Kenya: The government experiences the digital ID
Kenyan President William Ruto has made the digitisation of services one of his administration’s priorities. Several projects are underway in the country to provide the necessary framework for the delivery of digital services. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Kenyan government recently signed a memorandum of understanding to roll out a digital ID system in the country.
The agreement, signed in Nairobi, Kenya, provides for UNDP to provide technical assistance and work with the government to mobilise resources to support the development and implementation of the Maisha Namba unique personal identifier on which digital identification will be based.
The agreement signed by the two parties is part of the government’s wide-ranging national digital identification programme, which aims, among other things, to assign a unique personal identifier (UPI) to every citizen of the country from birth.
The «Maisha Namba» replaces the «Huduma Namba», launched in 2019 by Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, which has been widely criticised by citizens.
The «Maisha Namba and Digital ID will be officially launched on 2 October. Other related products such as the Maisha Card, which will replace the current second-generation ID card and will be used for offline identity verification, and the National Master Population Register (a single integrated register of data on Kenyans and foreigners residing in the country) will be launched later.
Kevin Moses
