Kenya: Did we get Huduma Namba because of a simple mistake in Parliament?
Published: 25/Oct/2019
Source: CIPIT Blog ~ Strathmore University Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT)
By Isaac Rutenberg
The Hansard for the Miscellaneous Amendment Act 2018 makes for very interesting reading. On 7th August 2018, Parliament debated proposed amendments to the Registration of Persons Act that would create the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS, a.k.a. “Huduma Namba”).
Many Parliamentarians questioned the legality and wisdom of introducing NIIMS via the Miscellaneous Amendment process. Said Hon. Robert Mbui:
“this [bill] is basically meant to deal with minor amendments to various laws. It also helps us to save time. I have gone through the Bill and I have seen quite a number of major amendments. The amendments are basically good and a lot of them seek to add value to the laws that exist. It is unfortunate that they have come as omnibus; they have all come together, so they may not receive the kind of attention that they require. I have picked about five amendments that I think are major and require a lot of deliberations. The first one is the amendment on the registration of persons.”
Read further: https://blog.cipit.org/2019/10/25/did-we-get-huduma-namba-because-of-a-simple-mistake-in-parliament/