Linda Mwananchi paybill raises Sh2.2 million in 36 hours, then goes down; Sifuna alleges shutdown
Nairobi Senetor edwin Sifuna. Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
The Linda Mwananchi movement has raised Sh2,210,836.82 within one day after unveiling its official paybill number to supporters, organizers said, before the service was disrupted Wednesday.
According to an update shared on July 22, the initiative had received a total of Sh2,210,836.82 in contributions through Paybill 3033049, with supporters instructed to use their phone numbers as the account number when making donations.
The fundraising milestone comes a day after the movement officially launched the paybill. The Linda Mwananchi movement has been encouraging supporters to contribute through the paybill as part of its fundraising efforts.
Organizers said Kenyans contributed a total of Sh519,144 to the Linda Mwananchi initiative on Tuesday following a request by Nairobi Sen. Edwin Sifuna. Data released by the organizers on July 21 showed that 9,419 people had made contributions by the close of the day’s exercise.
The campaign recorded an average contribution of Sh55. The highest individual contribution stood at Sh5,000, while the smallest donation was Sh1. Contributions were received between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., a period of about 10 1/2 hours, organizers said.
The initiative uses M-Pesa Paybill number 3033049, with contributors required to use their phone number as the account number when making payments.
On Tuesday, Sifuna unveiled the paybill number for the Linda Mwananchi movement, appealing to Kenyans to contribute Sh10 each to help finance the movement’s activities and logistics.
Sifuna dismissed claims that the movement is bankrolled by wealthy sponsors. He explained that since Linda Mwananchi is yet to be registered as a political party, the fundraising account is registered under his official name.
“The critics should choose one battle. If I’m someone’s project, then I have money; why do they then say that I do not have money? They should choose one: either I have or I do not have money. Either I have a sponsor or do not have one,” Sifuna said during an interview at Mulembe FM.
“You will see my name on the paybill. The paybill number is 3033049. You will see the name E. Sifuna,” he said.
Sifuna said the movement would publicly account for funds raised and explain how they are spent, with money going to operations, service providers and logistics for rallies.
On Wednesday, the paybill service became unavailable, sparking claims of political interference.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has alleged that Safaricom PLC shut down the “Paybill ya Mwananchi” service following what he described as “orders from above”.
“Safaricom PLC wamefunga paybill ya mwananchi after ‘orders from above’,” Sifuna said in a statement shared on Facebook on July 23.
The Linda Mwananchi initiative also acknowledged that its Paybill service was unavailable, attributing the disruption to technical issues.
“We are currently experiencing technical issues with the Paybill mode of payment. We have reached out to the provider to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Kindly bear with us,” the notice read.
The notice identified the affected payment details as Paybill 3033049, with users instructed to use their phone numbers as the account number when making contributions.
Safaricom had not publicly commented on the alleged shutdown by the time of publication.
Linda Mwananchi, which translates to Protect the Citizen, was formed by a section of opposition leaders after internal disagreements within the Orange Democratic Movement. Sifuna has positioned it as a grassroots-funded movement.
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