Thread by @NubianRights

The #HudumaNamba Case Appeal: A Thread 

In January, the High Court stopped the implementation of #NIIMS

The government can only move on #HudumaNamba *after* a comprehensive regulatory framework is in place to address exclusion & data privacy

The court was clear: even processing and using the data collected needed the regulatory framework first

It's not yet in place

(Yet PS Kibicho said millions of #HudumaNamba records have been cleaned & matched - a clear violation)

The #HudumaNamba judgement highlights risks to #privacy, data protection, and inclusion & struck out use of DNA & GPS - a significant win for the rights of all Kenyans

But other aspects of the judgement must be challenged to ensure stronger #humanrights protections

In February 2020, Nubian Rights Forum filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal against the #HudumaNamba judgement

Our appeal is on the basis of three main issues: system design, #discrimination, & the misc. amendments procedure

#digitalID #digitalidentity

1. System design:

The court determined that it was incapable of making a decision on whether the *design* of #NIIMS was unconstitutional - including how the design may impact the right to privacy, the right to equality, or other Constitutional rights

#HudumaNamba

This is despite our compelling and credible expert evidence that #NIIMS was requiring too much information which would be stored in a central database, raising significant risks to privacy and of #surveillance

#HudumaNamba #DataProtectionKE

2. Discrimination: The court found that #HudumaNamba could exclude "whole segments of the Kenyan population"

But it was not clear on the systemic discrimination faced by the Nubian community and million of other Kenyans in their attempts to acquire ID cards

Without addressing past and current discrimination in Kenya's identification system, #HudumaNamba will remain exclusionary

@NGECKenya @acerwc @court_afchpr

namati.org/resources/vice…

3. Use of Miscellaneous Amendments Bill: The court found as long as #publicparticipation was done, a Misc. Statute can make substantive changes to the law

This contradicts many judgments that found Misc. Statute is only for minor changes to the law

#HudumaNamba @lawsocietykenya

We cannot allow this precedent to stand 

The amendments that created #NIIMS made fundamental changes to Kenya's entire system of registration and #identification - touching almost all areas of our lives

#HudumaNamba #DigitalID

We also take issue with the finding that there was adequate public participation in the creation of #NIIMS

See our original press release on the #HudumaNamba appeal here

We are waiting for a court date for the #HudumaNamba appeal

COVID & delayed appointment of court of appeals judges has caused disruption to many judicial processes

More updates to come

In the meantime: tell everyone you know about the #HudumaNamba judgement, the appeal, & the need to make our voices heard before the regulations & #NIIMS become a reality