year provided a reasonable benchmark, as it represented the first full year the disputed feature was in operation.

Court recognizes minors’ transaction usage

While acknowledging the scale of Safaricom’s mobile money business, the court said the award reflected the role of M-Pesa transaction fees in generating steady income across millions of users, including minors under the contested system.

The judge declined to issue a permanent injunction that would have halted the service, citing the disruption such a move could cause for users who rely on M-Pesa for daily transactions. Instead, the court allowed the service to continue.

However, it granted Safaricom a 30-day suspension of the ruling, giving the company time to appeal. That window leaves the dispute unresolved for now, even as the judgment marks a significant development for both Safaricom’s flagship mobile money platform and a developer whose idea has now become central to one of its most closely watched legal battles.