Bolt Operations (OU) has suffered a major setback after being ordered to compensate a driver who complained against them Ksh1,008,000 for unfair removal from its system.
The Transport Licensing Appeals Board (TLAB) has ruled that the driver Kennedy Wainaina Mbugua be immediately compensated the amount for the 168 days he has been out of work from May 15 to October 31, 2023.
The compensation is at the rate of Ksh6,000 per day.
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Mbugua is a Transport Network Driver, duly registered in Kenya under the National Transport and Safety Authority (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations 2022, according to TLAB, and has been offering transport network services through the platform of the Bolt.
In a Judgement rendered by chairperson TLAB Adrian Kamotho concurred with the Mbugua argument that his data privacy on Bolt’s platform and the decision of NTSA to license Bolt as a transport network company, having not met and or breached the requirements set out in the NTSA regulations.
"We find that the appellant (Mbugua) has adequately discharged his burden to the requisite legal threshold. It is our considered view that Bolt Operations has failed to comply and or prove compliance with the law including various requirements of the National Transport and Safety Authority (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations, 2022," Kamotho-led tribunal ruled.
The Tribunal directed Bolt to, within 48 hours, file with the Tribunal a compliance matrix in the terms of Regulation 7 of the NTSA Regulations which shall be duly verified by NTSA.
Bolt Operations was also ordered to immediately restore the status prevailing as of May 31, 2023, with regard to Mbugua’s rights to its transport network platform; immediately refund him the full amount cashed out from his transport network platform on May 17, 2023; and also compensate him Ksh1.008 million.
In the event of any failure to comply with four orders, the Board ruled that Bolt Operations licence be suspended with effect from November 3, 2023, and the firm shall forthwith cease transport network operations.
Mbugua filed a Memorandum of Appeal dated May 18, 2023, claiming that Bolt has not met and or has breached the requirements for licensing a transport network company since it has no physical office.
Further, it has no local contacts for complaints and as of May 2023 it only had a London telephone number on its platform.
Mbugua further claimed that Bolt was in breach of drivers’ privacy, harassed drivers on its platform, did not comply with the applicable transport network regulations, and exposed drivers to cybercrime and fraud-related risks.
The TLAB’s effort to find out from Bolt if indeed it has a physical office in Kenya or if indeed it has complied with the requirements questioned by Mbugua 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 non-responsiveness by the Respondents, the position asserted by the Appellant largely remains uncontroverted,” the ruling reads.
Regulation 8 of the NTSA Regulations 2022 dictates that when making licensing decisions, NTSA is to make consideration to legal compliance and the public interest.
“It is an inherent duty upon any Transport Network Operator to put in place systems and mechanisms to ensure the security, protection and privacy of both drivers and passengers,” the Board ruled.
However, when Mbugua complained, instead of resolving the issue, Bolt retaliated punitively, by deactivating Mbugua's transport network portal account without following the imperatives of natural justice and the attendant procedural requirements.
The regulations require such transport network operators to put in place elaborate activation and deactivation procedures which meet the constitutional requirements of Article 47 of the Constitution as read together with Section 4 of the Fair Administrative Action Act 2015.
“In deactivating the account of the Applicant the 2nd Respondent acted capriciously and with impunity,” the Board ruled.
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 as per the regulations, including failure to comply with any of the provisions of these regulations.
With regard to the issue of violation of privacy and data breach, the Board however ruled that Mbugua should approach the Office of the Data Commission for redress.
At the same time, the NTSA has also renewed the operating licence of the Bolt, effectively allowing it to conduct its transport activities in the country.
The licence had earlier been denied after NTSA informed Bolt to address some concerns regarding drivers.
