You Get to Keep Your Bonga Points. Safaricom’s Expiry Policy Still on Ice

If you’ve been holding on to old Safaricom Bonga Points, you can exhale—again.

Safaricom’s attempt to bring back expiry dates for its popular loyalty programme just hit another wall. The High Court has refused to pause its earlier decision that blocked the telco from cancelling older points. That means the Safaricom Bonga Points expiry ruling—first delivered in late 2024—still stands. For now, your unused points are safe.

This legal back-and-forth started when Safaricom announced in 2022 that Bonga Points older than three years would expire starting January 2023. Customers weren’t thrilled. The backlash was loud enough that Safaricom rolled back the policy—but not before a Nakuru-based surgeon and activist, Dr. Magare Gikenyi, challenged it in court.

The case made it all the way to Justice Chacha Mwita, who ruled that the policy wasn’t just unpopular—it was unconstitutional.

“It’s not in the public interest to allow something unconstitutional to continue,” he said in this latest decision, explaining why the court won’t let Safaricom revive the policy while they wait for an appeal.

So What Does This Mean for You?

It means exactly what it sounds like: your Bonga Points, no matter how old, still belong to you.

The Safaricom Bonga Points expiry ruling made it clear that once loyalty points are earned, they’re not just perks—they’re property. That shifts how loyalty programmes are treated in Kenya. You’re not just a user of the product anymore—you’re a holder of something with actual value.

That’s a big deal. Especially when times are tough and every reward—however small—counts.

Why Safaricom Is Still Pushing Back

Safaricom argues that keeping all those old points around is expensive. In accounting terms, they count asa liability—money the company might one day owe when people redeem their rewards.

They’ve warned that if customers suddenly rush to spend their older points, it could hurt the business financially. And if Safaricom ends up winning the appeal later, there’d be no easy way to “unspend” what’s already been used.

Their solution? Pause the court decision for now, let the expiry policy return temporarily, and sort it out after the appeal.

But the court said no.

And that decision feels aligned with public sentiment. Many customers saw the expiry plan as Safaricom quietly taking back what it had already given—without much warning or choice.

Why This Ruling Feels Personal for So Many

Bonga Points aren’t just a technical detail in your Safaricom account—they’re something many Kenyans have come to rely on. Over the years, the loyalty scheme has helped people top up airtime, buy data, get essentials from partner stores, or send something small to a loved one.

During the height of COVID-19, Safaricom even encouraged users to donate their points to struggling families. That campaign—Bonga for Good—saw subscribers give away over Sh330 million worth of points. So yes, Bonga Points matter.

And that’s why the Safaricom Bonga Points expiry ruling struck such a nerve. It wasn’t just about telco policy—it was about ownership, dignity, and whether big companies should get to rewrite the rules on the fly.

What Happens Next?

Safaricom is still appealing the ruling.But unless the Court of Appeal overturns the case down the road, this High Court decision stands. And it sends a message: companies can’t promise you rewards, only to later decide they’ll expire if you don’t use them fast enough.

Until that changes, your points are yours to keep. So whether you’re saving up for data, airtime, or something special at the supermarket—you’re not racing a deadline anymore.

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