The Communication Commission of Kenya has said it will not extend the set deadline for  switching off counterfeit mobile phones in the country. The regulator has set the deadline at 30th September 2012, after which all counterfeit mobile phones on Kenyan networks will be switched off.

Speaking over the weekend, CCK acting Director General Francis Wangusi said the commission will not extend the switch off deadline as it has carried out sufficient campaigns to inform the public about the exercise. Sections of the media had reported that CCK could extend the deadline or call off the exercise again. The exercise has been postponed twice before and Wangusi says the commission has all machinery set to switch off phones.

Last month, Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) said it was planning to take mobile operators to court in a bid to stop them from switching off counterfeit handsets. Stephen Mutoro, the secretary-general of Cofek said that the procedure taken to deal with the counterfeit phones had omissions and that the consumer watchdog was contesting the move based on the procedure which goes against consumers’ constitutional rights.

According to CCK the exercisewill affect approximately 3 million mobile phone users who are currently using fake phones.