Terms of Use
Effective Date: February 13, 2026 • Last Updated: February 13, 2026
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using Kitsiso (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.
Kitsiso is operated by Kitsiso (Pty) Ltd ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), a registered company in Botswana.
2. Description of Service
Kitsiso is a community notification platform that provides:
- Disruption Alerts: Real-time notifications about water, electricity, and road work disruptions via SMS, WhatsApp, and email
- Community Forums: Location-based discussion boards for community engagement
- Outage Sharing: Ability to share disruption information with others
- Subscription Plans: Free, Paid (50 Pula/month), and Business (500 Pula/month) tiers
3. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old to use Kitsiso. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement.
4. Account Registration
4.1 Phone Number Verification
- You must register with a valid Botswana phone number (+267)
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your OTP codes
- You agree to accept responsibility for all activities under your account
4.2 Account Security
- You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account
- We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms
5. Subscription Plans and Payment
5.1 Subscription Tiers
| Tier | Price | Duration | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 Pula | Forever | 5 SMS/month, 5 WhatsApp/month, 1 location, read-only forum |
| Paid | 50 Pula | 30 days | 30 SMS/month, 100 WhatsApp/month, 100 emails/month, 3 locations, full forum access |
| Business | 500 Pula | 30 days | Unlimited notifications, unlimited locations, API access |
5.2 Payment Terms
- Payment Method: Orange Money via USSD (*155#)
- Manual Renewal: Subscriptions do not auto-renew; you must manually renew before expiry
- Renewal Reminders: We send SMS reminders at 3 days, 1 day, and day-of expiry
- No Grace Period: Subscriptions expire immediately; you will be downgraded to Free tier
- No Refunds: All payments are non-refundable unless required by law
5.3 Orange Money Authorization
By subscribing via Orange Money, you authorize:
- Kitsiso to initiate payment requests via Orange Money
- Orange Botswana to process payments on our behalf
- Storage of transaction IDs for reconciliation (we do not store your Orange Money PIN or account balance)
5.4 Failed Payments
If payment fails:
- Your subscription will not be activated/renewed
- You will remain on or be downgraded to the Free tier
- You may retry payment via *155# at any time
6. Notification Quotas
6.1 Monthly Limits
Each tier has monthly notification limits (see §5.1). Limits reset on the same day each month (30 days from subscription start).
6.2 Quota Exceeded
If you exceed your quota:
- Additional notifications will be queued but not sent until next billing cycle
- You may upgrade to a higher tier to send queued notifications immediately
7. User Conduct
You agree NOT to:
- Abuse the Service: Spam, flood, or overload our systems
- Post Harmful Content: Hate speech, threats, harassment, misinformation, or illegal content
- Impersonate Others: Pretend to be another person or entity
- Share Login Credentials: Allow others to use your account
- Scrape Data: Use automated tools to extract data from the Service
- Interfere with Service: Disrupt, hack, or reverse-engineer our systems
8. Content Moderation
8.1 User-Generated Content
You retain ownership of content you post in forums, but grant us a license to display, distribute, and moderate it.
8.2 Our Rights
We reserve the right to:
- Remove content that violates these Terms or Botswana law
- Suspend or terminate accounts for repeated violations
- Monitor public forum posts for safety and compliance
8.3 Reporting Violations
Report inappropriate content to report@kitsiso.co.bw
9. Disruption Alerts
9.1 Data Sources
We scrape disruption data from:
- Water Utilities Corporation (WUC)
- Gaborone City Council (GCC)
- Botswana Power Corporation (BPC)
9.2 Accuracy Disclaimer
⚠️ IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR TIMELINESS OF DISRUPTION ALERTS.
- Alerts are based on publicly available data from third-party sources
- We are not responsible for errors, delays, or omissions in source data
- Always verify critical information with official utility providers
9.3 No Liability for Missed Alerts
We are not liable for:
- Missed alerts due to network outages, SMS delivery failures, or technical issues
- Damages resulting from reliance on alert information
- Delays in scraping or publishing alerts
10. Intellectual Property
10.1 Our Rights
The Service, including its design, logos, code, and content (excluding user-generated content), is owned by Kitsiso and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
10.2 Limited License
We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes.
10.3 Restrictions
You may not:
- Copy, modify, or distribute our content without permission
- Use our trademarks without written consent
- Create derivative works based on the Service
11. Third-Party Services
11.1 WhatsApp
WhatsApp notifications are subject to Meta's Terms of Service. We are not responsible for WhatsApp service interruptions or policy changes.
11.2 Orange Money
Orange Money payments are subject to Orange Botswana's terms. We are not responsible for payment processing delays or failures on Orange's side.
11.3 AWS Services
We use AWS for hosting (RDS, SNS, SES). Service uptime is subject to AWS SLAs.
12. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY BOTSWANA LAW:
- AS-IS Service: The Service is provided 'AS IS' and 'AS AVAILABLE' without warranties of any kind
- No Consequential Damages: We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
- Liability Cap: Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us in the past 12 months (maximum 6,000 Pula for annual Business subscribers)
13. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Kitsiso, its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from:
- Your violation of these Terms
- Your violation of any law or third-party rights
- Your use of the Service
14. Termination
14.1 By You
You may terminate your account at any time by contacting support@kitsiso.co.bw. No refunds will be issued for unused subscription time.
14.2 By Us
We may suspend or terminate your account immediately if:
- You violate these Terms
- You engage in fraudulent activity
- Required by law or court order
14.3 Effect of Termination
Upon termination:
- Your access to the Service will be revoked
- Your data will be deleted within 30 days (except as required by law)
- You remain liable for any unpaid fees
15. Dispute Resolution
15.1 Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of Botswana.
15.2 Arbitration
Any disputes shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes shall be submitted to arbitration under the Arbitration Act of Botswana.
15.3 Jurisdiction
If arbitration is unavailable, disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Gaborone, Botswana.
16. Changes to Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via:
- Email notification
- In-app notification
- Prominent notice on our website
Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
17. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect.
18. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Kitsiso regarding the Service.
19. Contact Us
For questions about these Terms:
Email: support@kitsiso.co.bw
Legal Inquiries: legal@kitsiso.co.bw
Mailing Address:
Kitsiso
P.O. Box [TBD]
Gaborone, Botswana
Company Registration: [Registration Number TBD]
VAT Number: [VAT Number TBD]
Version: 1.0 • Document ID: KTS-TERMS-2026-02-13
📝 Acknowledgment
By clicking "I Accept" or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.