• The delay in releasing the numbers after the first phase ended up beating the purpose of the registration.
• This gave room to suspicion, speculation and allegations when the government announced Phase II.
The government has announced that it will be rolling out Phase II of the personal identification number known as Huduma Namba.
The announcement has, however, been met with resistance by a section of politicians, who are questioning the tendering and the intent of the new round of registration.
They argue that the data collection is part of a scheme to rig the 2022 elections, a surprising position considering they fully supported the first phase.
Huduma Namba, which was conducted by the National Integrated Identity Management system, involved collecting biometric data that would in future enable one to seamlessly access various government services.
As it is at the moment, an adult Kenyan has multiple identification documents, which need to be amalgamated for ease of retrieval and use and Huduma Namba targeted at this.
Kenyans have to contend with an ID number, a KRA pin, a driving licence, a passport and many other numbers needed when applying for various documents. A single number issued upon birth would be easy to handle.
However, the delay in releasing the numbers after the first phase ended up beating the purpose of the registration. This gave room to suspicion, speculation and allegations when the government announced Phase II.
The government should issue the first batch of Huduma Nambas and address the concerns being raised before the second phase.