Civil society groups have told the government not to interpret the lifting of an order against the printing of Digital IDs as a green light to proceed with the printing of Maisha Namba cards.
The High Court on February 23 lifted an injunction against issuance of the cards but moved the case filed by Katiba Institute to the constitutional and human rights division of the court for hearing and determination.
“It is because of this transfer to another division of the court that the interim order halting the rollout of Maisha Namba was lifted,” the rights groups said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We urge the government not to interpret this transfer of the case as consent to begin implementing the adoption of Maisha Namba before the full determination of the cases and putting in place reforms and safeguards to address the weaknesses of the system.”
Before issuance of the injunction, the government had on November 1, 2023 started the pilot phase of digital ID printing.
Upon lifting of the order, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok said the government would now accelerate the issuance of Maisha Namba cards targeting first-time ID applicants who are turning 18 years old and those replacing second-generation IDS.
He, however, clarified that acquisition of the Digital IDs would not be mandatory meaning Kenyans would have the alternative to continue applying for the second-generation ID cards.
“However, the government has now spurned the printing of the second-generation national identity cards to exclusively issue Maisha Cards effectively forcing all Kenyans seeking IDs to sign up for Maisha Namba,” the civil societies said.
They said this will disrupt people’s lives and discriminate against about five million people locked out of or delayed in obtaining national ID cards due to discrimination, inability to meet the cost or living in rural areas far from registration centers.
“It could also create a situation where the Maisha Namba digital ID becomes mandatory to access public and private services as was the case with Huduma Namba. This would disproportionately disadvantage those who don’t have Maisha Cards,” they said.
Besides noting that the Haki na Sheria Initiative has also filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of Maisha Namba, the civil society groups said the flaws documented under the previous Huduma Namba have not been addressed.
These include discrimination against minority and marginalised communities and those unable to access digital infrastructure.
“As a result, people who currently lack documentation such as birth certificates or ID cards will be unable to access the benefits of Maisha Namba as it will be issued based on existing population databases.
“Other major questions on the Maisha Namba eco-system including lack of a comprehensive legal framework, lack of public participation and consented opt-in, privacy and data protection concerns also loom large.”
The group which comprises the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Defenders Coalition, Article 19 Eastern Africa and Haki na Sheria Initiative also said Maisha Namba also presents privacy concerns particularly by proposing a centralised digital ID system.
They said in the absence of regulatory safeguards, people’s data would be vulnerable to surveillance or unauthorised access by third parties.