• Next stop: Prisons Department where more ghosts expected to be exposed.
• Court ordered that registration not mandatory, DNA not required, and registration not a condition to receive services.
About 5,000 ghost officers were flagged during the pilot of the National Integrated Identification Management System, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.
The ghost officers cost the government Sh148 million per month in salaries, amounting to Sh1.8 billion annually.
"Let me tell you what we found out so that you understand why some people don't want us to implement this system because they know they will be found out," Uhuru said in launching the biometric registration system yesterday in Machakos county.
"In the National Police Service, we found 1,447 people who were being paid salaries but were not showing up at work. They were just on paper."
In the Administration Police, the President said NIIMS exposed 1,048 ghost officers, while the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had 153 ghost officers.
He did not elaborate on the others who were flagged.
Uhuru said Huduma Namba will help the government eliminate more ghost workers from its payroll.
He urged Kenyans to sign up for the Huduma Namba as it will get rid of red tape and speed up services in government offices.
"You won't need to carry with you several cards in your pocket. No government official will ask you for a birth certificate when you go to apply for a national ID card," President Kenyatta said.
He said the next stop for the biometric registration system will be the Prisons department where more fake workers are likely to be unearthed.
"And last, we will go for civil servants. Everybody is going to be counted, even teachers," the President said.
Uhuru said the war on graft is going to be fought by whatever means, and the implementation of Huduma Namba is a good starting point.
Fighting corruption, he said, is not a choice but a must and everyone should join hands in making it happen.
The head of state called on leaders at all levels in society to rally Kenyans to register.
With the launch of the NIIMS project, Kenya joins other nations such as the US, Europe, the United Arabs Emirates, India and Australia, which have successfully used integrated data systems to manage their citizens' information.
Uhuru said NIIMS will not only transform civil registration and data management but also limit corruption and fast-track the Big 4 development agenda.
“Huduma Namba will reduce delays and corruption in the delivery of services such as cash transfers for elderly persons and vulnerable children, issuance of passports and border control,” he said.
The High Court on Monday gave the go-ahead for the registration of Kenyans under the system but said no one should be compelled to do so or be required to give DNA samples.
It said a Huduma number is not required to receive services or facilities from the government.
Critics have called the registration an intolerable invasion of privacy. Some church leaders say it's what the Bible refers to in Revelations as 666.
Uhuru dismissed the claim.
"As a Christian, I wonder when I hear some pastors saying this is the devil's sign. How are the devil and the identification of people connected?" Uhuru asked.
"This is supposed to improve our ability to provide Kenyans with the service they truly deserve and desire."