Government issues statement on registration of Kenyans to ‘wrong’ political parties

The Data Protection Commissioner has issued a statement on the registration of Kenyans to various political parties after wide spread protest.

Kenyans woke up on Saturday 19 to find out they were listed as members of various political parties on the e-citizen platform by the Registrar of Political Parties.

In her Friday, June 25 statement, Immaculate Kassait, the Data Protection Commissioner said her office had received over 200 complaints from citizens. 

“The attention of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has been drawn to reports of alleged processing (including the collection and use) of personal data belonging to members of the public for the registration to various political parties without their consent,” the statement read in part.

Kassait revealed that the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties resolved to deregister the names of the complainants after a meeting between the two offices.

“My office will continue to engage with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, Political Parties and other Data Controllers and Processors to ensure compliance with the Data Protection  Act,2019,” Kassait said. 

Kassait further asked members of the public to be patient as her office sorts out the complaints made by Kenyans who filled a compliant form.

“The Office calls for patience from those aggrieved and assures the public that the Office is taking steps to ensure that the rights of data subjects pursuant to the Act are respected and protected,” the Data Protection Commissioner said. 

In response to the uproar among Kenyans, the Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu said the listing was part of the pilot process of the integrated political parties management system on the e-citizen platform and that the issues raised would be addressed once the process was finalized.

“The parties have a right to recruit members and sometimes speaking from experience sometimes people forget that they registered, and you cannot say a party obtained details fraudulently,” Anne Nderitu said on Saturday, June 19.

The Registrar of Political Parties further stated that her office was carrying out an audit of the political parties membership register ahead of the 2022 elections.