Almost immediately the government said it would introduce National Integrated Identity Management System registration exercise, there has been much hullabaloo from different quarters.
The question is; why is the exercise eliciting such reactions?
What is NIIMS all about?
The National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) is set to capture a person’s data: age, gender, level of education, marital status, place of residence, source of livelihood and others.
According to the government, 31,500 biometric kits have been delivered to counties as it goes ahead with the exercise expected to improve government data on Kenya’s citizens.
The program has since been launched Nairobi, Uasin Gishu, Kajiado, Baringo, Marsabit, Kisii, Wajir, Kilifi, Tana River Embu, Makueni, Busia, Nyandarua and Kiambu counties.
Every Kenyan will be given a Huduma Namba that uniquely identifies them. Foreigners will also be registered in the exercise and be expected to record reasons for being in the country.
The senate’s on Thursday moved to suspend the registration exercise until further notice.
According to the legislators, the exercise will only continue once Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru appear before the Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defense and Foreign Relations on March 11, 2019.
The two CSs, who had sent their administrative secretaries to represent them, were criticized by senators among them Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja for snubbing Thursday’s summons besides the intensity of the matter.
The Committee was seeking answers from the two regarding issues among them why Parliament was not briefed on the intended registration before the roll out.
CSs Matiangi and Mucheru were expected to appraise the legislators on the National Integrated Identity Management System, following concerns raised by Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot.
The Kericho senator had also quizzed what justifies the registration process given the amount of personal data that will be collected from citizens.
Attorney General Paul Kihara is also set to appear alongside the two, to answer to Huduma Number queries.