The Principal Secretary for Interior Karanja Kibicho has addressed fears that the Huduma Bill that is before the parliament will do away with the immigration department.

Kibicho said that while appearing before the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security of the National Assembly.

“We need to make it absolutely clear that this Bill does not kill the Immigration department. That was never the intention. The functions of the Citizens and the Immigration Act will remain in place. The person who is trained to do immigration will continue to work in his/her current station,” Kibicho said.

Kibicho told the committee that the Bill that provides the framework for Huduma Namba and Huduma Card will place services provided by the Immigration department, Civil Registration and National Registration Bureaus under one legal framework.

According to the PS, the three departments will continue offering their clear-cut services albeit under a Huduma Secretariat.

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Therefore, he said, it was improper for the Immigration Department to contest the Bill in court because its senior management and staff were instrumental in drafting the bill and are aware of its implications.

“The Immigration Department has been a faithful attendee of all Huduma Bill meetings. It has been a critical player in our stakeholders’ engagements. We have engaged their lawyers and shared all information to the staff,” Kibicho said.

Kibicho defended the proposed Huduma Namba and Huduma card as a sensible and necessary consolidation of information currently being held by various state agencies.

He added that the Bill is trying to create tidiness and harmonise information for easy service delivery.

“The Bill is trying to create tidiness and order. Currently, we have various registrations that capture the need the same data. Instead of running to places to be asked ten times, why can’t we have one that rationalizes the same number from birth to death,” the PS said.

Kibicho said the Bill will also isolate criminals and unmerited beneficiaries of important identification documents. 

He also made it clear that the Huduma Card will not be used in the August elections contrary to popular misunderstanding.