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Airtelmay be sued for cheating its subscribers, according to a letter submitted by complainants on 26 October 2016

One of Sierra Leone’s leading mobile phone operators has been accused of illegally imposing charges on its subscribers through unsolicited promotional materials. The company is also accused by some of its subscribers of engaging in illegal activities designed to cut their credits.

A local thinktank called Native Consortium and Research Center is leading the battle against the telecom giant. Following repeated meetings, some of which involved the telecom regulator, NATCOM, it has, in an open letter, warned that it would file a lawsuit if Airtel does not meet its demands.

The thinktank wants Airtel to compensate its subscribers for subjecting them to years of so-called 'cheating'. Among others, it is demanding that Airtel gives one week of free calls to all its subscribers and is demanding that they issue out a timeline to fix its accused issues.

The thinktank has said that 'it has hired the services of ten lawyers to represent it in the event that the Airtel fails to meet its demands contained in its final warning letter.'

It is not clear how long the process should take. Furthermore, the Native Consortium has not released any details on an expected time frame. Those affected by the scandal are to have little information on the case until Native Consortium files a legal battle. 

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