Mark of the beast? Controversy over iris data in voter registration

The collection of iris data in the ongoing voter registration has sparked controversy, amid reports that young Kenyans could be keeping off the registration because they are uncertain about the safety of the storage of this data.

On social media, conspiracy theories abound. A user on TikTok has equated the collection of iris data to the 'mark of the beast,' a reference to the Biblical belief that followers of the antichrist will bear.

“How do our irises and the elections relate?” a Kenyan on a video clip that has gone viral on X posed. “Stop this Satanism.”

He related it to a project by the WorldCoin project, owned by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, which scanned irises for money in 2023. The project raised concerns over the privacy of biometric data, with little explanation offered about how they would be used and their disposal.

Some have tied it to a vote-rigging conspiracy, with others criticising it as illegal, even though the law provides for the collection of this data by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Section 2 of the Elections Act lists retina and iris patterns as biometrics that can be used in registering voters. Other data listed as biometrics include hand and earlobe geometry, voice waves, DNA and signatures.

"Elections in Kenya invite all manner of conspiracy theories," said Dismas Mokua, a political risk analyst. "The IEBC should have engaged citizens, partners and stakeholders as a strategy to immunise voter registration from misinformation and disinformation."

Over the years, significant sections of Kenyans have been skeptical about proposals they considered controversial. For instance, many opposed the Huduma Number, an identification mechanism former President Uhuru Kenyatta fronted, similarly terming it the mark of the beast.

This has been extended to vaccines, too, with some Kenyans, without evidence, criticising some, such as the Covid vaccines, as aimed at population control, despite evidence of the effectiveness in preventing severe infection at the height of the pandemic.

"The skepticism is healthy because it keeps IEBC on their toes and demonstrates that citizens, partners and stakeholders are on high alert," Mokua added.

IEBC commissioner Ann Nderitu said that the registration of iris data alongside fingerprints was meant to be a complementary mechanism.

“Should one fail, the other can recognise the person, ensuring that we do not resort to the manual complementary mechanism,” she said.

The IEBC has said submitting iris data was not compulsory, but that has not stopped critics from questioning the move.

On Sunday, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said he would move to court over the issue that he said had not been subjected to public participation.

“There is confusion on whether the other 22 million Kenyans whose fingerprints and faces had been used will be incorporated into the new identification method,” he said.

His remarks highlight a question many Kenyans have, not just about the collection of such biometrics, but about whether the electoral commission has sensitised the public enough on the registration exercise.

Such concerns have arisen from the slow registration of new voters. The IEBC, which targets to sign up 6.3 million new voters, only registered slightly over 7,000 voters in the first week of registration.

Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge said that the numbers were worrying, citing a low turnout across Nyeri County.

"A county with 500,000 voters, where we expected 100,000 more, has just registered 30," said Mathenge.

Constituency registration centres across the country have remained deserted, as the youth, many of whom on social media assert that they would vote in the next election, stay away.

Peter K’Opiyo, a 23-year-old university student who lives in Nairobi, said he did not know where the voter registration was happening.

“There is a need for more public awareness, sensitisation and mobilisation campaigns,” K’Opiyo, who said he planned to vote in the 2027 elections, told the Standard last week.

Continuous registration exercises have traditionally not attracted as much publicisation as mass voter registration exercises conducted during election periods.

“Kenyans have a peculiar habit of always chasing the last minute, and it will be no surprise if they all seek to register at the last minute,” Mokua said of a situation that has seen registration deadlines pushed in the past to accommodate more prospective voters.