Editor's Review

“The digital ID which has been a big problem to us for a very long time is now on a testing mode for the next two months." 

President William Ruto has announced that Kenyans will be identified digitally using their iris and fingerprints from December. 

Speaking on Monday October 30 during the launch of locally assembled devices in Mavoko, Machakos County, the President said the digital IDs are being tested before their launch in December. 

“The digital ID which has been a big problem to us for a very long time is now on a testing mode for the next two months. I have been assured by all the stakeholders including the ministry concerned that by December we will be able to launch the digital ID where every Kenyan will not have to carry any paper,” said Ruto.

He added, “They should be able to be identified digitally using their iris or their fingerprints and we can transact without the necessity of people struggling to identify who they are.”

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File image of President William Ruto. 

The Head of State at the same time noted that the government will not spend billions on the new IDs as in other projects.

The new generations IDs were previously scheduled to be launched by President Ruto on October 2, 2023 at Nakuru Athletic Club but the government postponed the event due to unavoidable circumstances.

State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok observed that the government will communicate a new date for the launch in due course.

According to PS Bitok, the new IDs will be different from the Huduma Namba that was launched during the previous administration.