2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) button; and deterrence for money laundering and terrorism activities resulting from the tracking of criminals. 30 Digital ID is also touted as a solution to long standing challenges regarding nationality. Per the government, non-Kenyans from surrounding countries have acquired the national identity card fraudulently while others have non-genuine ID. 31 With centralisation of data, genuine Kenyan ID card holders have nothing to fear as their documents would be verified and permanently recorded in the master database. The fake ID holders would either have to prove their ‘Kenyan-ness’ or be locked out of the single source of truth. 32 EXCLUSION Considering that NIIMS dramatically reconceptualises access to government and other services, its legal basis in a three-clause amendment that received minimal public input and parliamentary debate is woefully inadequate. A comprehensive law would have provided an opportunity for dialogue on priorities in identity and inclusion in Kenya. Identity and inclusion experts have long called for resolution of the identity crisis, especially in a country that leaves border communities as well as Nubians at risk of statelessness. 33 Such experts recommended digital ID with the understanding that priority would be given to persons without documentation so as to enhance their access to government services. 34 However, the NIIMS project is clearly focused on serving those individuals already equipped with identity documents. 35 The legal basis for NIIMS does not make provision for persons without identity documents. Yet, over the years, the provisions and practices of the Registration of Persons Act have contributed to the current situation for communities suffering from, or at risk of, statelessness. NIIMS has therefore been described as ‘exclusion by design’. 36 Such issues of exclusion are, furthermore, not addressed by the Huduma Namba Regulations, which legitimise primacy of digital ID over any other form of identification. The regulations do not address issues regarding lack of documentation, but instead empower government bureaucracy to approve or reject primary documents presented to them. 37 PRIVACY CONCERNS The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, which amends the Registration of Persons Act and authorises NIIMS, expands identity registration data to sophisticated biometric technology such as ‘fingerprints, hand geometry, earlobe 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ‘Government Proposes System That Will See Kenyans Carry Only Two ID Documents’, Nation (20 April 2018) <https://nation.africa/kenya/videos/news/government-proposessystem-that-will-see-kenyans-carry-only-two-id-documents-1260696>. NIIMS Case (n 55) [397] . @Haki_na_Sheria (Haki na Sheria) (Twitter, 3 October 2019, 12:38AM) <https://twitter.com/haki_na_sheria/status/1179405299071045638>. An Identity Crisis? (n 21). ibid. ‘Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)’, Huduma Namba (Web Page) <https://www.hudumanamba.go.ke/faqs/>. @NubianRights (Nubian Rights Forum) (Twitter, 24 September 2019, 10:44PM) <https://twitter.com/Haki_na_Sheria/status/1176477424286142464>, quoting Anand Venkatanarayanan as they were examined for the NIIMS Case (n 5). Registration of Persons Rules (n 9) r 13. 352