US-based OTT streaming platform Roku, Econet' supplier of the Kwesé Play Service, says Econet media has essentially shut down the service.

This conflicts with a claim by Econet that it was in fact Roku that shut the service down unexpectedly.

A statement issued by Roku on Thursday 4 July reads: "Econet licenced our platform to deliver the Kwesé Play streaming service to its customers. Econet is shutting down the Kwesé Play service and is no longer working with Roku. For further information, contact Kwesé /Econet."

However, when contacted for comment, Econet tried to downplay the issue and said they were in discussion with Roku and would inform customers "in the near future."

Kwesé Play users in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Uganda received notification on their screens which read: 'Econet no longer offers Kwesé Play.'

Econet said, "The closure of the service and the message relayed on the device this morning was unexpected and comes at a time when we are engaged in discussions with Roku about their future plans on Africa.

"We apologise for the inconvenience and are working on resolving this. Detailed communication will be provided to all customers in due course."

Meanwhile, Econet's customer service was inundated with messages.

One message reads: "Hello @econet support I switched on my Kwese play device this evening which has been working since January and its now displaying a notification message saying Econet no longer offers kwese play. Is it that guys you are telling me you have banned us."

In 2018 Kwesé TV was abandoned after failing to convince consumers that the company offers value for money content.

Africa ICT analyst Brighton Musonza said: "The exit from Zimbabwe market by Econet's Kwesé TV explains why some of us have always argued that economics should lead political reforms."