The National IdentityManagement System (NIIMS) to be rolled out starting from April 2, after a go-ahead from the court.
The High Court has allowed the government to continue with the NIIMS also known as Huduma Namba, beginning Tuesday as had been earlier planned.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Weldon Korir, Pauline Nyamweya, and Mumbi Ngugi, however, ruled that the government should not make the exercise mandatory or issue deadlines for the collection of NIIMS data.
The government was also barred from collecting DNA data and GPS coordinates as part of the NIIMS data, pending determination of the case challenging the exercise. The court also barred the government from sharing the NIIMS information with any foreign organization.
In a move that had sparked public uproar, the government had said no Kenyan would receive government services, nor obtain an ID, passport, driving license or even a birth certificate without first registering on the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS).
The initiative by the government was challenged in court by the Kenya Commission of Human rights on grounds that Kenya has no legislation on data protection.
This caused an uproar on social media over who is keeping all the data inclusive of DNA and private information.