Kenyan Influencer Awards 2026

KENYAN INFLUENCER AWARDS (KIA)

KIA respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal data when you use kiaawards.com and our related voting, payment and social media channels (the "Platform"), or take part in the Kenyan Influencer Awards and our events. It is issued in accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya and the Data Protection Act, 2019 (the "Act") and its Regulations. Terms defined in our Terms and Conditions have the same meaning in this Privacy Policy.

1. Who we are

1.1 The data controller is [REGISTERED LEGAL ENTITY NAME], trading as the Kenyan Influencer Awards ("KIA", "we", "us" or "our"), of [PHYSICAL AND POSTAL ADDRESS].

1.2 KIA is registered with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner as a data controller under registration number [ODPC REGISTRATION NUMBER].

1.3 For any question or request about your personal data, contact our Data Protection Officer at [PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS] or [PHONE NUMBER].

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to website visitors, Voters, Nominators, Nominees (and the parents or guardians of Nominees under 18), event guests and ticket holders, representatives of Partners and Sponsors, and anyone who contacts us.

3. Personal data we collect

4. How we collect personal data

We collect personal data:

directly from you, when you vote, submit or accept a nomination, buy a ticket, attend an event or contact us;
from our Voting Partner and Payment Providers, who confirm payments and provide the transaction details described in clause 3;
from Nominators, who submit information about Nominees;
from public sources, such as public social media profiles and publicly available content, which we review to identify, verify and assess Nominees, as permitted by the Act where a person has deliberately made the data public; and
automatically, through cookies and similar technologies, as described in clause 10.

5. Purposes and lawful basis for processing

We process personal data only where the Act permits. The table below sets out our purposes and the lawful basis for each.

Purpose

Lawful basis

Processing Votes and payments, issuing confirmations and recording results

Performance of a contract with you

Managing nominations, Nominee profiles and judging, and announcing results

Performance of a contract; our legitimate interest in running a fair and credible awards programme

Publishing Nominee names, photographs, profiles, vote counts and results

Performance of a contract; consent given on acceptance of the nomination

Detecting and preventing vote fraud, payment fraud, chargebacks and misuse

Legitimate interests; compliance with legal obligations

Keeping financial and tax records

Compliance with legal obligations, including under the Tax Procedures Act, 2015

Managing events, tickets, guest lists and security

Performance of a contract; legitimate interests

Photographing and filming events to report on and promote the Awards

Legitimate interests; consent where required

Delivering prizes, including sharing winners' details with the Partner providing the prize

Performance of a contract

Sending news, updates and marketing communications

Consent, which you may withdraw at any time

Improving the Platform through analytics

Consent for non-essential cookies; legitimate interests

Responding to enquiries, complaints and legal claims

Legitimate interests; compliance with legal obligations

Processing personal data of persons under 18

Consent of a parent or legal guardian, in the best interests of the child

6. Information made public

6.1 Nominees. A Nominee's name or stage name, photograph, category, biography, social media handles, vote counts or rankings, and results may be published on the Platform, on social media, on posters and in the media, as described in clause 5.2 of our Terms and Conditions.

6.2 Voters. We do not publish who voted for which Nominee. Vote totals are published in aggregate only.

6.3 Event guests. You may appear in photographs and videos of our events that we publish.

7. Children

7.1 Persons under 18 may not vote, make payments or submit nominations on the Platform.

7.2 Where a child is nominated, takes part in the Awards or attends an event, we process the child's personal data only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, only to the extent necessary, and in a manner that protects and advances the rights and best interests of the child, as required by section 33 of the Act. We may take reasonable steps to verify age and parental consent.

7.3 If we become aware that we hold a child's personal data without valid consent, we will obtain consent or delete the data without delay. Parents and guardians may contact us at any time to access, correct or delete their child's personal data.

8. Sharing of personal data

8.1 We do not sell personal data. We share personal data only with:

our Voting Partner, Vockte Africa Ltd, which operates the voting, ticketing and payment system on our behalf under a written agreement requiring it to protect personal data and process it only on our instructions;
Payment Providers, such as mobile money operators, card payment gateways and banks, which process payments in accordance with their own privacy policies and legal obligations;
service providers who help us operate the Platform and our events, such as website developers and hosts, cloud storage, email and SMS providers, photographers and event security, each of whom is bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations;
judges, who receive Nominee information for the purpose of the merit review;
Partners and Sponsors, only to the extent necessary to deliver a prize or package to a winner, or with your consent;
professional advisers, such as auditors, accountants and advocates;
public authorities, such as the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, the Kenya Revenue Authority, law enforcement agencies and courts, where required by law or where necessary to prevent fraud or to protect the rights, property or safety of KIA, our users or others; and
a successor organiser of the Awards, in the event of a reorganisation, transfer or merger, subject to this Privacy Policy.

