Kenya: Will withstand US pressure and allow operators to continue cooperating with Huawei

Kenya will resist US pressure to prevent Safaricom from cancelling its contract with Huawei, Business Daily reported.

Kenya will not stop rolling out its 5G network amid tensions between China and the United States over Huawei, said Joe Mucheru, Kenya's cabinet secretary for ICT.

"I have not seen any documents or letters about stopping the construction of 5G networks. Even if we are asked to do so, we cannot stop. We are an independent country."

Mucheru stressed that the government does not deal with suppliers and it is up to the operators to decide who to work with.

The United States has been urging its European allies and other countries not to use equipment from Huawei, which along with Nokia is a supplier to Safaricom, citing security risks.

Safaricom said it will launch Kenya's first 5G network services this year, targeting major urban centers. The company has completed testing and trials of the 5G network, which was built by Huawei.

Analysts say the topic surrounding Huawei's participation in 5G construction may come up in negotiations between the United States and Kenya on a free trade agreement.

James Shikwati, director of IREN, said that we will face a similar situation as the UK, or be forced to cut off oil supplies. Therefore, if the UK is forced to start replacing Huawei, Kenya will also face pressure.

Kenya and the United States formally launched bilateral trade agreement negotiations on July 8, with Kenya hoping to reach an agreement with the United States before the expiration of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the United States without tariffs or quotas until 2025.

In 2019, bilateral merchandise trade between the United States and Kenya totaled 117 billion Swiss francs, up 4.9% from 2018. For Safaricom, 5G services are a core part of its efforts to further expand its data business to counter slowing growth in voice call revenue.

Safaricom aims to accelerate its data business to make up for slow growth in its mobile phone business, where revenue has slowed due to market saturation, forcing the company to turn to M-Pesa and the internet to drive revenue.