By Milliam Murigi
When Kenya rolled out the Maisha Card, its new digital identification document (ID), government officials promised faster access to services, a modernized identification system, and a step toward a digital future.
But months later, hundreds of thousands of the new cards remain uncollected, as many citizens refuse to pick them up. Others have refused to enroll for this new ID card.
Public mistrust, fear of surveillance, and uncertainty over how biometric data will be used have slowed the programme, exposing deep resistance to the country’s shift toward a digital identity system.
Kenya’s struggle is not unique. Across Africa, governments are rapidly adopting digital-ID systems as the backbone of modern state services, from authentication and social protection programs to healthcare and financial inclusion.
However, a new study warns that while these systems are marketed as tools of inclusion, they are increasingly deepening social and economic marginalization.
“Millions of citizens in Africa are unable to access essential services to which they are entitled, as new digital ID systems continue to be imposed across the continent,” reveals the report.
The report, Biometric Digital-ID in Africa: Progress and Challenges to Date – Ten Country Case Studies, published by the Institute of Development Studies, reveals that many citizens do not want to enrol for the new digital IDs, because the system requires them to provide biometric and personal information.
Lack of clear data-protection safeguards, fears of surveillance, and limited public awareness have further discouraged enrollment, leaving millions uncertain about how their sensitive information will be stored, used, or shared.
“Many citizens also choose not to enroll in biometric digital IDs, which use identifiers such as fingerprint and iris scans or facial recognition, due to fears of data leaks or mistrust in their government,” reads part of the report.
Failure to enroll has left millions locked out of essential government services, financial systems, healthcare, and social protection programmes. Esther Njeri, an elderly woman from Embu County, is one of the many citizens affected by Kenya’s shift to digital IDs. After losing her national ID, she sought a replacement, only to be told she needed a Maisha card instead.
When she went to register, she faced repeated rejections as her fingerprints failed to register properly due to years of farm work. Without the card, she cannot access essential services, leaving her feeling invisible.
Beyond Kenya, similar stories emerge across the continent. In Malawi, for example, the country’s biometric national ID system has already led to citizens being excluded from mobile services and public programmes because no alternative verification methods exist.
“Exclusions without redress are resulting in a new class of digitally dispossessed people deprived of rights and entitlements, and without legal recourse,” the report reads.
In Egypt, refugees, Bedouins, gender-diverse individuals, and people living in remote regions struggle to obtain IDs due to bureaucratic barriers and discriminatory practices. This effectively locks them out of education, employment, healthcare, and financial services.
Botswana’s system, meanwhile, depends heavily on the physical Omang card, a risk as more services move online and undocumented communities fall further behind.
“While digital-ID systems are promoted for legitimate purposes such as fraud prevention and service delivery, their governance frequently falls short of necessity and proportionality principles that are foundational to human rights-based approaches,” the report reads.
According to the report, most digital-ID systems, estimated to cost at least US$1 billion to install across Africa, currently lack adequate legal frameworks to protect citizens from exposure to human rights violations and robust digital security to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data. They also lack accountability mechanisms for remedy and redress when data entry errors, breaches or system failures occur.
“Some African governments have put in place sophisticated legislative frameworks that provide protections for fundamental human rights that biometric digital-ID systems can put at risk. However, some gaps and failings urgently need to be addressed,” the report reads.
Dr. Tony Roberts, Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and co-editor of the report, notes that while some citizens may benefit from the convenience of digital-ID systems, those who rely on public services the most are often the ones unable to register. As a result, millions are being locked out of essential services simply because they cannot enroll in biometric systems.
He explains that some people with visual impairments must even pay others to help them use their digital IDs on mobile phones to access social-protection payments. Beyond disability-related barriers, millions more across Africa are excluded due to digital illiteracy and the high cost of mobile data.
“Worryingly, fundamental human rights, like education, healthcare and the right to vote, are rapidly becoming conditional on enrolment in biometric digital-ID systems,” says Roberts.
According to Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative and co-editor of the report, as governments adopt biometric digital ID systems, robust legislation must first be in place to protect citizens’ rights and data privacy.
Apart from that, biometric digital IDs should not be imposed top-down but instead be developed in participation with citizens. To ensure that no one is left behind and that the benefits of digital ID are shared equitably, it will be necessary to devise methods of consultation and participation that ensure that the drivers moving forward are the interests, rights, and freedoms of all Africans.
Including those most directly at risk of exclusion and disadvantage from biometric digital-ID systems. Only then can digital-ID systems evolve into tools of empowerment rather than control.
“The interests, rights, and freedoms of all Africans, but especially those most directly at risk of exclusion and disadvantage, must be central to any biometric digital-ID systems,” says Sesan.
In conclusion, Sesan says that as African states push forward with digital identification, the question is no longer whether the technology will be adopted but whether it will empower citizens or leave millions in the shadows of a rapidly digitizing world.
