Haki na Sheria v Maisha Namba

In December 2023, Haki na Sheria filed a case titled Haki na Sheria Initiative v Attorney General & 4 others (Petition 196 of 2023) before the High Court of Kenya challenging the constitutionality of the Maisha Namba Digital Identity Ecosystem. This new system aims to digitalise civil and personal registration, utilising a Unique Personal Identification (UPI) and Digital ID, among other features. However, the new ID system still fails to address issues previously identified by PI and its partners.

Haki Na Sheria flagged potential constitutional violations, including of the right to privacy and discrimination against marginalised communities. The petition seeks a prohibition on the roll out of the Maisha Ecosystem until the same can be brought in line with the Constitution, particularly until it addresses problems of exclusion of marginalised communities.

You can find out more about the issues central to the case here.

In June 2024, PI filed expert witness testimony before the court to assist the adjudication of the case. PI highlighted concerns emerging from identity systems around the world and proposed measures to mitigate these issues. Key topics addressed include biometrics, exclusion, unique identifiers, data breaches, security, function creep, data retention, and the effective application of data protection law.