Mobile phone users in Kenya are being asked to get their pictures taken and registered by mobile operators – or have their accounts suspended.

The government’s telecommunications regulatory body instructed operators to do so.

Now Kenyan activists are bringing to the High Court a lawsuit against the Kenyan Communication Authority, saying it is unconstitutional, and the government is using mobile operators to compile a database for surveillance, beyond the legal mandate of national IDs.

Some mobile operators have told users their accounts will be suspended if they do not go to a store or agent to be photographed by April 15.

Aljazeera.