The government will pull all stops in pursuing the huduma namba project, and is prepared to appeale the adverse ruling up to the Supreme court, ICT Cabinet secretary Joe Mucheru has said.
Mucheru said on Wednesday the state will not give up on the project, saying its benefits far outweighed the complaints that its critics have levelled against it.
The High Court ruled early in the month that the Huduma Namba process was illegal, faulting the government for not conducting a data protection impact assessment before rolling it out.
The omission of this process, the court found, meant that the safety of the collected data was not guaranteed and hence a contravention of the Data Protection Act 2019.
The judgment also quashed the rollout of Huduma Namba cards.
Attorney General Kihara Kariuki has filed a notice of appeal against the judgment that quashed Huduma Namba cards rollout.
But Mucheru told reporters in Nairobi that the process registered 37.8 million people and 11.3 million cards have been printed. Some 7.8 million cards have been collected.
Vouching for the Huduma Namba, the CS said it had been done by other countries for many years and it is not a new concept.
“...so we will go all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to ensure that Kenyans will get a card and a number that will make life easier,” he asserted.
“Its called Huduma Namba because its about giving you the right services. How are we going to give you the right services if you don’t have a number?”
He said the card will consolidate all the data of citizens under one roof and help reduce duplication of registration processes.
He said the Huduma Card is a collation of different identity documents already issued and certified by government agencies.
Mucheru also faulted the court ruling, arguing that every step of the process was covered by law, including the parent law that anchors the National Registration Bureau.
“The Attorney General has already gone to court on this matter seeking a stay and ensuring that this process continues,” Mucheru said.
Mucheru spoke after opening a validation workshop for the office of data commissioner's strategic plan.
He said the roadblocks on Huduma Namba’s way were similar to the challenges encountered when the government introduced analogue to digital migration
