Kenya eyes Islamabad for lessons on Smart IDs

Kenya hopes to borrow heavily from Pakistan in its planned introduction of the digital Identity Card and the integration of the existing databases on registration records.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok said the Pakistani model of linking registration data to national security and social-economic planning offered useful lessons in the collection, storage and use of records on birth and deaths among others.

Speaking when he met his Pakistan’s counterpart Syed Ali Murtaza in Islamabad, Prof Bitok said Kenya is pursuing an advanced registration system that will make it difficult to forge identity documents while also cleaning up and consolidating existing databases into a master register.

“We currently have various databases that should ideally be collapsed into a master register for better control and management of important information while also supporting the wider national security interests,” he said.

Besides the Integrated Persons Registration System (IPRS), Kenya also runs the National Identity Integrated Management System (NIIMS) which is popularly known as the Huduma Namba database. Some state agencies and private firms also run their own databases.

This has stoked concerns over the privacy and security of large amounts of data stored by different handlers.

According to Bitok, the proposed Unique Personal Number (UPI) that will replace the current birth certificate number and that will be valid for a lifetime will be the building block for a third-generation smart ID that will be progressively introduced in the country.

With the new ID, the government also hopes to accelerate online access to its services through the eCitizen platform whose revamping is underway and that currently has over 3,000 services on its menu.

It also hopes to partner with public and private institutions that are reliant on data for business operations to provide reliable information under the Know Your Client (KYC) policy to minimise crime driven by identity theft and fraudulent access and use of private data.

To signify its intention, Kenya will next week host a continental gathering on ideal identity and documentation systems.

The annual ID4Africa movement brings together governments and stakeholders in the creation and management of reliable registration ecosystems that also factor in concerns around rights around privacy, human rights and trends in digital identity advancements.

The PS who was accompanied by Kenya High Commissioner to Pakistan Nyambura Kamau also visited the National Database and Registration (NADRA) in Islamabad which is responsible for the registration of births and other identity documents.

He said Pakistan’s registration system offered lessons on the nexus between credible registration data and the pragmatic rollout of social-economic agenda.

Besides issuing the national ID, NADRA relies on its data to also offer the Family Registration Certificate that confirms relationships linked by birth, marriage, and adoption.

The availability of this information has proved useful for succession and has reportedly led to a 30 per cent drop in court cases around disputed inheritance.

The online passport application process currently run by the Directorate of Immigration in Kenya is sourced from the semi-autonomous agency under Pakistan’s Interior Ministry that competitively won the tender.

NADRA also provides various registration services to governments in Sudan, Somali, Nigeria and Fiji among others.