ICT in Kenya

On the night of August 10 this year, Geoffrey Kamau was mugged at Nairobi’s Githurai 44 estate. He lost, among other valuables, his Samsung SGH B130s cell phone.

It was a big blow to the man who, like other cell phone users, banks on the gadget to keep contacts of hundreds of friends, relatives and businesses, diary, reminders of anniversaries and meetings.

Luckily for him, he had Mobile Tracker, a programme by the phone company that helps track a lost cell phone to its user. His biggest challenge was dealing with the police at Kasarani police station who, he said, did not seem to know the existence of the technology that has been around since 2007.

“What left me baffled is the realisation that no police officer was aware that such a technology exists,” Mr Kamau told the Sunday Nation.

The cell phone was tracked and a suspect, who had sold it, arrested.

The persistent theft of cell phones has had players in the information and communications industry racking their brains to come up with ways to combat it.

Samsung and East Africa Data Handlers seem to have made a breakthrough in the tracking technology.

East Africa Data Handlers developed Ujanja three months ago to track stolen phones and laptops. Managing director George Njoroge said the Ujanja technology has so far helped them recover 20 stolen cell phones and four laptops.

And Samsung marketing manager Gloria Anampiu said they have been helping the police deal with crime with the technology, something that police spokesman Eric Kiraithe hailed as a positive development.

Mr Kiraithe said cell phones have been useful in helping the police track down suspects.

Computer applications

Mobile Tracker comes with the handset while Ujanja can be installed in any 3G phone. These phones have a wide range of features and an operating system that supports computer applications.

Both programmes have similar ways of tracking a stolen phone. The user activates the device on the phone and provides numbers of two persons who will be notified as soon as the stolen phone is activated. It automatically sends text messages to the two numbers.

“If your handset is stolen and someone inserts another SIM card, your specified numbers would get an SMS message containing the phone’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identifier). This should be shown to the police who may utilise the information to catch the thief,” said Ms Anampiu.

In the case of Ujanja, the SMS shows the new number, the SIM card’s serial number and the serial number of the phone being used and the location of the user.

Ujanja software is also installed in laptop computers. In the event such a computer is stolen and a new user connects to the Internet, the East Africa Data Handlers support centre is notified.

“We will see the Internet protocol address being used by the laptop, and we will know to whom that IP address belongs,” he said.

Mr Njoroge said there are some buyers who, when they notice that a handset is stolen, prefer to hand it back to the rightful owner.

The idea of developing Ujanja hit Mr Njoroge after he was carjacked on his way from the airport and lost his phone, laptop computer and other valuables.

“I was very bitter. I really felt the need to know the real identities of the robbers,” Mr Njoroge said.

A forensic computer expert, Mr Njoroge began to research on ways of tracking a stolen mobile phone and a laptop computer.

Smart or crafty

“Together with my team, we developed the application,” he said. Ujanja in Kiswahili means smart or crafty.

The annual fee for the application is Sh1,900 for a cell phone and Sh7,500 for a laptop.

The Ujanja software can be downloaded on the website www.ujanja.co.ke and is also available in retail shops across the country.

Nokia, a leading phone manufacturer, relies on the mobile service providers to track stolen phones after they are reported stolen and the serial numbers are provided. Nokia’s communication manager for East and Southern Africa Dorothy Ooko said when a handset is reported stolen, it is blacklisted on the networks’ computers and disabled.

In East Africa, Zain, Safaricom, MTN and Vodacom share the same database and track any mobile phone on request.

“We believe in the system as it is controlled by the operators in the specific country where the consumer is based. The first thing to do when you buy your mobile phone is to keep your IMEI number safely. Press *#06# to access it.”

When a phone is stolen it is the IMEI number that is used to disable it and render it useless, whether or not the SIM is changed.

By JOHN MAKENI Nation media group