All Kenyans will receive Unique Personal Identifiers (UPIs), for which the government has allocated Ksh 1 billion.

The UPI will be given to all citizens upon birth, according to immigration principal secretary Julius Bitok’s statement on Tuesday.

It will serve as the person’s official identification during every level of their schooling, as well as for tax payments to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and for the death certificate number after they pass away.

“We are implementing the president’s directive that we introduce a digital ID within 90 days. We shall now have a new number called the Maisha Number that everyone born in Kenya will have. It will be the birth certificate number, used as the ID number, for work, for KRA PIN,” Bitok said.

After attending a meeting of the National Digital Identity Technical Committee, Bitok stated that Kenyans who turn 18 will receive a card called the Maisha Card.

The current generation of IDs would gradually be replaced by digitally accessible identification as part of the rollout, according to him.

“This is a move from second-generation to third-generation IDs. It will be accessible digitally so that those not willing to carry the physical copy can have a digital copy on their phones,” the PS said.

On September 29, President William Ruto is anticipated to introduce the UPI.