Digital ID key in Kenya’s digital transformation agenda: Eliud Owalo

(Dr. Joseph Atick, Eliud Owalo, and Julius Bitok on stage at ID4Africa 2023)

In Kenya, the idea of a national identity comes with a colonial history that involved exploitation and control. The kipande was an early, brutal instance of biometrics being used for oppression: an ID document, including fingerprints and work history, that British colonizers forced Kenyan men over 15 to wear around their necks in a metal case, to control and restrict their movements.

Despite those …

africa biometrics biometrics news civil colonial control digital digital id digital transformation document exploitation fingerprints history id4africa id4africa 2023 identity id for all in depth instance kenya key national national id stage transformation unique personal identifier (upi)