Human rights groups on Monday urged the state to shelve its bid to appeal the Huduma Namba ruling and instead improve data protection measures.
They secured a court order against the initiative.
The groups challenged the state to invest in easy access to documents such as ID cards and birth certificates before pushing forward with the initiative.
Katiba Institute, Kenya Human Rights Commission and eight other outfits, welcomed the High Court’s decision that declared the Huduma Namba rollout illegal.
The lobbies' representatives spoke in Nairobi.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, vowed to appeal the ruling, complaining that the initiative’s agenda of ensuring a central repository of data was at risk of being lost.
“The government will appeal the decision declaring Huduma card illegal,” Matiang’i said last Friday.
“Our conviction is that the court's decision is based on the wrong interpretation of the essence and practical intentions of the card, which is key to the government’s agenda to digitise service delivery.”
The lobbies want the government to ensure that appropriate reforms are in place to enable Kenyans to get their identification documents without bureaucracy before rolling out the Huduma Namba project.
Huduma Namba was declared illegal because it had conflicted with provisions of the Data Protection Act, 2019.
In particular, the court found that the state had failed to conduct a data impact assessment and put in place measures to ensure the safety of the collected data in the Huduma Namba registration exercise.
The case had been logged by Katiba Institute and other lobbies.
They said the state should comply with the ruling and set up an arrangement to assess how the collected data from the Huduma exercise are to be handled and what safety measures will be in place.
The assessment, they said, should involve information harnessed for ID cards and birth certificates.
“The government must ensure Kenyans can access identification documents such as birth certificates and national identity cards before moving forward with Huduma Namba,” the lobbies said.
“If it's rolled out, it must be done in phases, with a clear transition period to eliminate discriminatory treatment and expand access to documentation under the current system.”
The lobbies want the government to do away with the approach of making the process mandatory and that there must be options for all to enrol and safeguards to protect against denial of services for those within and outside the system.
By focusing on reform and access to the identification system first, they said, the state will reduce the risk that Kenyans will be left behind in the transition to digital.
The lobbies said that the Data Protection Impact Assessment will help identify risks that may occur through the processing of data and put in place proper mitigation measures.
It will also help ensure compliance with both data protection laws as well as human rights obligations.
“Such assessments should involve mapping of all data processing and data flows, conducting consultation with stakeholders for a national initiative like the National Integrated Identity Management System,” the lobbies said.
“This should include widespread public consultation on the purpose and risks of the system, completing a detailed risk assessment, and developing a range of measures to address the risks and ensure compliance with the law.”
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
