Would you voluntarily allow the government to have your DNA details?
Everywhere we go, we leave our DNA behind. Forensics profits from this “abandoned” DNA to solve crimes. As technology improves, could we wind up with a database of everyone’s DNA – including yours?
However ,President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2018, which the State could use to collect the wide range of personal information even before you end up in a crime.
Through amendments to the Registration of Persons Act, Kenyans will be required to provide their DNA samples to be used for precise identification of persons in the wake of increasing terrorist attacks and the changing face of the menace.
Kenyans are further required to provide place of residence, postal address, and GPS coordinates to uniquely identify a person’s precise geographic location.
The Government’s plan to collect personal information of all Kenyans, including their DNA profiles and the GPS locations of their places of residence is facing opposition from various quarters concerned about possible breaches of privacy.
There are fears of misuse of DNA profiles for criminal purposes, manipulation of paternity tests and unlawful access by insurance firms to inform decisions on medical cover thus fuelling resistance.
“To enhance the progress made by the Integrated Population Registration System (IPRS), my administration will complete a central master population database, which will be the authentic ‘single source of truth’ on personal identity in Kenya. The database will contain information on all Kenyan citizens as well as foreign nationals residing in Kenya,” Uhuru told a meeting of security chiefs last week.
But a cross-section of stakeholders, including human rights groups, lawyers, MPs and medics, have warned that the proposal, without sufficient safeguards, was prone to abuse and violation of the right to privacy.
Although most of them did not oppose the move, they argued that Kenya did not have a clear legal regime to guide the process, warning that it could infringe on the rights of Kenyans.
Should Uhurus powers be trimmed?