The High Court has ordered Jaggy’s Kienyeji Chicken to pay KSh 50,000 to a customer, Gichunge, after finding that the restaurant unlawfully used his personal data to send unsolicited promotional messages without his consent.
The case stemmed from an incident where Gichunge purchased chicken and made payment via M-Pesa.
The restaurant later extracted his phone number from the transaction details and began sending him marketing messages, despite him not consenting to receive promotional communication.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) had initially awarded Gichunge KSh 250,000 in compensation for the violation.
However, on appeal, the High Court reduced the award to KSh 50,000, ruling that while the restaurant had indeed breached data protection rules, the circumstances did not demonstrate serious harm, repeated misuse, or disclosure of the data to third parties.
In its decision, the court emphasized that even seemingly minor infringements of personal data rights can attract legal consequences, reinforcing protections under Kenya’s data protection framework.
