Kenya's Huduma Namba program, launched in 2019, has drawn criticism over its lack of regulatory safeguards as the nation remains without comprehensive data protection laws. The initiative, which aggregates personal identifiers under a single national number, includes a Sh6 billion technology consortium and a Mastercard partnership for prepaid cards linked to the Huduma number.
Proposed data protection legislation faces scrutiny over provisions like Section 38, which permits data controllers to charge fees for data portability. This contradicts international norms prioritizing individual control over personal information, with experts comparing the situation to the 2000 dot-com bubble's unregulated technological ventures.
The bill's final draft, shared with private sector representatives rather than the public, has raised transparency concerns. Telecommunications disputes, including Safaricom's data portability practices, highlight the need for clear regulatory boundaries amid ongoing legislative delays.
