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AFRICA/BIOMETRIC ID SYSTEMS – Activists sound alarm over African biometric ID projects (Madeleine Speed, Al Jazeera)

In January this year, Kenya’s High Court halted the roll-out of the country’s controversial biometric ID, the Huduma Namba, citing the lack of a regulatory framework to protect the privacy of citizens.

Once distribution is complete before the end of 2021, Kenyans will need the ID – which holds their fingerprints, contact details and occupational information –  to access government services. When asked in 2019 why the government was pursuing the project, Kenya’s Information and Communication Technology Principal Secretary, Jerome Ochieng, responded, “Data is the new oil.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/12/10/activists-sound-alarm-over-african-biometric-id-projects