Kenyans who rely on M-Shwari for their daily financial transactions are growing increasingly restless as the mobile saving and loan service remains unreliable, despite Safaricom’s earlier assurance that the issue had been fixed.
For many, the past two days have been a nightmare deposits have disappeared, withdrawals have failed, and access to funds remains impossible.
What was initially described as a “technical glitch” has now turned into a full-blown customer outrage, with frustration boiling over on social media.
Since Thursday evening, when the outage began, users have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to vent their anger and demand accountability.
Safaricom’s feed is filled with hundreds of messages from aggrieved customers, many of whom say they have money stuck in their accounts.
One frustrated user wrote, “Hey Safaricom, I deposited money into my M-Shwari account yesterday and it’s still not showing up.” Another added, “You said the problem was fixed this morning, but I still can’t access my funds. What’s going on?”
These sentiments capture the growing sense of betrayal from a brand that millions of Kenyans have trusted for years.
Safaricom’s customer service team has been responding to individual complaints, but the answers have offered little reassurance.
“We most sincerely apologise for the experience. We have noted the issue affecting M-Shwari. Please bear with us as we work to restore normalcy,” one message read. When asked about when services would resume, the company admitted it had no clear timeline, only promising to update users once the matter was resolved.
Earlier on Friday morning, Safaricom had issued a confident statement saying the issue had been resolved and that reconciliation was underway to ensure all transactions appeared correctly.
However, by evening, that promise appeared hollow as users continued to report failed transactions and missing balances.
For a service as widely used as M-Shwari a partnership between Safaricom and NCBA Bank that allows millions to save, borrow, and manage money through M-Pesa the disruption has caused real pain.
Many Kenyans depend on the platform for school fees, business operations, and emergencies, making the outage more than just an inconvenience.
The delay in restoring services and the conflicting messages from Safaricom have sparked calls for greater transparency and accountability from the telecom giant.
Customers are demanding not just answers but action proof that Safaricom still values the trust it built with its users. For now, however, millions remain locked out of their own money, waiting for the country’s most powerful network to get its act together.
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