Nubian Rights Forum & 2 others v Attorney General & 6 others; Child Welfare Society & 9 others (Interested Parties) [2020] eKLR sections of the said land laws in support of his statement. 527. Stating that the risks to data security and the right to privacy can be mitigated, Dr. Orengo argued that the right to privacy must often be balanced against the State's compelling interests, including the promotion of public safety and improving the quality of life. He averred that in February 2018, United Nations agencies and human rights organizations that specialize in privacy rights issues met and formulated a set of common principles fundamental to maximizing the benefits of identification systems for sustainable development while mitigating many of the risks. He enumerated some of the principles that were formulated as including, first, ensuring universal coverage for individuals from birth to death, free from discrimination, while the second principle was removing barriers to access and usage and disparities in the availability of information and technology. The third principle requires States to establish a robust, unique, secure, and accurate identity, while the fourth requires creating a platform that is interoperable and responsive to the needs of various users. 528. A further principle, according to the 8th Interested Party, is using open standards and ensuring vendor and technology neutrality, protecting user privacy and control through system design, planning for financial and operational sustainability without compromising accessibility, and safeguarding data privacy, security, and user rights through a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework. Other principles are establishing clear institutional mandates and accountability, and finally, enforcing legal and trust frameworks through independent oversight and adjudication of grievances. 529. Dr. Orengo deposed that he was aware that Kenya already has or is in the process of enacting several provisions in statutes that protect the right to privacy and conform to the principles on data security and privacy, which he set out in his affidavit. It was his averment that despite a massive and aggressive negative propaganda campaign mounted by the Petitioners in the media, close to 20 million Kenyans had nevertheless registered with Huduma Namba, which showed that Kenyans had confidence in the digital identification system. 530. Edward Kingori, a member of the Terror Victims Support Initiative, the 9th Interested Party swore an affidavit on 26th April, 2019 in which he joined the Respondents in opposing the Petitions. He averred that the 9th Interested Party is a group formed to assist victims of terrorist attacks in Kenya and give them a forum to share their experiences, support each other and engage the government on the eradication of terror attacks in the country. 531. Mr. Kingori averred that a citizen’s right to privacy must be limited as privacy can be an avenue for terrorists and their sympathizers and financiers to disguise their identity and subsequently afford them an opportunity to meet, plan, and finance attacks in the guise of right to privacy. He deposed that allowing terrorists unlimited rights is equal to surrendering the right to life as the terrorists’ rights cannot be more important or so precious that their rights should not be limited. 532. Mr. Kingori listed in his affidavit several incidents of terror attacks that have occurred in Kenya. He averred that terrorists and criminals are, by the very nature of their activities, faceless and shadowy figures who go to great lengths to hide and misrepresent their intentions, plans and activities. It was, he asserted, a utopian fantasy to insist that law enforcement agencies should rely on the old paper based methods of fighting such criminals or that settled notions of human rights protection such as habeas corpus, the right to bail and the right to privacy apply to terrorists. Further, that apart from maiming and loss of lives, terrorist acts have also had a negative effect on many sectors of the economy especially those involved in the hospitality sector which in turn feeds into a vicious cycle of collapsing hotel businesses with the attendant job losses and entrenched poverty in places like the former Coast province. His opinion was that the Huduma Namba will be a useful tool in fighting terrorism. 533. Mr. Kingori deposed at length on the legislative measures taken by Kenya and other jurisdiction in the fight against terrorism. It was his averment that those laws have limited the right to privacy but such limitation has been found to be constitutional. The case of Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) & 2 others vs Republic http://www.kenyalaw.org - Page 79/174