Gov't Drafts New Bill to Make Huduma Namba Mandatory

The government has drafted a new bill that seeks to make it mandatory for all Kenyans to have a Huduma Namba from December 2019.

The bill dubbed Huduma Namba Bill 2019 was published by the Ministry of Interior and proposes that a citizen must have the unique identification number in order to get access to any government services.

The bill comes less than two months after the government completed mass registration of Kenyans in the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS).

Kenyans have 14 days beginning July 25th to submit their views on the proposed Huduma Namba Bill before it is tabled in the National Assembly.

If passed into law, Kenyans will be issued with a Huduma Card, which will make all other documents including ID cards obsolete. Citizens seeking crucial services such as the acquisition of passports, driving licenses and registration of mobile phone numbers will be required to produce a Huduma Namba.

The number will also be mandatory in payment of taxes to Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the opening of bank accounts, and undertaking land transfers among others.

The card will be issued to all Kenyan citizens aged above six years, foreigners, and refugees.

The bill states that anyone who transacts business without Huduma Namba will be liable to one-year imprisonment or pay a fine not exceeding Sh1 million.

Last month, government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said a total of 37.7 million people were listed during the mass registration while 11 million were left out.