List Of Govt Officials To Be Questioned Over Worldcoin
This is as a team of 15 lawmakers was formed to investigate activities of the controversial cryptocurrency firm which is facing a new wave of fresh concerns worldwide.
Marvin Chege 
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u and Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge will be among a handful of government officials that are set to appear before the joint National Assembly Ad Hoc Committee investigating Worldcoin activities in Kenya.
This is as a team of 15 lawmakers was formed to investigate activities of the controversial cryptocurrency firm which is facing a new wave of fresh concerns worldwide.
Gabriel Tongoyo (Narok West MP) is leading the joint committee as its chairperson, and his first order of business was to summon CS Ndung'u and Thugge to explain the relationship between the cryptocurrency trade in Kenya and the recent activities of Worldcoin, among others.
Treasury CS, Njuguna Ndung'u during a past grilling in Parliament. /FILE
The team of 15 is drawn from the Departmental Committees on; Administration and Internal Security, Communication, Information and Innovation (ICT), and Tourism and Wildlife and other members include Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma.
Mburu Kahangara (Lari), Caroline Ng'elechei (Elgeyo Marakwet), and Sara Korere (Laikipia North) will serve as members of the Administration Committee.
John Kiarie (Dagoretti South), Geoffrey Wandeto (Tetu), Gideon Kimaiyo (Keiyo South), Shakeel Shabbir (Kisumu East), and nominated MP Irene Mayaka were drawn from the Communication, Information and Innovation Committee.
The Committee on Tourism and Wildlife fronted Kareke Mbiuki (Maara), Geoffrey Ruku (Mbeere North), Edwin Gichuki (Mathioya), Ruweida Obo (Lamu East), and Innocent Maino Mugabe (Likuyani).
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula gave the team 42 days to table its findings, directing that “I want to inform you that each of the three Committees has nominated five Members from their respective memberships."
“Let me remind the Committee of the urgency to conduct this inquiry promptly and deliver a report to the House by Thursday, September 28, 2023."
The team is expected to engage with other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) over the course of the probe and also inquire into the legal and regulatory compliance of the operations of Worldcoin and its subsidiary partners, potential health hazards caused by the scan, the intended use of the data collected, and its safety in the hands of the collector.
“Our work is quite cut out for us and we shall be calling in a number of witnesses, including experts to shed more light on this matter. We have very limited time to ensure that Kenyans get all the answers they deserve,” said Tongoyo.
The committee will also question the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Office of the Attorney General, the Registrar of Companies, and the Data Commissioner.
The Ministry of Health will also appear before the committee to shed light on potential health hazards resulting from the reported irises scans, with over 350,000 Kenyans having their pairs of eyes scanned before the government suspended Worldcoin.
The committee will further hold a meeting with the company at the centre of the existing controversy Worldcoin, to understand its operations and objectives for harvesting data in Kenya.
The order by Interior CS, Kithure Kindiki to suspend Worldcoin operations reportedly caused major repercussions throughout the investor community, with the firm's valuation dipping by an astonishing 70 per cent.
Investigations by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) which uncovered Worldcoin's deliberate disregard for Kenya's directives to halt the iris scanning operations served as the catalyst for the exposure of the company's unscrupulous practices to the rest of the world.
Now Worldcoin finds itself at the risk of venturing into a negative business atmosphere should the probe by the committee reveal darker findings that could spell more trouble for the cryptocurrency firm and make its efforts of a possible resurgence, harder.
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