Editor's Review

The integration reports gained traction after Safaricom encountered a hitch affecting M-Pesa transactions.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has debunked claims that its systems have been integrated with M-Pesa.

In a statement, the taxman refuted the claims which were shared on various social media platforms on Tuesday, January 9.

The integration reports gained traction after Safaricom encountered a hitch affecting M-Pesa transactions.

The one-hour-long downtime left thousands stranded especially those who use M-Pesa for every transaction.

Following the system hitch, some social media users alleged that M-Pesa was shut down to facilitate integration with KRA. The integration, others claimed it was essential in monitoring mobile transactions.

However, KRA dismissed the reports as fake and misleading to the public.

"Kindly be advised that this is fake news," the taxman's statement read in part.

File image of KRA offices. PHOTO | COURTESY

The services were later restored and the giant telecommunication company apologised to hundreds of its users who were affected.

"All M-PESA services are now available. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and thank you for your patience as we worked to restore services," Safaricom stated.

The service outage was experienced on Safaricom's M-PESA App and on the Sim Toolkit. Banks had also notified customers of the delays, urging them to exercise patience.

“MPESA is experiencing delays and is not able to accept your request. Please wait for 10 minutes before trying again," other users received this message following the downtime.