The turnout for Huduma Namba registration was overwhelming that the government extended the process with a couple of days to give room for everyone else who had not registered for it. After evaluating the outcome, the government will be rolling another Huduma Namba application for the remaining few, through local chiefs and their assistants.
Although the court had declared that the registration for Huduma Namba to be reduced to a voluntary process without Government forcing anyone to acquire or set any deadlines for registration of Huduma Namba, the government somehow got away with it. The court also ruled that the government should not interfere with an individual’s right to privacy and refrain from making registration to Huduma Namba, a condition for receiving government services or sharing the data with any foreign organizations.
But the reality of having a Huduma Namba could soon dawn on Kenyans if a section of the proposed Huduma Namba Bill is anything to go by. The Bill seeks to make Huduma Namba a prerequisite for access to the very basic public services that are very crucial in the day to day operations of Kenyans.
“Every individual resident shall have a mandatory obligation to present Huduma Namba in order to be issued with a passport, apply for a driving license, registration of mobile number, registration as a voter, pay tax, transact in financial markets, open a bank account, register a company or a public benefit organization, transfer or make dealings in land, register for electricity connection, access universal health care benefits from government housing scheme, register for marriage, register into public education facility, access to social protection services, register to transfer a motor vehicle, and any other public service,” reads a section of the Huduma Namba Bill.
The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government has organised an open public forum for public participation on Thursday 25th July 2019 at the Kenya School of Government, Lower Kabete Campus.
