Outcry

Kenyans have reacted angrily to the reports which have appeared online that the recently merged NIC Bank and Kenyatta family-owned Commercial Bank of Africa entity NCBA are demanding the controversial Huduma Number from those operating and willing to open bank accounts with them.

Without any law to back the demands, the controversial Huduma Number which is believed to be a key component to have the Kenyatta family manipulate the upcoming elections and force a leadership which will not be popularly elected on Kenyans.

Before the current uproar, then CBA was accused of using the Huduma Number details to mine data from Kenyans for private business endeavours, a move seen as going against the law and need for respect for data privacy.

The government announced that there would be a second registration of Kenyans through a system known as the National Digital Registry System (NDRS), a system which has already been hijacked by the now named NCBA.

During the Huduma Number registration, the government was accused of using the then National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) or Huduma Namba to further private interests of NCBA and Mastercard Foundation, an allegation which was not properly responded to by the Interior Ministry mandarins who bullied Kenyans into registering for the service.

Interior Ministry was recently in the news for demanding a further Ksh 1 billion from Treasury for undisclosed Huduma Number operations. The Ministry insisted that the money was not an addition to the amount received but just that they received less than they were supposed to and so it was just demand of debt owed by the Treasury.

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