Kenya completes biometric data collection of police as public registration exercise set to begin

The roll out of Kenya’s new National Police Service Information Management System is now complete showing that the service has a total of 101,288 officers, Capital News reports.

The system features each police officer’s biometric data, certificate of appointment, national identity card details, KRA PIN, family background, academic qualifications, rank, and service history among other details of all officers in the Administration Police Service, the National Police Service, and the Department of Criminal Investigations.

The system is a important step to attain professionalism and good governance in the service. “The system will eliminate fraud associated with manual staff records,” explained government spokesperson Kanze Dena. “In this regard, it will facilitate the selection, recruitment, and management of police officers and foster fair performance appraisals, transparent deployment and transfers, and merit-based promotions.”

“The digital records heralds a new era in police administration and for Kenya’s security sector as it goes a long way in complementing the government’s efforts towards establishing a modern criminal justice infrastructure,” the State House added.

Mass biometric registration exercise

The Kenyan government is set to begin mass biometric registration of Kenyan citizens, foreign nationals and refugees over the age of six in the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) following the successful pilot of the program last month, Tuko reports.

The Ministry of Interior announced in a tweet that the biometric registration exercise would officially commence on April 2, 2019 across the country and is expected to end on May 16, 2019. “From April 2,2019, the government will be registering all Kenyan citizens, foreigners, aliens and refugees under the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS). Non-citizens need a passport, alien card or special pass. Those without identifying documents will not be left out.”

Kenyans and foreigners alike will be issued with a unique identification number called Huduma Namba. To be registered, non-Kenyan citizens will be required to present their passport, alien card or special pass at registration centers. “The Huduma Namba program moves to curb attempts by foreigners and persons from illegally obtaining Kenya civil status,” explained Gordon Kihalangwa, Principal Secretary State Department of Immigration, Border Control and Citizen services.

When the biometric registration project was announced last year Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said that the data gathered in the registration will include GPS coordinates for home addresses, fingerprints, hand and earlobe geometry, retina and iris scans, and voice samples.

The new system is expected to facilitate better service delivery, security and distribution of public resources.

A report released last year suggests that Kenya needs data protection legislation to operationalize the right to privacy enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric database  |  biometrics  |  data collection  |  Kenya  |  National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS)  |  registration