Civil society teams up with Kenyan govt to champion digital ID sensitization efforts

Civil society groups in Kenya have, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), partnered with the government to set the template for a seamless rollout of the country’s digital ID dubbed Maisha Namba.

Per the teams of the MoU, the civil society organizations are expected to play a vital role in an awareness campaign that seeks to inform citizens of the importance of the digital ID project, KBC reports. Engagement with civil society is one of the commitments the government of President William Ruto made to differentiate Maisha Namba from its immediate predecessor, Huduma Namba.

Addressing attendees at the MoU signing ceremony, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok said the move comes as the government begins a biometric enrolment pilot for the ID.

“We are open; there is nothing we are hiding. We are engaging all stakeholders. This is our third meeting with the civil society organizations, and we are saying that we are open to have other forums. The agreement with them is that we are going to have a joint implementation team. We will go around the country to have many other forums,” said Bitok.

“The government has gazetted the regulations that will provide the legal and governance framework for the rollout of Maisha Namba,” he added, underlining the fact that the government is committed to putting in place an inclusive and secure system that will facilitate access to critical services across the board.

The signing of the MoU comes just days after the government gazetted the digital ID legislation.

In his remarks after the signing ceremony, Irungu Houghton, a representative of the civil society groups, said one of their expectations to see that personal data collected from Kenyans is sufficiently protected and that people can conveniently use the system to access the services they want.

The official said they also hope that no human being, be they refugees, foreign nationals or Kenyans, will be excluded from or discriminated against by the system.

The MoU also follows an announcement early this week by President William Ruto that Kenyans will be able to carry out their transactions using the Maisha Namba biometric digital ID card by December when it fully goes operational, as reported by Capital FM Kenya.

The President is quoted by the outlet as saying that the pilot, which began on November 1, will be completed by the end of the month, ahead of the full launch in the month after.

First-time ID applicants are the ones mostly targeted by the Maisha Namba pilot, notes Citizen Digital.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital identity  |  Kenya  |  Maisha Namba  |  national ID