The recently launched National Integrated Identity Management System received praise and castigation in equal manner from different factions of the country asking the credibility and security of the data.
With data security a major concern, it was feared that it can be infiltrated into and tampered with but interior PS Karanja Kibicho has come in defence of the same.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho on Monday said the government has spent a lot of resources and time in actualising the NIIMS.
In a signed affidavit, Kibicho said the application and petition challenging NIIMS lacks merit and should therefore be dismissed.
He argued that NIIMS is fully intended to bolster and further protect an individual’s right to privacy by ensuring that their personal identification information is secure in the custody of one government entity.
He further argued that no foreign entity or persons was involved in the development of the NIIMS software.
“For the record, it is not true that a foreign entity will have access to the information to be collected by NIIMS,” reads the affidavit.
During Monday’s mention, Kibicho’s lawyer told the three-judge bench of Pauline Nyamweya , Mumbi Ngugi and Welson Korir that the government entered into contracts with third parties and if the exercise is stopped, taxpayers will bear the costs.
He argued that there have been public participation and Kenyans are aware of the exercise which is set to begin next month.
“That under the Constitution, public participation can be affected directly by the people or indirectly through their democratically elected representation in the National Assembly,” reads the application.
The government also confirmed that the registration of persons is a process regulated by the Births and Deaths digital database for effective and efficient administration and will facilitate accountability in various forms and curb waste of resources in line with the Constitution.
Further the court was told that the petitioners failed to demonstrate the parliamentary procedure that was flouted in the process leading to the enactment of the impugned amendments introduced to the Registration of Persons Act by the stature Law Miscellaneous Amendment Act No.18 of 2018.
“The petition is an attempt to fight technology in a digital era where harmonization of all data is crucial to enhance security and protection of the law people by the state,’’ the court heard.
The judges directed all parties to argue the application seeking conservatory orders this Friday.