The High Court has lifted the injunction barring the government from rolling out Maisha Namba, the digital identifiers, providing a significant victory for President William Ruto's administration.

Alongside this decision, the court has also decided to transfer the case from the Judicial Review Court to the Constitutional Division of the High Court.

Maisha Namba, previously suspended, had led to a nationwide backlog in ID applications.

The Interior Ministry, represented by its legal team, argued successfully for the injunction's removal, highlighting the risk of conflicting judicial decisions between different court divisions and the need for clarity.

Justice John Chigiti, in delivering the ruling, acknowledged the concerns raised by the petitioners, Katiba Institute, particularly regarding the absence of a data protection impact assessment before the rollout.

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The court found substance in the petition, stating, "Upon perusing the Application alongside the annexures therein, I find that the Application is not frivolous nor vexatious. It raises an arguable case that should be heard and determined on merit within the Fair Administrative Action Act framework."

Granting leave for the petition to proceed, the court effectively stayed the injunction.

Katiba Institute further alleged that the Interior Ministry failed to conduct sufficient public participation before initiating the Maisha Namba rollout.

They accused the ministry of violating Section 31 of the Data Protection Act, mandating assessments for projects posing risks to data subjects' rights and freedoms.

"They remain intent on building the Maisha Namba on the shaky foundation of data illegally collected and processed during the Huduma Namba exercise," the petitioners asserted before the court.

Criticizing the ministry's approach, they cited hastily developed regulations allegedly contravening constitutional and statutory obligations, adopted in violation of the Statutory Instruments Act.

The decision to lift the injunction represents a significant development in the legal dispute over Maisha Namba. With the case now moved to the Constitutional Division of the High Court, stakeholders anticipate further proceedings to determine the fate of these contentious digital identifiers.