Following the introduction of a new registration mechanism dubbbed Huduma Namba that was adopted by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenyans will be required to register for them to access services like applying for an ID, passport or driving licence or a birth certificate.
Mass registration of persons across the country has been scheduled to begin on March 18.
Kenyans particularly took issue with the threat that those who fail to register will not access essential government services.
Economist David Ndii, who is one of the key critics campaigning against the project on social media, said the government veered from the original intent that was to upgrade the country’s outdated identification card system.
However, Controversial blogger Robert Alai has a different understanding of the project. According to him, Huduma namba is being pushed through by the Chinese.
He notes that the Chinese want a strong surveillance on Kenyan civilians. The blogger argues that the project is one of the reasons why corporates like Safaricom and major ISPs are told to force users to only have specific routers.
He further argues that the project is a surveillance state being built by the Chinese.
“The #HudumaNamba is being pushed through by the Chinese. They want a strong surveillance on Kenyan civilians. That’s why Safaricom and major ISPs are told to force users to only have specific routers. It’s a surveillance state being built by the Chinese,” his twitter post read.
Do you agree with Robert Alai on his allegations?