American politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who until recently was a candidate in the US presidential election on Tuesday continued to voice his opposition to overzealous rollout of digital identity warning of the privacy risks this poses.
While responding to a social media user who was reacting to a report on the rollout of the Maisha Namba in Kenya, Kennedy reminded observers of how mainstream media branded him a conspiracy theorist back in 2020 when he first spoke out against such plans.
"It’s still seemed outlandish and frightening back then. Now everything has been normalized. We are cattle lined up at the abatoir," stated Kennedy who recently endorsed Trump's re-election after shelving his own bid.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a son to former American Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew to slain US President John F. Kennedy, is known to be extremely forthright and controversial in his analysis of key issues
Robert appeared to cast aspersions on the involvement of American donors in the roll out of digital IDs globally .
In the media clip aired on US media and shared on X, President Ruto was quoted defending the Maisha Namba rollout arguing those with the Digital ID won't have to move around with physical cards. He was also quoted faulting the manner in which Huduma Namba was rolled out.
The Maisha Namba is a unique identifier which will be used as a single number for accessing government services throughout one's life. It will link a user's personal information, like their ID, phone number, making it easier to access government services.
Immigration PS Julius Bitok is on record stating the Maisha Namba, which will be issued at birth, will transition to become the user's death certificate number when they pass on.
"It has an expiry date because just like other technology, you know, it has a chip. Just like the cards from the bank, it has to have an expiry date because reading that chip expires with time. It is not forever. Also, that helps us clean our database so that the transition is very important," he stated.
Just like RFK argues rollout of digital identity poses serious privacy risks. Kenyans have also expressed the same fears.
On December 5 2023, the rollout of Maisha number experienced a hiccup after the High Court issued orders stopping its implementation.
However, in August 2024, the High Court issued orders overturning the orders after the government through the Attorney General made the argument that suspending the implementation would have a very direct and immediate negative impact on the Kenyan population.
The government has since informed Kenyans the issuance of the Maisha Namba will be voluntary and not mandatory as initially communicated. The state has also communicated it will be embarking on public participation to sensitize Kenyans on the importance of the program.
