President Uhuru Kenyatta has nominated former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) director Immaculate Kassait as Kenya’s first Data Commissioner. This is to give effect to the Data Protection Act.
Speaking at the National Assembly, Speaker Justin Muturi, announced the nomination saying, “I wish to report to the house that I have received a message from the President seeking National Assembly’s approval for the appointment of Miss Immaculate Kassait as the Data Commissioner in accordance to provisions of Section 6 (4) of the Data Protection Act 2019.”
The Hon @SpeakerJBMuturi has issued a Communication of a Message from the President on the Appointment of Immaculate Kassait as Data Commissioner. pic.twitter.com/RSG7RN2VTn
— National Assembly KE (@NAssemblyKE) October 13, 2020
Immaculate Kassait’s appointment will be considered by the Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, in the next 14days before the committee tables its report to parliament for final approval.
Kassait served as Director of Voter Education Partnership and Communication at IEBC since 2019. Previously she was the Director Voter Registration and Electoral Operation for 9 years. She has worked at the Institute for Education in Democracy (IED) a leading NGO in the areas of elections in Kenya and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya) as a Programme Officer in the Women’s Rights and Advocacy Programme.
If approved by Parliament, she will serve for a single term of six (6) years and shall not be eligible for a re-appointment.
According to the law, the Data Commissioner will be responsible for the enforcement of the Data Protection Act with duties such as exercising oversight on data processing operations, establish and maintain a register of data controllers and data processors, promoting self-regulation among data controllers, and receiving and investigating any complaint by any person on infringement of the rights under the Act.”