Kenyan high court pauses national digital ID for third time in 4 years

Kenya’s digital identity rollout has been paused by the country’s high court again, pending the outcome of a constitutional challenge.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that allowing the Maisha Namba program to continue while a case brought by Haki na Sheria is heard opens unacceptable risk, The Star reports. If the digital identity scheme is found unconstitutional, it would be difficult to undo the damage done, the judge ruled.

The rights group informed the court of a July 22 circular from Kenya’s government informing the public of a mass biometric enrollment campaign. That campaign would entail the risks to Kenyans from inadequate data protection and exclusion of certain groups that Haki na Sheria and other civil society groups filed their legal challenge over last year.

An injunction against Maisha Namba was lifted by the high court in February, as the constitutional challenge progressed through the court system.

Haki na Sheria was also among signatories to a letter from the Kenyan Human Rights Commission to the government warning of problems with the system. They said that without a public data protection impact assessment and other safeguards and elements of public engagement, Maisha Namba is doomed to repeat the fate of its predecessor.

Kenya’s Huduma Namba digital identity system was found non-compliant with the country’s Data Protection Act in late-2021, and a change in government in 2022 led to the introduction of the new digital ID.

Now, the Maisha Namba program’s fate has been set aside until at least September 17, when further directions from the court are expected, according to The Star.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  Kenya  |  Maisha Namba  |  national ID