Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Belio Kipsang, has unveiled plans to establish a disaster recovery site for the government’s eCitizen platform, following concerns raised about the system’s reliability and accountability.
Speaking during a briefing with the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, PS Kipsang outlined measures aimed at strengthening the integrity and resilience of the digital platform, which hosts over 5,000 government services.
The announcement comes in the wake of a report by the Auditor-General that flagged transparency and accountability gaps within eCitizen, warning of possible misuse of billions of shillings processed through the system. Kipsang assured lawmakers that the proposed disaster recovery site would serve as a secure backup, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery in the event of system failures, cyberattacks, or other emergencies.
“The briefing covered system performance, challenges, and future plans, including establishing a disaster recovery site and Treasury’s measures to safeguard public funds,” a statement from the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services read.
The eCitizen platform has faced growing scrutiny since experiencing a major outage in 2024 that paralyzed essential services such as passport applications, business registrations, and land searches, leaving thousands of Kenyans stranded. The PS emphasized that the new backup system would shield citizens from a repeat of such service paralysis, although technical details of the project are yet to be disclosed.
Beyond eCitizen, the committee also discussed the rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), which recently replaced traditional visa processes for travelers entering Kenya. According to Kipsang, the transition is progressing smoothly and is expected to enhance national security while improving the experience for tourists and business visitors.
The lawmakers further deliberated on the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2025, which seeks to address the plight of stateless persons. The Bill proposes legal recognition and pathways to citizenship for individuals who have lived in Kenya for decades without formal nationality due to historical and bureaucratic challenges.
Parliament is expected to scrutinize both the technical safeguards for eCitizen and the legislative reforms as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen public trust in government systems and inclusivity in citizenship policies.
