A French company that was controversially awarded a tender by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the 2017 elections has rebranded and won another one.
OT Morpho rebranded into IDEMIA and reportedly won a Kshs6 Billion deal to start mass registration of fingerprints.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho revealed that the technology company had already supplied the state with 31,500 biometric kits for the event expected to last 45 days.
“We have all the kits. They have been supplied by IDEMIA but their software has been prepared locally,” stated Kibicho.
He further revealed that when the registration officially begins, 50 million Kenyans will be expected to visit assistant chiefs offices for the exercise.
The firm first rose to fame after IEBC controversially awarded it a Kshs6 billion tender to supply voter identification and results in transmission kits (KIEMS) for the 2017 General Election.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was a presidential contender in the elections, first raised alarm over the firm linking it to an alleged rigging.
The commission’s former Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba was then accused of single-handedly commissioning for the firm’s services.
The Supreme Court, however, termed the accusations lodged against the firm as null and void.
The ID registration exercise is expected to cost Kshs6 billion with half of the budget going directly into procuring the kits.