By Kadijatu Bangura, Daily Scope Newspaper
Africell Sierra Leone has launched a new Next-of-Kin Service for Afrimoney subscribers, enabling customers to designate a trusted person who can be contacted for account information if they are unable to access their wallet.
The service was officially launched on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, during an event held at the Africell Boardroom in Wilberforce, Freetown. The programme began with a welcome address by Ms. Rebecca Sankoh, after which Martison Obeng-Agyei provided an overview and formally introduced the initiative.
According to Obeng-Agyei, the service is modeled after the next-of-kin arrangements commonly required by employers. He said it is intended to provide Afrimoney customers with a formal mechanism for registering a person who can be reached in situations where the account holder is deceased, seriously ill, unable to speak, or otherwise unable to access their mobile money account.
He emphasized that the service is strictly for information purposes and does not provide for automatic transfer of funds. “The next of kin does not simply mean that if something happens to the user, whatever money was in the wallet they are going to carry it and give to the person,” he said. “Africell does not operate the service in that manner.”
Obeng-Agyei explained that any request for access to funds following the death of a subscriber would require the provision of strong evidence and must go through the company’s due process before any money can be released. He also noted that being registered as a next of kin does not, by itself, establish an automatic entitlement to funds in the deceased person’s wallet.
The Africell official urged subscribers to first update their own account information, including full name, date of birth and address, to ensure that their details are correctly saved on the Afrimoney platform. He advised customers to dial _161_8_6#, select option 8 “My Account,” and then option 6 “Activate Your Details” to complete the update.
Once personal details have been updated, subscribers will be able to register the details of their next of kin. Obeng-Agyei said each subscriber can nominate only one person, who must be at least 18 years old. The designated individual will be authorized to receive relevant account information if the subscriber is unavailable. He also cautioned customers against using the personal details of siblings or other people when registering their Afrimoney wallets.
The launch concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session during which participants raised concerns and sought further clarification on how the Next-of-Kin Service will operate.
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