9. Transfers outside Kenya

Some of our service providers, such as cloud hosting, email and analytics providers, may store or process personal data outside Kenya. We transfer personal data outside Kenya only in accordance with sections 48 to 50 of the Act, namely where appropriate safeguards are in place, where the destination country provides an adequate level of data protection, where you have consented, or where the transfer is otherwise permitted by law.

10. Cookies

10.1 We use essential cookies that are necessary for the Platform to function, including to keep the voting process secure.

10.2 With your consent, we also use analytics cookies to understand how the Platform is used and marketing cookies to measure the performance of our campaigns.

10.3 You can accept or reject non-essential cookies through our cookie banner and change your choice at any time. You can also block cookies through your browser settings, although some parts of the Platform may then not function properly.

11. Marketing communications

We send marketing emails or SMS messages about KIA, future editions, events or our Partners only where you have opted in. You may opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in an email, replying "STOP" to an SMS, or contacting us. Opting out does not affect service messages, such as Vote and payment confirmations.

12. Fraud prevention and automated decision-making

12.1 To protect the fairness of voting, KIA and our Voting Partner use automated tools that flag unusual voting or payment activity, such as unusually high volumes from a single phone number or device.

12.2 Flagged activity is reviewed by a person before any Votes are voided or any Nominee is disqualified. Under section 35 of the Act, you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that significantly affects you, and you may request human review of any such decision.

13. Retention of personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, tax and accounting requirements.

Personal data

Retention period

Vote and payment records

At least five (5) years, as required for tax and accounting purposes, after which the data is deleted or anonymised. Aggregate vote totals may be retained indefinitely.

Nominee profiles and publicity materials

For the duration of the relevant edition and the publicity period in our Terms and Conditions. Basic records of nominees and winners (name, category and result) may be retained indefinitely as part of the history of the Awards.

Nominations not accepted

Up to twelve (12) months after the end of the relevant edition.

Event photographs and videos

Retained in the KIA archive for reporting and historical purposes.

Event guest lists and ticket data

Up to twelve (12) months after the event, unless required for tax records.

Marketing contact lists

Until you opt out or withdraw your consent.

Analytics data

Up to twenty-four (24) months.

Complaints, disputes and fraud investigations

For as long as necessary to resolve them and for the period within which legal claims may be brought.

When personal data is no longer required, we delete it securely or anonymise it.

14. Security

14.1 We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections, access controls, restricting access to personnel and service providers who need it, confidentiality obligations, and requiring our Voting Partner and Payment Providers to maintain appropriate security standards.

14.2 No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Where a personal data breach creates a real risk of harm, we will notify the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner within seventy-two (72) hours of becoming aware of it, and will notify affected persons where required, in accordance with section 43 of the Act.

15. Your rights

15.1 Under the Act, you have the right to:

be informed of the use of your personal data;
access personal data we hold about you;
object to the processing of all or part of your personal data, including for direct marketing;
have false or misleading personal data corrected;
have personal data deleted where it is no longer necessary or has been unlawfully processed;
withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing carried out before the withdrawal;
data portability, meaning to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format; and
not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that significantly affects you.

15.2 To exercise any of these rights, email [PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS]. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. We will respond within the timelines set by the Act and the Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021, free of charge unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

15.3 Some rights are subject to legal limits. For example, we may be required to keep Vote and payment records for tax and fraud-prevention purposes even if you request their deletion, and Votes already counted cannot be removed from the official tally. A Nominee who requests removal will be withdrawn from the Awards, but material already published or printed may not be capable of recall.

16. Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (www.odpc.go.ke).

17. Third-party websites

The Platform contains links to third-party websites, including payment pages, social media platforms and Partner websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on the Platform with its "Last updated" date. Where we make significant changes, we will give notice on the Platform and, where appropriate, by email or SMS.

19. Contact us

Kenyan Influencer Awards (KIA)

[REGISTERED LEGAL ENTITY NAME]

[PHYSICAL ADDRESS], Nairobi, Kenya

[POSTAL ADDRESS]

Data Protection Officer: [PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS]

Phone: [PHONE NUMBER]

Website: www.kiaawards.com