Huduma Bill offers safeguards on invasion of privacy

In recent days, the National Assembly has been hosting public petitions around the Huduma Bill No.57 of 2021 that seeks to provide a primary law on civil registration and legal identity, proposes to overhaul the civil registration and identity management ecosystem, promote efficient delivery of public services and provide the legal framework for the Huduma Namba.

The establishment of the office of the Data Commissioner addresses the legal jitters about the security and privacy of the captured Huduma Namba data. The government has also allayed fears the new system will do away with the Immigration Department. Rather, Immigration officers will continue to discharge the same responsibilities but under a different management structure.  

In 2019, people were registered for Huduma Namba in the first phase. The envisaged roll out has however run into headwinds due to the absence of a comprehensive regulatory legal framework. This is what the bill seeks to cure and build public confidence on privacy and security concerns on collected personal data. It expressly provides for measures on inclusivity which address fears of alienation and discrimination by minority communities who have opposed the new system, claiming that it will potentially disenfranchise them from acquiring citizenship.

The National Assembly has undertaken public engagements by inviting petitions and several open forums to discuss the sticky issues.

Should the bill that is at an advanced stage of legislation pass, Kenyans will get a single identity document to obviate the need for multiple identity documents. Currently, citizens need separate documentation for national ID, driving licence, NHIF, NSSF, passport and voters’ card among others. Huduma card will essentially collapse all these into a master ID document. This will do away with tedious and separate registration processes for obtaining State and public-funded services.

The bill also stipulates contraventions and attracts penalties that provide adequate safeguards from infringement on personal data. An unauthorised access and unauthorised interference with the process will attract punitive fines and penalties also anchored in the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act & Data Protection Act, 2019. The court of appeal on March 4 ruled that the project had complied to the provisions of Data Protection Act in respect to data protection impact assessment and as such the project needs to continue its roll out across the country to capture those who did not register in the first phase.

Should the bill become law, registration will be done on a rolling basis. This will ensure no one is left behind. This should put to rest fears the system architecture is designed to lock out certain cadres of society. On the contrary, eligible citizens who missed out on the first phase for whatever reason and orphaned children and those with unknown parents have no reason to fear.

If well implemented, Huduma Namba benefits outweigh its downside. A master card that suffices to identify a citizen across the board is, after all, a global ideal. The US social security number is a good example. European Union countries, which are a trailblazer in digitisation of public services, also implemented a similar identification system. Ghana is also a good Africa example while South Africa, Morocco, Rwanda are also developing the same.

It would be imprudent to freeze the Huduma Namba because of its critics. That is not to downplay genuine concerns raised by stakeholders. Indeed, their buy-in is critical to the success of the envisaged phase two registration. That is expected to capture around 12 million Kenyans.

If the process continues to fruition, Kenya will become among the leading African countries in digital identification. This will make the country compliant with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal Sub-article 16.9 on legal identity for all.

- The writer is a Political analyst from Lumiere World Organisation