Gates Cozies Up to Kenya for Birth-to-Death Digital ID Program Rollout Already Drawing Public Concern
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation reached an agreement with the Kenyan government to provide services for a lifetime digital identification system.
However, the ID system faced resistance from the public — and was placed in limbo by a court ruling this month.
Bill Gates held several “closed-door meetings” with Kenyan President William Ruto and other government officials before the agreement was announced, according to The HighWire.
Ruto said the ID system, called Maisha Namba, is “meant for his government to enhance service delivery to citizens,” Kenyans.co.ke reported.
Julius Bitok, the country’s principal secretary of immigration and citizen services, said the current ID system is about 30 years old and needs to be replaced.
