Kenya considers linking national ID database to CCTV facial recognition network

Kenya’s government is planning to link the country’s civil registry database with a CCTV network spanning six cities to enable facial recognition as part of an attempt to strengthen law enforcement.

The proposed CCTV network will be operated by the National Police Service, and have access to the National Registration Bureau database through an integration by the Ministry of Interior, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said in an interview reported by Kenyans.

The Ministry announced its intention to roll out surveillance cameras in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret and Nyeri earlier in June. The Eastleigh Voice reports that the Nairobi deployment is expected to become operational three to six months after the procurement is complete.

Kenya’s government is in the final stages of procuring the facial recognition surveillance system, according to Murkomen, and is hoping to complete the tender for up to 25 billion Kenyan shillings (approximately US$190 million) within two months.

The government plans to integrate system with the Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre (IC3) as part of an overall upgrade. The NPS also launched a facial recognition system using NEC technology within the IC3 for its CCTV network along major roads and highways back in 2018.

“Once we establish this technology, we will slowly build in the data of various people based on information in the ID,” Murkomen said. “Police will now be able to use the faces of Kenyans with their pictures in the official data.”

Law enforcement is restricted from populating facial recognition databases with data from civil IDs in many countries around the world, on grounds that it treats the entire population as suspects. UK police appear to be gaining the power to search civil databases, however.

Kenyans reports that when asked about data protection and privacy, Murkomen noted that the cameras would be installed only in public spaces.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  cctv  |  civil registration  |  facial recognition  |  Kenya  |  national security  |  video surveillance