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Paradigm Initiative Calls out Kenyan Government over Privacy concern on Huduma Number
On February 18 2019, the government of Kenya publicly announced the rolling out of Huduma number, a single number that is linked to a resident’s personal identifiers including biometric and demographic data in digital form.
Huduma number was made law through the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 18 of 2018 which introduced various critical amendments to the Registration of Persons Act, Cap 107.
This Miscellaneous Amendments Bill came into force on January 18, 2019, a mere 19 days after the President gave his assent with no public consultation.
Rebecca Ryakitimbo, Paradigm Initiative’s Google Policy Fellow, East Africa stated, ”the Act introduced a National Integrated Management system to maintain a national population register for all persons within Kenya including registered foreigners and merge several public registers including immigration register that has passport details”.
According to the Government of Kenya the said number would ease identification processes and public service delivery.
However despite the positive image painted by the government, human rights defenders and residents have urged that the Huduma number violates the right to privacy, equality, the right to non-discrimination in the bill of rights and the right to public participation.
On February 14 2018 Nubian Rights Forum (NRF) filed a case in the High Court of Kenya Constitutional and Human Rights Division against its rollout.
Other institutions like Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights filed similar cases on February 18 2019.
This cases stalled the roll out. However in April the High Court allowed the government to launch the Huduma registration but with several conditions pending hearing and determination of suit against the programme.
‘Gbenga Sesan, the Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative, noted, ”Among the conditions the court issued on the government included been barred from forcing Kenyans to register, using the data to withhold any services and sharing the collected information with international bodies. The State was also prohibited from including DNA in the biometrics”.
In effect to this the parliament of Kenya has drafted the Huduma Namba Bill 2019 to address some of the concerns raised over its roll out and has issued a public notice for comments on the said bill.
Ideally Huduma namba shouldn’t have been rolled out until the enactment of sufficient legal mechanisms such as the data protection law and the proposed “huduma namba bill”.
Rebecca Ryakitimbo added, ”The Huduma namba bill makes Huduma namba mandatory in payment of taxes at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), opening of bank accounts and undertaking land transfers among others.
“As a result residents may be denied their constitutional rights simply because they do not have one.
“The same applies for sanctions and fines that follow non-compliance taking away citizens control over their data”.
Tope Ogundipe, Director of Programmes, Paradigm Initiative, noted, ”The penalties under the bill are unrealistic and unreasonable.
“Some provisions such as registration of passports do not allow for due process, and residents cannot appeal if denied passports according to the bill.
“Provisions of the bill should not deny residents access to services by making huduma namba a de facto requirement to access public services, including health services”.
As the Parliament of Kenya deliberates on the bill it should look at the bill’s implication to the right to privacy and ensure it encompasses data protection principles and provide for principles of fairness and transparency, data minimization and accountability.
Understanding the nature and sensitivity of this kind of “data bank”, it is necessary that sufficient mechanisms are in place to ensure that the system is not vulnerable to breaches and that risk mitigation plans are in place.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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