State Slams Al Jazeera's Report on Huduma Namba

The State has called out Qatar-based broadcaster, Al Jazeera, regarding a story done on the ongoing Huduma Namba registration.

The story which was titled 'If you are a Kenyan citizen, your private data is not safe' has been rubbished by Chief of Staff at State House, Nzioka Waita.

The writer narrated that the Government had a deal with MasterCard to link the Huduma Namba to a prepaid card with a chip and pin that will be used to pay for an array of government services.

The report also stated that the invitation to apply comes with a threat where anyone that does not register will be denied government services, adding that there are many wrong and dangerous elements to the initiative.

On his Twitter timeline, the Chief of Staff disputed the claims terming the report as a case of 'poor journalism'.

"This is false information & a case of poor journalism by @AlJazeera they should simply ask @InteriorKE to clarify any gaps in information that they may have had.

"There is no MasterCard linked to the @hudumanambake, they are confusing with payment option for @HudumaKenya services," Waita stated.

President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier stated that the Huduma Namba would provide a digital national population register which will be a single source of truth of personal data on all Kenyans and foreign nationals who reside in the country.

According to the president, the government was undertaking the biometric registration because it would help in the implementation of the Big 4 Agenda and reduce transactional costs for all Kenyans.

The number would also reduce cases of ID theft and putting up with global trends.