Maisha Number Kenya is a newly introduced digital identification card seeking to replace Huduma Namba and government-issued ID numbers. Financing of $1 billion means that the government of Kenya is serious about digitizing all sectors of the economy.
Meanwhile, a league of 10 local human rights groups now want the Government to halt the implementation of Maisha Number’s Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) set for launch on September 29 at Nakuru County.
5 Facts about Maisha Number Kenya
The government is ongoing with a civil education program seeking to sensitize the public on how the proposed unique personal identifier will improve service delivery.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the program will go a long way in promoting the benefits of UPI.
President William Ruto says Masiaha Number is way better than Huduma Namba and hence timely for management of public resources.
“This number will become their lifelong personal identity number from birth to death. For newborns, Maisha Namba will also serve as their birth certificate number, facilitating registration in educational institutions, NHIF, and transitioning to an ID number once they reach 18 years of age.”
Julius Bitok.
On top of that, the UPI number will help Kenyans in accessing KRA, NSSF, NHIF, and NEMIS services throughout their lifetime.
Even better, UPI will consolidate existing independent databases into a single integrated register for a central reference for all data related to Kenyan citizens and foreign residents in the country.
Stakeholders say that Digital ID will be a digital representation of individuals, organizations, or devices, typically mapped with personal attributes, credentials, and authentication.
Featuring on Maisha Number card will be a photo image of the applicant, ID number, serial number, biometric data, biographic data, residential particulars, and advanced security elements. Meanwhile, Kenyans are sceptical about the unexplained shelving of Huduma Namba from the regime of Uhuru Kenyatta.
