The High Court has dismissed the decision by the state to roll out Huduma Namba cards, terming it illegal.
Justice Jairus Ngaah of the High Court ruled that the state erred by not conducting a data protection impact assessment before rolling out the cards.
“An order is hereby issued to bring into this honourable court to quash the government decision of November 18 2020 to roll out Huduma cards for being ultra vires of the data protection act 2019,” the court ruled.
The judge has further ordered the government to carry out the impact assessment before rolling out the cards.
“Order of mandamus is hereby issued compelling the government to conduct a data protection impact assessment in accordance with section 31 of the Data Protection Act before processing of data and rolling out the Huduma cards,” Judge Ngaah ordered.
The court, however, noted that a plea which sought to have the Huduma Namba roll out stopped is of no use since the government has already rolled out the issuance of the cards.
In the case, Katiba Institute moved to court last year challenging the decision by the state to roll out Huduma Namba cards without carrying out the data protection impact assessment.
The registration of the Huduma Namba was made mandatory for all Kenyans aged 6 and above and foreign nationals living in Kenya. The registration exercise saw Kenyans submitting their fingerprints and other biometric data to be registered.
The Huduma Namba, which has already begun its roll out comes with a Huduma Card which has the holder’s details including
- full name
- sex
- date of birth
- Huduma Namba
- nationality
- place of birth
- front facing photograph
- date of issue