ID Crisis Looms: Govt Braces for Backlog Storm as Court Verdict Nears
President William Ruto’s government is once more anticipating a crucial decision set for Tuesday that could potentially undermine one of his significant initiatives.
In December of the previous year, the High Court of Kenya suspended the implementation of Maisha Namba, intended to replace Huduma Namba, citing the absence of a data protection impact assessment.
In a telephone conversation with Gossipa2z, an insider from the Ministry of Interior disclosed that they are experiencing a delay in the issuance of both ID cards and Huduma Namba cards following the recent decision.
“We are facing a backlog in the printing of IDs as we had configured the systems in readiness of Digital IDs,” he stated.
“The backlogs emanate from the court ruling that placed an injunction on the Maisha Number pending the determination of the case tomorrow.”
The court is anticipated to approve the transition from the regular identification card to the official launch of the Maisha Namba card tomorrow.
The initial stage of the project was introduced by the government on November 1st of the previous year, emphasizing particularly two groups of Kenyan citizens.
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The initial stage of the Immigration and Citizen Services PS Prof Julius Bitok’s plan, as communicated to the press, would focus on individuals applying for the first time.
“All Kenyans turning 18 years in whichever part of Kenya will be issued with a Maisha Card on a pilot basis. This way, we will establish whether there are any errors or issues before we do the penultimate launch,” he stated.
As per the information provided by the PS, there is a daily influx of 10,000 applicants seeking new identification cards, and an additional 5,000 individuals applying for duplicate cards.
Maisha Card will include a distinctive personal identifier (UPI) referred to as Maisha Namba, serving as the primary and enduring registration and identification reference for its recipients.
If the court rejects the implementation, the administration will face another setback, adding to the previous rulings on deploying police officers to Haiti and introducing the housing levy.
ID Crisis Looms: Govt Braces for Backlog Storm as Court Verdict Nears