A former employee of the National Savings and Credit Bank (NATSAVE) has been awarded damages by the Lusaka High Court after successfully suing the bank for continuing to send him unsolicited text messages following the termination of his employment.
The banker had been employed by NATSAVE as a Treasury Manager. During his tenure, the bank used his personal mobile phone number to register and operate a bank account with Indo Zambia Bank. As a result, all authorization and transaction-related messages from Indo Zambia Bank were sent to his personal phone.
In 2023, the banker’s contract came to an end and he left the institution. Upon his exit, he formally notified NATSAVE and requested that his phone number be removed from all signatory and authorization arrangements with Indo Zambia Bank.
Despite this notification, months passed and the former employee continued to receive bank-related messages on his phone. He wrote to NATSAVE complaining that the messages were unwanted and disruptive, and again requested that his phone number be removed from the bank’s records. The bank, however, did not act on his request.
As a result, the former banker sued NATSAVE in the Lusaka High Court for trespass to his phone and sought K1.5 million in damages. During the proceedings, the bank did not call any witnesses but instead raised a point of law, arguing that trespass could only apply to land or physical property (chattels) and not to messages sent to a phone.
After hearing submissions from both parties, the Court noted that the matter was novel, as trespass claims had traditionally related to land or physical interference with property. However, the Court held that a valid claim should not fail solely because there was no physical damage or direct physical interference.
