A Kenyan man, Kithinji Muriungi, has posted a nearly 10-minute YouTube video (linked at the bottom) accusing Safaricom of restricting access to his M-PESA account on the very day his Ziidi MMF funds, allegedly worth over KES 1 million, matured.
In the video, Muriungi expresses frustration over what he describes as a two-week ordeal trying to regain access to his account. According to him, the issue began shortly after he “unlocked” his Ziidi Invest & Save (MMF) funds in preparation for withdrawal. He claims that on the same day the funds were due to mature, his M-PESA access was restricted.
Techish Kenya cannot independently verify these claims. And Safaricom has also not publicly commented on this specific case at the time of publication.
“Activate your account,” but it’s already active?
One of the most confusing aspects of Muriungi’s complaint is a message allegedly prompting him to “activate” his M-PESA account, even though his SIM card and line appear to be fully functional.
In the video, he demonstrates that:
- His Safaricom line is active and working.
- He is roaming, connected via T-Mobile, suggesting he is currently outside Kenya.
- He can access the M-PESA app interface and view past transactions.
- However, his account access is marked as restricted, preventing him from checking balances or transacting.
He questions how an account can be frozen while still appearing active on the SIM Toolkit and app level, and why he would be asked to activate an account that, in his view, is already active.
Muriungi, who says he previously interned at Safaricom and has technical knowledge of GSM and M-PESA identity layers, argues that the issue appears to be happening at a backend M-PESA identity level rather than at the SIM or GSM layer. He insists his SIM was never swapped or deactivated.
A possible link to recent Ziidi MMF disruptions?
The timing of the complaint is notable.
Earlier this week, we reported that Safaricom acknowledged an issue preventing some Ziidi MMF users from accessing their funds. The company said at the time:
“We are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it promptly. Our sincere apologies for inconveniences caused.”
That incident appeared to be a system outage affecting multiple users during what looked like deployment or synchronization issues tied to Safaricom’s Ziidi Trader launch.
Could Muriungi’s case be a related but more severe version of the same backend problem? It’s difficult to say. His situation appears more individualized and account-specific, especially given the restriction flag and activation prompts.
If the allegations are accurate, the case raises serious questions about how M-PESA account restrictions are triggered, especially when linked to investment products like Ziidi MMF. It also highlights the added complexity when a customer is on international roaming.
For now, this remains one user’s account of events. But as Safaricom deepens its push into savings and investment products, reliability, particularly around maturity dates and withdrawals, will be critical in maintaining trust.
