Interior cabinet secretary Dr. Fred Matiangi has said that the government will appeal the recent court decision that declared Huduma namba null and void.
According to Matiangi, the court ruling was wrong as it did not consider the practical intentions of the card to the Kenyan citizens.
“The government will appeal the High Court decision declaring Huduma Card illegal. Our conviction is that the Court’s decision is based on the wrong interpretation of the essence and practical intentions of the Card, which is key to GoK’s agenda to digitize service delivery.” Wrote Matiangi.
The cabinet secretary’s sentiments came in the wake of High Court verdict that the government violated the law with regards to personal data.
According to the high court through Justice Jairus Ngaah, the rollout in November last year went against data protection regulations, thereby rendering the huduma namba card illegal.
“The order of certiorari (review) is hereby issued to bring into this honourable court and to quash the respondent’s decision of November 18, 2020, to roll out Huduma Card for being ultra vires of Section 31 of the Data Protection Act, 2019,” the judge ruled.
As a result, justice Ngaa ordered that the government conducts a proper impact assessment as stipulated by the Data Protection Act
“An order of mandamus (compelling order) is issued to the respondent to conduct a data protection impact assessment in accordance with the Data Protection Act before processing of data and rolling out Huduma cards,” the judge ruled.
The ruling came after Katiba Institute sued the Interior Ministry, arguing that no safeguards had been given to assure Kenyans that their data will not be abused since there were no clear safeguard measures issued.
The lobby group added that the government failed to subject the fresh registration of Kenyans to the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) — a requirement under the law.
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