Accra: The Supreme Court of Ghana has ruled against Vodafone Ghana Limited in a case concerning a breach of data privacy rights filed by a customer, Elorm Kwami Gorni. The court found that Vodafone Ghana allowed the registration and mobile money wallet operation of an unknown number using Gorni's Ghana Card details without his consent.
According to Ghana Web, a report by thelawplatform.online.com, Kwami Gorni pursued legal action against the telecommunications company after discovering the unauthorized use of his personal information. The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 majority decision, declared that Vodafone Ghana had violated the country's data protection laws.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Prof. Mensa-Bonsu, referenced the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), and drew insights from previous Supreme Court cases on privacy rights, including MRS ABENA POKUAA ACKAH v. AGRICUTURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK and RAPHAEL CUBAGEE v. MICHAEL YEBOAH ASARE. The decision also considered scholarly works, such as Francisca Kusi-Appiah's 'Consumer Rights and Justice in Ghana: A Legal Compass' and research on mobile money security by James Whisker and Mark Eshwar Lokanan.
One of the judges, Justice Yonny Kulendi, emphasized the company's failure to implement basic verification measures during the registration process. This oversight, according to Justice Kulendi, allowed Gorni's personal data to be misused, resulting in an unauthorized mobile money account activation, which constituted a violation of his privacy rights under Article 18 of the Constitution.
Justice Prof Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu also expressed concerns over the ease with which personal documentation could be misused for unauthorized registrations. The court ultimately awarded Kwami Gorni damages of GHS10,000 and granted the reliefs he sought.