Kenyan President Ruto unveils new digital ID system, criticizes predecessor's project

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Kenyan President Ruto unveils new digital ID system, criticizes predecessor's project

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) – Kenyan President William Ruto has made a significant announcement regarding a new digital identification system, while also expressing criticism towards the controversial Huduma Namba registration of persons initiative

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William Ruto (pictured centre) assessing the new digital ID system at the KICC in Nairobi on Friday.

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) – Kenyan President William Ruto has made a significant announcement regarding a new digital identification system, while also expressing criticism towards the controversial Huduma Namba registration of persons initiative launched by his predecessor in 2019.

President Ruto revealed that the implementation of the new digital identification number would commence within 90 days.

During a recent event held in Nairobi, Ruto referred to his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta’s project as "a complete fraud” and highlighted the enormous financial losses incurred by the country, amounting to approximately Ksh.15 billion (over USD 106 million).

He stated, "That Huduma Namba was a complete fraud because we lost almost Ksh.15 billion and got very little out of it.”

The Huduma Namba digital ID started in 2019 was aimed to provide every resident individual with a unique and permanent Personal Identification Number, assigned randomly at birth or upon registration. The number would only expire or be retired upon the individual’s death.

President Ruto made these remarks during the unveiling of over 5,000 digital government services on the eCitizen Kenya Portal, dubbed ‘Gava Mkononi,’ held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). He was given a tour of various government agencies and witnessed their digitalization efforts, emphasizing the resulting ease of access to government services for Kenyans.

In contrast to the Huduma Namba project, President Ruto asserted that his government’s digital ID initiative would be executed at a significantly lower cost. He remarked, "We must demonstrate in the next 90 days that it is possible for us to have a digital ID without spending Ksh.15 billion and without defrauding the people of Kenya. Those who did that should be ashamed of themselves.”

The Gava Mkononi App, heralded as a tool to enhance access to government services, revenue collection, and service delivery, will integrate the services offered by Gava Express—a model inspired by Huduma Centers, aiming to provide grassroots-level services.

The implementation of Gava Express will be a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector, with plans to establish over 300,000 outlets.

Kenya had previously invested millions of dollars in the rollout of the digital ID project known as Huduma Namba. However, the project has since been discontinued. The new government now envisions implementing similar digital ID initiatives but with additional features.

While digital IDs hold the potential to improve government services and financial inclusion, concerns regarding privacy and security arise due to the collection and storage of personal information.