Kenya: PS Bitok Explains Why Maisha Namba Card Has an Expiry Date
Published: 24/Jul/2024
Source: Kenyans.co.ke
by Derrick Okubasu
Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok on Sunday night explained that the process of rolling out Maisha Namba cards was in full force, likely delaying the issuance of identification cards.
Speaking in an interview with Citizen TV, the PS revealed that in the last few months since the rollout kicked off, over 800,000 cards had already been issued to applicants.
He noted that the State was in the process of phasing out old IDs explaining that any new applicants receive the new chip-enabled Maisha Card.
For months, however, concerns had been raised by Kenyans over the inclusion of an expiry date on the new digital IDs.
In response, Bitok explained that all cards containing a chipset must operate under an expiring timeline in line with international standards.
“It has an expiry date because just like other technology, you know, it has a chip. Just like the cards from the bank, it has to have an expiry date because reading that chip expires with time. It is not forever. Also, that helps us clean our database so that the transition is very important,” he stated.
Read further: https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/101947-ps-bitok-explains-why-maisha-namba-card-has-expiry-date