Nairobi, March 10 -- Consumers bought 3.78 million more mobile phones in the six months that ended December 2022 compared to a similar period a year earlier, defying the introduction of excise tax that made the gadgets costlier.

Industry data from the Communications Authority (CA) shows that 63.36 million mobile phones were in use in the period, a 6.3 percent rise from 59.58 million in the six months that ended in December 2021.

The rise comes despite the introduction of a 10 percent excise tax on all imported mobile phones from July 1, 2022, a levy that made the phones costlier and was anticipated to depress demand, especially for smartphones.

"The trend indicates an increasing demand and uptake of smartphones mainly driven by demand ...