President Uhuru extends Huduma Namba registration deadline

President Uhuru Kenyatta at a past event.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday extended Huduma Namba mass registration deadline by a week, therefore the exercise will close on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 6.00pm while in Diaspora it will end on June 6.

He revealed that 35 million people have so far registered for Huduma Namba and commended the resilience of individuals who stepped up to ensure the exercise was a success.

“Today is the penultimate day of this registration exercise and I take this opportunity to salute the men and women who have made this a success.  In particular, the 42,000 young Kenyans working as Registration Assistants and 8,000 Registration Officers and the 400 ICT officers distributed in all our sub counties in the country,” he said in a statement.

Long queues have been witnessed for the past two days across the country in centres within major towns such as Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyeri, Kakamega, Garissa and Nyeri as Kenyans rushed to beat the deadline.

Uhuru however urged Kenyans to take advantage of the extension and avoid the last-minute rush.

“I have observed with concern the long queues formed during these final days of the exercise in different parts of the country. It brings to the fore an ingrained last-minute rush habit that holds us back. Nevertheless, Kenyans are determined to register for their Huduma Namba and I have obliged to the numerous requests to give them an opportunity to do so,” he added.

The exercise has so far received backlash from institutions like the Law Society of Kenya. Through their president Allen Gichuhi, the body criticised the national government for setting a deadline for the exercise and said the registration was not even mandatory.

“The government should not force anyone to acquire the number. No one should be denied any government services for failing to register,” he said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i had set the deadline to Saturday, May 18, 2019 during the launch of the exercise.