Hours after Communication Authority Director General Francis Wangusi declared the ongoing Huduma Namba registration a compulsory exercise, the government has refuted the claims.
Through the Ministry of ICT, the government now says that no punitive measures will be taken against Kenyans who will not see the need to register in the new digital system.
Speaking in Kisumu Thursday, Wangusi said that the authority will deactivate sim cards of persons who will not have registered after the deadline.
"We wish to reiterate that Huduma Namba Registration is a voluntary exercise in compliance with the recent High Court ruling.
"There is absolutely no directive from the Government to institute any punitive measures against those who don’t register," the ministry said, according to the Standard.
The same was confirmed by State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita now says that the government has no plans of forcing Kenyans into taking the number.
This is after Wangusi further threatened that defaulters will be barred from using mobile money services, and will as well not be allowed to register new lines without the number.
So far, 10 million Kenyans have already been registered, according to the ministry of ICT.