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Kenya among countries seeking data harmonisation to ease travel across Africa

Kenya’s Data Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait addresses the media in Naiorbi on April 29, 2024. (Photo: Office of The Data Protection Commissioner)

By John Mbati | 29 Apr 2024

Some African countries, including Kenya, recently removed visa requirements to ease travel across the continent and Kassait believes data harmonisation will remove further barriers.

Kenya is among several African countries seeking to harmonise data and unveil a protection framework to ease travel across Africa, the country's Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait has said.

Kassait was speaking at a presser on Monday ahead of the upcoming Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference scheduled for May 7 to May 9 this year in Nairobi.

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President William Ruto will be the chief guest at the continental conference.

“That is one of the issues that we will be discussing at the conference because stakeholders wonder why multinationals or travellers must comply with a country’s set of data regulations whenever they visit different nations.

“At times, these regulatory frameworks are not uniform, they have different requirements. You can imagine the difficulties in terms of compliance from one country to another. The clarion call is, How do we make sure these frameworks begin to get harmonised?” Kassait stated.

Visa requirements

Some African countries, including Kenya, recently removed visa requirements to ease travel across the continent and Kassait believes data harmonisation will remove further barriers.

Principal Secretary at the State Department for Information and Communications Technology (ICT), John Tanui, added that hosting the meeting in Kenya serves as a pivotal platform for knowledge exchange and the sharing of experiences among African data protection authorities.

“It has been barely a week since we hosted the Connected Summit and we are glad to host another global conference.

“The 9th AGM in Kenya presents a unique opportunity to showcase Kenya's unwavering dedication to data protection and its position as a Silicon Savannah,” Tanui stated in the statement read by his secretary Emmanuel Kimeu.

He added that the two-day conference, which will comprise players in the tech and data protection industries, will present an opportunity to fortify the implementation of robust data protection frameworks, setting the stage for a more secure and responsible digital landscape across the continent.

“Participants can look forward to delving into the nuances of data protection trends across various African countries, gaining insights into best practices, and fostering partnerships to advance data protection initiatives on the continent,” the PS added.

Other issues to be discussed at the meeting include navigating the global data privacy landscape and promoting data flows, building a safe and trusted digital space for children and AI for inclusive development.

On AI, PS Tanui stated that Kenya is moving towards establishing a national framework to guide its adoption.