• The committee has 42 days to undertake the task before reporting back the House.
• Interior cabinet secretary Kindiki Kithure and his ICT counterpart Eliud Owalo were expected to appear again this week.
Image: File
A joint ad-hoc committee to investigate the activities of the cryptocurrency firm Worldcoin has been formed.
The 15-member team will be chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo.
Members are drawn from departmental committees on Administration and Internal Security, Communication and Innovation, and Tourism and Wildlife.
National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula said the committee has 42 days to undertake the task before reporting back to the House.
The formation of the committee comes at a time Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki Kithure and his ICT counterpart Eliud Owalo were expected to appear this week for the second time in Parliament over the matter.
“In view of the foregoing, the two cabinet secretaries that were scheduled to appear tomorrow before this House, will instead appear before the committee to provide information on the matter," said Wetangula.
Kindiki told MPs in his first meeting that the state suspended Worldcoin activities including any other entity that may similarly engage Kenyans.
He noted that the government is concerned by the Worldcoin activities involved in the registration of citizens through the collection of eyeball/iris data.
Registration exercise for Worldcoin was being held at KICC before it was stopped over security concerns.
Kindiki further revealed that relevant security, financial services, and protection agencies have commenced inquiries and investigations to establish the authenticity and legality of the activities described above.
The court has also suspended the activities of the firm pending the determination of a case filed by the office of the Data Commissioner.
Justice Nixon Sifuna ordered that the data already collected by Worldcoin from April last year to August 2023 should be preserved.
The case was initially filed before the Milimani Constitutional Court but was transferred to the Criminal Division of the High Court.
Justice Mugambi in transferring the file said the matter is best handled in that division since the application before the court is seeking preservatory orders to facilitate investigations.
In its application before the Court, the State Agency argued that unless the Court intervenes, the already collected data faces the risk of being erased and modified.