VIDEO: Forced party membership

Thousands of Kenyans have been registered as members of several political parties without their knowledge.

Through a verification portal managed by the registrar of political parties, unsuspecting Kenyans have discovered that their personal information was used to register them illegally. The registration raises fears that the information could be used to commit fraud, during the parties’ impending nominations. To retrieve one’s details in the portal one is required to key in their national identity or passport number.

The revelations come against the backdrop of similar concerns in 2012, when political parties were accused of harvesting personal details from Mpesa agents and registering individuals as members without their consent.

We spoke to the registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndungu. Let’s hear what she has to say on the matter.