The first phase of the pilot program launched by the government on the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), or which has been dubbed locally as Huduma Namba will commence today and will take place in 15 counties.
The launch, which is under the supervision of a number of Principal Secretaries spearheaded by the Ministry of Interior will first take place in Nyandarua.
Other counties that are expected to be part of the pilot include Wajir, Kajiado, Kisii, Uasin Gishu, Marsabit, Baringo, and Nairobi.
Mr Karanja Kibicho, who will be at the forefront of the project, has stated that the registration will involve all foreigners and Kenyans in the country by having their data, facial features, and fingerprints taken and then stored in a central database.
Nevertheless, there have been mixed feelings regarding the start of this project, stating that it infringes on people’s personal space and security.
On the other hand, the government has insisted that the project will be important to help security agencies determine suspects of terror and to better track any suspicious individuals involved in terrorism.
Here are netizens varying comments on the Huduma Nyumba program
I think those long queues at @ImmigrationDept will reduce drastically because while applying for a passport, you will not need to produce so many documents. All your foundational data needed for such processes will be in the #HudumaNamba
— Pauline Njoroge, HSC (@paulinenjoroge) February 18, 2019
The government announced that Kenyans who will not be registered in the National Integrated Identity Management Systems will be denied crucial government services. #HudumaNamba
— The African Voice (@teddyeugene) February 18, 2019
#HudumaNamba will help in crime management as finger prints collected at the scene of crime will produce all the person’s details including the face. Our security agencies have been encountering several hundles trying to identify whose fingerprints
— Pauline Njoroge, HSC (@paulinenjoroge) February 18, 2019