The new proposals on registrations of persons will not compromise with private data of individuals, Nandi County residents have been told.
Nandi Central Deputy Commissioner Alfet Hudulu, speaking in Kapsabet town, assured the residents that the government has ensured enhanced security features in the new proposed Maisha Card .
She insisted that data protection rules will be followed to ensure citizens’ privacy policies are not violated.
The DCC said services around the world have gone digital; for instance, doing business, for which the new registration proposal provides needed compliance.
Commissioner Hudulu maintained that the government, through the new registration proposals, will have one stop centralised and digitised registration that will help fight, for instance, cybercrime, common in our time.
“In our Registration of Persons amendments, 2024, it’ll be difficult for one to use somebody’s registration details to commit crime,” she said.
Nandi County Registrar of Persons Director Emily Sile revealed that Kenya is lagging behind among East African countries in matters of digitising registration details of their citizens.
“Our country should align itself to United Nations international registration standards in trade, travel, and related areas which have been digitised,” Sile insisted.
She noted that the new evolution of technology to transform people’s lives is pushing governments around the world to adopt a reliable and safest way of documenting citizens’ data.
Sile emphasised that incidents of double registration will be avoided when the country fully complies with the Registration of Persons amendment rules, 2024.
She also added that it will be easy for applicants to track their registration status online without visiting registration centres for follow-ups.
Nandi County Births and Deaths Registration Director Francis Nduasi, during his submissions, said that amendments in births and deaths will improve service delivery to Kenyans.
He said the adoption of Unique Personal Identification Number is a new and sure way of combating double registration from birth and even death.
The trio made the remarks during public participation on the Draft Birth and Death Registration and Amendments Rules and Draft Registration of Persons Amendments, 2024, at Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Kapsabet town.
Addressing the same event, Kapsabet town Deliverance Church Pastor James Ruto questioned the inclusion of intersex as the third sex option when indicating one’s sex status.
Ruto said the inclusion is against Christianity doctrines and should be scrapped. He insisted that intersex status can be corrected through medical surgery.
Commissioner Hudulu, however, said the inclusion was done after careful consideration and recognition of persons with intersex status as done in other countries.
Close to one thousand Nandi Central residents attended, with a majority supporting the introduction of the “Maisha Card” a digital registration requirement, but asked the government to reduce registration cost now at Sh 1,000.
By Geoffrey Satia
