The High Court in Nairobi has set aside an injunction that blocked the government from rolling out the new generation identity cards popularly known as Maisha Namba.
Justice John Chigiti while lifting the suspension on Friday, February 23 ordered the petition that had been filed by Katiba Institute to be transferred to the High Court's constitutional division for hearing and determination.
This is after the Ministry of Interior’s lawyers Morara, Apiemi and Nyangito Advocates informed the court that the matter had been filed in two different courts and there was a risk of the courts making conflicting decisions.
Justice Chigiti had suspended the issuance of Maisha Namba on December 5 2023 after Katiba Institute challenged the legal basis of implementing it.
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Katiba argued that Section 31 of the Data Protection Act requires the Respondents to conduct a data protection impact assessment in a scenario where data processing is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of a data subject by its nature, scope, context, and purposes.
"Mandamus compelling the Respondents to conduct a data protection impact assessment per section 31 of the Data Protection Act before piloting or rolling out the Maisha Namba, including the digital card, digital ID, unique personal identifier, and National Master Population Register", the Institute argued.
The new generation IDs were scheduled to be launched in December 2023 by President William Ruto.
The Maisha Namba is intended to replace the Huduma Namba project which stalled during the previous administration.
