High Court Suspends Rollout of New Digital IDs
The Milimani High Court has issued a temporary injunction halting the implementation of the Unique Personal Identifier, also known as the Maisha Namba, until the petitions challenging its deployment are heard and decided in October.
This decision comes in response to a petition by the Haki na Sheria Initiative against the national government, the Attorney General, the Interior Cabinet Secretary, and the Principal Registrars of Births, Deaths, and Persons.
Summayah Mokku, the lawyer representing Haki na Sheria, argued that the rollout of Maisha Namba infringes upon constitutional rights and freedoms.
The court documents stated, “The Respondents have either breached or are likely to breach several constitutional provisions, including Articles 10, 73, 94, 129, and 232, which pertain to transparency, public participation, and access to information.”
According to the documents, “The recent actions of the Respondents exacerbate existing threats to these rights and fundamental freedoms, including the risk of irreversible breaches of mass personal data and the potential exclusion of certain population groups, violating Articles 31 and 27 of the Constitution. Such actions could render the court’s adjudication of these petitions meaningless, reducing the legal process to an academic exercise.”
Judge Lawrence Mugambi of the Milimani High Court remarked that despite the security concerns raised in previous petitions, the respondents continue to collect, process, and store data.
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The Judge ruled, “There is a significant risk of harm to the public and their right to privacy due to the potential disclosure of personal information without adequate protection measures in place.”
He further commented, “If the respondents proceed with this process and it is later deemed unconstitutional, no amount of compensation or corrective measures can rectify the breach of data.”
Justice Mugambi also noted that the Maisha Ecosystem could further widen the existing exclusion of certain groups from Kenyan citizenship.
“Until the inter-parties hearing and resolution of this Application, the Court has issued a conservatory order to halt the continued implementation of the Unique Personal Identifier (Maisha Namba), 3rd Generation National Identification Card (Maisha Card), Maisha Digital ID, and Maisha Database,” he ruled.
“The Court has also issued a conservatory order restraining the Respondents, their employees, agents, or anyone acting on their behalf, from collecting, processing, or storing data of Kenyans and foreign nationals in Kenya about the issuance of the Unique Personal Identifier (Maisha Namba).”
The judge, who will provide further instructions on September 17, has given the respondents seven days to respond to the ruling.
High Court Suspends Rollout of New Digital IDs
