Ruto Urged To Stop Ksh1B Digital ID Card Project, Issued 8 Demands

A coalition of civil society and community-based organizations working at the national and grassroots levels have urged President William Ruto's government to halt the rollout of the highly-anticipated Digital Identification Card (Digital ID) project.

In a statement to newsrooms on Thursday, September 14, the civil society groups urged the Ministry of Interior to halt the rollout until eight minimum steps are undertaken and met in a public, transparent manner.

The government was first urged to enact a proper legal framework to govern the system that is fully grounded in the Constitution and aligns with requirements from the High Court judgment in Nubian Rights Forum et al. v. the Honourable Attorney General of Kenya et al.

It was also advised to conduct meaningful nationwide public participation on the proposed legal framework, any draft regulations, and the system design, as well as abolish ID vetting for all Kenyans.

"Implementation of affirmative action measures to issue documents to all persons who have been excluded or been unable to obtain the same due to the historical previous existence of vetting processes over the past several decades

"Ensure all Kenyans have access to documentation (birth certificates and ID cards) before moving forward with digitization, including through the expansion of the number of registration and identification offices and resourcing of these offices, especially in underserved areas of Kenya," read the statement in part.

The government was also asked to conduct a robust Data Protection Impact Assessment and Human Rights Impact Assessment of the system that will be made public for scrutiny and from which improvements will be made to the system design

In addition, the Ruto-led government was called upon to include civil society and members of the public, including minorities and marginalized communities in line with Article 56 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, in any relevant working groups or committees, including the National Digital Identity Technical Committee and National Steering Committee for Digital Identity as widely reported on Tuesday, September 12.

"Allow for a transition period prior to any roll-out to ensure time for the above steps, improve infrastructure such as electricity and internet nationwide, and any other needs identified by the Kenyan public," added the statement.

The civil society and community-based organizations included Nubian Rights Forum, Namati Kenya, Centre for Minority Development, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Defenders Coalition, Access Now, Katiba Institute, Haki Na Sheria Initiative, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa and Pastoralists Rights and Advocacy Network.

They further reminded the government of the unacceptable consequences of discrimination, eroding of privacy and exclusion for communities that have historically struggled with access to documentation that were witnessed with the implementation of Huduma Namba, which was introduced under former President Uhuru Kenyatta and which failed to take off.

"We reinforce that the opaque rollout, lack of public engagements and a lack of proper procedural and legal safeguards associated with the Unique Personal Identifier/Maisha Number rollout would wreak havoc on the ways citizens access nationality documents," the groups cautioned.

On Tuesday, September 12, State Department for Immigration and Citizen Affairs Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, who addressed the media confirmed that the Head of State will launch the Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) identity card dubbed the 'Maisha Card' on Friday, September 29, 2023.

He added that the UPI to be anchored on a digital platform dubbed Maisha Number will replace the country’s second-generation identity cards.