Pemphero Mphande’s lawsuit against TNM and TNM Mpamba ignites hot debate on social media on Malawi ICT services

* Some people are able to register their phone numbers on the network under the name, ‘Pemphero Mphande’

* Without proper documentation and demanding money from people

* Amangwetu National ID yathu osamaiphwekesa (don’t underestimate the strengths of Malawi’s National ID)

* It has all the necessities in terms of security. It’s up to the data processing officers to be wise enough

* The crux will be on the ID number. They should be different and the chip should verify that

By Duncan Mlanjira

The case in which social media influencer, Pemphero Mphande, has dragged TNM and TNM Mpamba Limited to court over alleged negligence, breach of statutory duty and defamation among eight claims he is making, has ignited some hot debate on social media.

Zodiak Online quotes Mphande’s lawyer, Geofrey Taumbe of Clarkes Attorneys, as saying they have filed for damages at the Lilongwe District Registry “because some people are able to register their phone numbers on the network under the name, ‘Pemphero Mphande’ without proper documentation and demanding money from people”.

The summons give the two defendants 28 days to honour the claim or contest the matter.

In response, information & communication technology (ICT) expert, Wisely Phiri, founder of SPARC Systems — one of Malawi’s top ICT solutions provider — opined that “this will be an interesting case to follow”, and asks from a technical perspective: “What if those accused of registering their phone numbers with the accuser’s name used IDs bearing the same name when registering?

“This is where the chip on the National ID would come in handy to verify the rightful owner of the name and per the bio data on the chip.

“Amangwetu National ID yathu osamaiphwekesa (don’t underestimate the strengths of Malawi’s National ID). It has all the necessities in terms of security. It’s up to the data processing officers to be wise enough.”

He added that this would be an interesting case for the ICT community to watch out for — especially the ICT Association of Malawi (ICTAM).

Mwayi Noel Jolly Banda chipped in to say: “I hope the technical aspects of it will be fully appreciated by the parties and the court up to full trial. It will form a very good precedent”, while Schulbz van Ngoleka said: “The crux will be on the ID number. They should be different and the chip should verify that.”

Ka Na Nga alluded that “the problem with Mpamba is that after making SIM card registration and you want to open a Mpamba account, it does not automatically catch the name of the ID — it needs you to write any name to be used for Mpamba account.

“You can even try to do it and put in a different name from that of the ID it will pass the registration. I sensed it in 2020 where I registered a new SIM card to access the network, then when I tried to open my Mpamba account, I tried to put my daughter’s name it passed.

“I knew it will one day be a big story. It will be an interesting case to follow indeed,” said Ka Na Nga, to which Wisely Phiri responded to say: “That will be a great loophole to be exposed. This is a case to be followed when it comes to data processing and cyber security. We will surely learn something on enhancing data processing  and cyber security in Malawi and Africa as a whole.”

Bernard Katiniche Mbewe joined in to say Pemphero Mphande’s case “is a stark reminder of how far Malawi is from achieving its full potential in terms of technological advancement. The government’s lack of trust in technology has led to a situation where the National Registration Bureau is not being integrated with other critical organizations, such as the police, immigration, road traffic and safety service, and the loans board.

“Furthermore, the government has failed to recognize the importance of the National ID, which is essential for the successful implementation of technological solutions. This lack of understanding has resulted in a situation where the Minister of Technology is computer illiterate and unable to follow the latest trends.

“It is clear that strong leadership is needed in order to make the necessary reforms and ensure that Malawi is able to take full advantage of the technological advancements available today.

“The government must take the initiative to ensure that the nation is able to reap the full benefits of the digital age, this indeed is going to be an interesting case.”

Amoss Robert was of the opinion that “both sides have equal chance of winning the case and this case will require substantiative evidence to defend their standing. Otherwise a very nice case worth following”, with   Ackim Kuyokwa agreeing that it will really be an interesting case to follow, saying he wished it would go to full trial.

Innocent Zulu observed that Malawi seems not ready to embrace  “National ICT authority for enterprise planning. You are happy with e-government that is by law impotent. Enterprise planning and enforcement of standards in ICT sector is a problem. You are happy with ujeni ursuping those functions, playing and refereeing, for political expediency.”

To which Wisely Phiri responded to say: “In Malawi, our problem has never been policies. It has always been implementation of those polices. We can have MITA but as long as we operate the same way it will change nothing. It will be another case of ESCOM unbundling, featuring EGENCO.”

But Zulu said he had a different view point, saying ESCOM and EGENCO “are licencees, one with license for generation and the other with transmission, distribution and systems coordinator while MERA remains the regulator.

“Through MITA, we would emforce standards in system development and even implement an enterprise bus that would securely smoothen  data sharing between national registration system and all other systems — mobile network operators, tax system etc.”

Thom Lu was of the option that “Pemphero Mphande can’t win this one honestly. What if the people registering the name Pemphero Mphande through the ID really bears the name Pemphero Mphande. He is not the only Pemphero Mphande after all.”

To which Simeon K. Chisambiro II said in the country’s national ID registry, “there are lots of similar names, since in Malawi we have very few unique names. However,mthe filter is on the date of birth, and picture captured.

“I would have advised the claimant to first get the information from TNM, the registered number, scanned ID used to register, then go to report to police because TNM doesn’t register National ID cards — my opinion!”

Luciano Mickman responded to say: “That is just far. The simple question is, is he the only Pemphero Mphande in Malawi?” While Mandanda Malikhwa said: “TNM will win this one because the one getting money from other people has the same name.”

Meanwhile, in State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Friday, President Lazarus Chakwera reported developments under the justice sector that relate to electoral justice, which include the successful re-demarcation of constituency boundaries, the passage of legislative reforms three months ago, and the commencement of the Electoral Commission’s planned relocation of its Headquarters from Blantyre to Lilongwe.

He said: “Additionally, to avoid the risk of disenfranchising citizens from enjoying their right to vote, the Electoral Commission is working with the National Registration Bureau to remove the restriction of an expiry date on National ID cards, which will also save Government the billions that would be needed to renew the cards that have already expired over the past two years.”