Why Uhuru's Huduma Namba project failed - ICT CS Eliud Owalo explains

Speaking on Citizen TV’s News Night show on Tuesday, CS Owalo elucidated that President William Ruto’s digital superhighway project shares the same idea behind the formation of Huduma Namba, which is to simplify government services for public access.

“The intention of Huduma Namba was good because it was trying to ensure that we have a digital identity that could facilitate virtual transactions between the government and the public as far as the provision of services is concerned,” Owalo stated.

He added: “It is the same thing we are going to do as we roll out this government digitization process because it is still imperative that we don’t need as Kenyans to go to government offices flashing identity cards.”

On why the project by former President Uhuru Kenyatta did not see the light of day, CS Owalo argues that the government did not conduct proper public sensitization and that the political atmosphere at the time of the launch created room for suspicions.

"The pitfall that befell Huduma Namba is that there was no adequate sensitization at the beginning. And if you remember it was being launched at a time when there was also a crowded political atmosphere. So there were suspicions about it," said Owalo.

 Having been launched in 2018, the Huduma Namba program failed to kick off after the High Court declared its rollout illegal on grounds of being in conflict with the Data Protection Act, 2019.