Kenyan government officials testify on digital ID

High profile Kenyan government officials from the ministries of interior security and ICT were cross-examined during hearings on a petition opposing the introduction of a new digital ID system. Principal secretary for interior and coordination of national government, Dr. Karanja Kibicho, took the witness stand on 2 October. He explained the rationale for digital ID as security concerns as well as more efficiency in government services.

His counterpart principal secretary in the ministry of ICT, Jerome Ochieng described the architectural design of the contentious digital ID system. According to live tweets by local advocacy group Haki na Sheria Initiative, both officials tried to dispel fears by previous witnesses that the digital ID systems were archaic and could not guarantee privacy and data security. The judgement is slate for 18th December 2019.