The High Court on Monday ruled that the mandatory Huduma Namba registration decree by the govt was no longer compulsory.
During the highly anticipated ruling, the court also suspended the deadline date that had been initially set by the government.
In addition, the 3-judge bench ruled that the collection of DNA and GPS coordinates was suspended from the exercise.
"The State is prohibited from including DNA in the biometrics," the court ruled.
However, the court went on to allow the government to proceed with the NIIMS process which President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to officially launch in Machakos county on April 2, 2019.
The government had launched a pilot programme of NIIMS on February 18, which was carried out in 15 counties.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR), Kenya Human Rights Commission(KHRC) and Nubian Rights Forum had moved to court seeking the suspension of collection of data from Kenyans under the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS).
"The rollout of the system was not suspended. Only the collection of DNA, collection of GPS coordinates and mandatory registration was suspended. The government deadline was suspended and citizens can boycott NIIMS without government retaliation," read a tweet from KHRC.
KNCHR lawyer - Martha Karua, stated that it was in the interest of the public for the court to halt the process as the government will not suffer any prejudice.
On March 29, 2019, lawmakers pushed for the suspension of the multi-billion project to give time for consultation with various stakeholders.
