The national assembly approved the nomination of immaculate Kassait as Data commissioner on Thursday.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to formally appoint her, making her the Kenya’s first Data Commissioner
Until her nomination she was the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Director of Voter Registration and Election Operations.
Kassait was vetted by the House Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation Committee under chairmanship of Marakwet West MP William Kissang.
Kassait has an uphill task she to guarantee the protection of citizens’ data and fight against cybercrime across the country if formaly appointed to the job.
“Given the opportunity, I am willing and ready to work to ensure that regulations are in place to ensure that data protection in Kenya becomes a reality and Kenya is placed in Africa second after Ghana as a trailblazer in ensuring personal data is protected,” Kassait promised during her vetting before parliamentary committee.
As a data commissioner she will be responsible for the enforcement of the Data Protection Act, which entails
- oversight on data processing operations
- , promoting self-regulation among data controllers,
- promoting international cooperation in data protection related issues,
- conducting research on data processing development.
Kassait’s approval paves way for the roll out of an electronic civil registry – Huduma Namba – which was temporarily halted by the High Court in 2019.
A panel of three judges had ruled that the roll out of the Huduma Namba was unconstitutional considering at the time there were no explicit data protection laws and a substantive Data Commissioner.
The case was filed by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Nubian Rights Forum.
A Data Protection Act was passed in November 2019.
The government is set for a second roll out of the National Integrated Identification Management System (NIIMS) registration commonly known as Huduma Namba.
However, 38 million people were listed in the first phase of registration which was conducted in April 2019.
The new number is crucial because it captures individuals’ data on a single card.
The card will be used by Kenyans in acquiring government services such as seeking treatment in public hospitals, registration of marriages or filing tax returns.
