CS Matiang’i Gives Update on Huduma Namba Program

Interior CS Fred Matiang’i has dispelled claims that the government abandoned the much-hyped Huduma Namba program. 

Kenyans are yet to be issued with Huduma Nambas more than a year after their data was collected during a 45-day mass registration exercise that cost the taxpayer about Sh6 billion.

President Kenyatta launched the listing of Kenyans on the database dubbed the National Identity Integrated Management Systems (NIIMS) on April 2nd, 2019.

By the end of the exercise, the government said it captured data of over 37 million Kenyans residing in the country and abroad. 

In an interview with NTV on Saturday, CS Matiang’i said the government is still working on the program, which is presently in the synchronization stage where a person’s data will be put in one file. 

“The registration was the first step, then the synchronization of the data sets before we give you that one number. We make sure that every person has got a file that is complete. Your NHIF details are there, your pin details are there, then we give you the number,” Matiang’i noted.

“That exercise is what is going on and we are at the tail end of it and everybody will get a Huduma Namba. With the Huduma Card, you don’t need an ID Card,” he added.

In January this year, the High Court in Nairobi paved the way for the government to implement the program after dismissing a case challenging the legality of NIIMS.