A Kenyan court has issued a temporary injunction halting the implementation of the government’s new digital identity system, Maisha Namba.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this Application, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued staying/halting the further and continued implementation of the Unique Personal Identifier (Maisha Namba), 3rd Generation National Identification Card (Maisha Card), Maisha Digital ID and Maisha Database,” read the statement in part.
The ruling by High Court Judge, L.N Mugambi follows a petition challenging the constitutionality of the Maisha Namba rollout from filed by Haki na Sheria.
“Should the respondents be allowed to proceed with this process and later on it is found to be unconstitutional; there is no amount of compensation or measures that can redress data breach,” the Judge disclosed.
🚨: Haki ha Sheria secures conservatory orders halting the implementation of Maisha namba.
The court has today issued conservatory orders staying the issuance of Maisha cards/digital ID pending the hearing of the case set for
October 4,2024.Cc:@___Sumayyah #digitalID https://t.co/DtzEO3fSmL pic.twitter.com/BdsyzArVuY
— Haki na Sheria (@Haki_na_Sheria) July 25, 2024
The petition challenged the constitutionality of the project, alleging a lack of public participation and ambiguity in the legal framework.
The petition argues that the amendments to the Registration of Persons Act are unclear about whether they complement or replace the existing legal basis for the previous Huduma Namba system.
“The Respondents have also contravened or threaten to contravene other provisions of the Constitution including Articles 10, 73, 94, 129 and 232 on transparency, right to public participation, right to access information among others,” read court documents.
“The recent confirmations of the Respondents actualize the existing threats to these rights and fundamental freedoms in issue including potential irreversible risk of breach of mass personal data and permanent exclusion of select groups of the population in contravention of Article 31 and 27 of the Constitution respectively. The actions of the Respondents will also undoubtedly render the adjudication of the Petitions before this Honorable Court nugatory and the consequent court process an academic exercise.”
The court’s decision comes after concerns were raised about the potential impact of the 10-year expiry date on national identity cards and the overall data privacy implications of the system.
The government is now required to respond to the petition within seven days, with the case set for further hearing in September.
