NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 10 – Outgoing Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait has warned that Kenya risks losing leverage over its data as reliance on foreign technology infrastructure leaves the country struggling to negotiate with multinational companies on equal terms.
Kassait said although Kenya had made progress in establishing policies to regulate data processing, its dependence on external technology platforms and limited local technical capacity continued to weaken its position in negotiations with global technology firms.
“It’s a yes and no,” Kassait said when asked whether Kenya had sufficient control over data held and processed by foreign companies.
She noted that while the country had introduced policies, including a cloud policy, to guide the sector, it remained largely a consumer of technologies developed elsewhere.
“Many times, we are adopters of technology, and we rarely have… we are always playing catch-up,” she said.
Kassait added that negotiations with multinational technology companies could be unequal when countries lacked their own digital infrastructure and technical expertise.
“Some of those negotiations are always lopsided because if you don’t have a platform, if you don’t have a cloud, if you’re relying on other countries’ infrastructure, what conversation can you possibly have?” she posed.
Her remarks come as Kenya accelerates digital transformation across government services and the private sector, increasing the importance of how personal information is collected…
