MZIZI Compliance Bites

Learners have different learning styles. Visual learners will appreciate a good movie. In catering to visual learners, we have curated a list of compliance-related movies to cater to various code of conduct areas, along with their key cast members and key lessons: 1. Data Privacy: The Circle (2017) Cast : Emma Watson, Tom Hanks Key Lesson : The film explores the consequences of invasive surveillance and the importance of protecting personal data in the digital age. 2. Anti-Money Laundering (AML): The Infiltrator (2016) Cast : Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger Key Lesson: AML agents play a critical role in uncovering illegal financial activities and bringing criminals to justice. 3. Corruption: Serpico (1973) Cast : Al Pacino, John Randolph Key Lesson: This movie depicts the real-life story of Frank Serpico, highlighting the challenges of exposing corruption within law enforcement. 4. Bribery: Syriana (2005) Cast : George Clooney, Matt Damon Key Lesson: The film explores the murky world of ...

2023 is fast becoming the year of compliance teams. The year has seen new regulations and laws being promulgated.  These new laws come against a backdrop of increased pressure by the government (national and county) to raise revenue in order to finance government priorities. New laws and regulations are being rolled out, redefining new risk areas for organisations.  Organisations with national distribution system fully understand the frustrations as well as the cost implications of dealing with devolved government units as regards permits.  There are 47 counties in Kenya. The Constitution of Kenya has devolved various functions to the counties (4th Schedule) one of which relate to the implementation of specific national government policies on natural resources and environmental conservation. Nairobi City County Climate Change Management Bill, 2023. The Nairobi City County has now published its Nairobi City County Climate Change Management Bill, 2023. The Bill ...

    Introduction : The Data Protection Act, of 2019 introduced us to the era of stringent data protection regulations. To that end, the handling of personal data has become a paramount concern for individuals and organizations alike.  In this article, we explore the impact of the ruling by the ODPC in Harrison Kisaka vs. Faulu Microfinance Bank Limited, ODPC Complaint No. 0586 of 2023 where the issue concerned the release to the Complainant, of a report detailing the outcome of a reference checking process concerning the Complainant. The report led to a rescission of a job offer previously issued to the Complainant.  The bank argued that the report is private.  The ODPC disagreed with the Respondent and ordered the release of the report to the complainant. Another example of disclosable minutes/reports and the implications thereof, is illustrated by the Nigel Farage Banking Row.  In this case, Mr Farage obtained a Coutts Bank (internal) report through ...

On 12 June 2023, the leader of the Majority Party published the Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2023 with Parliament. The Bill repeals the Persons with Disabilities Act, No.14 of 2003. The Act had a large focus on physical accessibility and employment of disabled persons but had certain shortcomings particularly on enforcement of rights. The review was essential in order to take into account the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The 2023 Disabilities Bill The Bill defines persons with disability as including persons with permanent physical, mental, intellectual development or sensory impairments including visual, hearing or albinism which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others Employers shall not discriminate against a qualified person in recruitment, job application procedure, hiring, advancement and other terms, conditions and privileges. Discriminating against persons wi...

The Kenyan government launched the Gava Mkononi app this week. Against this backdrop, there are genuine concerns about steps being taken to safeguard citizen data.  Today, we review the risks associated with recycled phone numbers. Gava Mkononi and eCitizen The Kenya government has prioritised mobile phones in their digital services ambition to scale up access to government services from the current 400 to 5,000 by the end of the year. To that end, it is facilitating citizens' access to low-priced mobile phones through a local manufacturer and a leading telco. The Gava  M kononi service is an extension of the country’s eCitizen platform. The eCitizen platform uses SMS-based authentication where a single-use passcode (OTP) is sent to the subscriber's phone through a text message. Negative effects of recycled numbers More than ever, phone numbers are tied to people’s identities.  They are used to link online accounts (social media accounts, ridesharing apps, mo...

Ethics and compliance officers have to perpetually scope the environment to draw out emerging trends impacting organizations. as a result your ethics and compliance program cannot remain static and it must evolve with those emerging trends. We have identified a non-exhaustive list of 5 trends in ethics and compliance impacting business: – 1. The rise of Sustainability / ESG / Climate change reporting Sustainability reporting continues to evolve. In the past, ESG reporting was left to corporate HQ, investor relations and communications teams of regulated entities. That has changed.  With changes in legislation and ongoing litigation around ESG / Climate change matters, the risk profile of organizations on the issue has also evolved.   The Central Bank of Kenya issued guidelines to regulated entities to report on climate change matters base don the TCFD framework.    That framework has since been adopted with modifications by the International Sustainability Standards ...

A data breach occurs when an incident exposes protected information such as personal data. The breach may involve loss or theft of a customer or employee list, an unencrypted hard drive, lost thumb drive, exposed attendee list, which may be containing names, credit card numbers, national identification/passport numbers, personal images or videos, personal health information, emails, NHIF or NSSF numbers. A data breach may be intentional or accidental. A threat actor may hack your data bases or an employee may accidentally expose that information. The concern about cyber attacks is widespread, which can have a crippling impact on businesses, but the main cause of breaches remains non-cyber incidents and human error. The stakes are high if you suffer a data breach. Hundreds of data reaches have been reported around the world. In 2019, Techweez reported a Safaricom Ltd data breach perpetrated by an employee who downloaded and offered a third party personal data affecting 11.5m customers. ...