The Kenyan Government has given an update on the government services that members of the public will only access using Digital ID popularly known as Maisha Namba.
According to the Citizen Services State Department, Kenyans will use the Maisha Namba to access Birth and Death certificates.
Additionally, Kenyans seeking health services from public hospitals will need to produce a digital ID to access services.
The government further announced that Kenyans will be required to produce their Maisha Namba while applying for a passport and national identification card.
“The Digital ID will be used for other services that necessitate real-time authentication of individuals’ particulars and identity,” the State Department explained further.
Principal Secretary, of the State Department for Citizen Services, Julius Bitok, had earlier told Kenyans that the Maisha Namba would not be mandatory.
While the government has not outrightly backtracked from the earlier statement, it has added that all Kenyans will be required within a specific timeframe to apply for the Digital IDs.
Apart from becoming the primary form of identification, the government will phase out other cards like driving licence, social security cards, and health insurance cards.
“As a single unique identification number will be employed, the requirement for other IDs and possibly certain identification cards will be gradually phased out,” the government outlined the long-term plan for the Maisha Namba.
“By the end of the rollout phase, all stakeholders will have been fully onboarded.”
The Bitok-led department has allayed fears that the government is using the exercise to collect people's data.
In clarification, the government will capture and compare your biometrics against the National ID database to validate your identity but the biometrics will not be stored.
President William Ruto will officially launch the lifetime identification number in Nakuru County on Friday, September 29, 2023.
