Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Authority (RURA), yesterday, announced that it had banned the importation and distribution of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on the Rwanda market.
In a statement, RURA acting director-general Patrick Nyirishema said the move was due to safety reasons and urged consumers who may have individually bought them abroad to power them down and return them to sellers.
“For safety reasons, consumers who may have individually bought them abroad are required to power them down and return them to where they were purchased,” the statement reads in part.
Speaking to The New Times, Nyirishema said that, to their knowledge, there were no Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on the market as RURA had not yet approved retail of the phone.
“Prior to the sales of any new phones in the market, we have to approve them after ensuring they meet required standards. Since these phones had been found to be faulty, we had not yet approved their resale,” he said.
However, Nyirishema added that individuals could have bought the phones abroad and brought them into the country.
For such instances, he asked them to put them off and find ways to return them to sellers.
In most instances, such phones come with a warranty that guarantees buyers a refund in the event of a recall. The phone was produced by South Korean electronics giants, Samsung Electronics.
The manufacturer on Tuesday scrapped the phone off their list of products barely two months after its debut in the market.
The firm announced that it was recalling about 2.5 million phones amid reports of the phones catching fire while charging.
Globally, there have been numerous incidents of the phones exploding during charging causing them to be banned by most airlines and a section of accommodation providers.
So far, there were no such cases reported in Rwanda.
Last month, RwandAir prohibited the troublesome mobile phones on its flights.
RwandAir had said that the move was a safety measure after Samsung recalled the phone.
Tech enthusiasts say that this could dent the reputation of the phone manufacturer and give its competitor, iPhone, an edge in the global market.
The New Times
UM– USEKE.RW
