The controversy surrounding eCitizen and its control by a private firm, Webmasters Kenya Ltd, has once again come into the spotlight following revelations from the Auditor-General’s latest report.
Despite a 2022 directive from President William Ruto’s administration ordering the firm to hand over the digital government services platform to the state, Webmasters continues to manage eCitizen and collect substantial fees from government transactions.
The report shows that in the financial year ending June 2024, Webmasters and its affiliate companies pocketed a total of KSh 1.45 billion, raising serious concerns over government oversight and the security of citizen data.
The breakdown of these earnings reveals that Webmasters collected KSh 591.9 million from convenience fees and an additional KSh 857 million in maintenance fees. This comes despite a direct order issued in November 2022, when Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u and ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo met representatives of Webmasters and conveyed the president’s directive.
The firm was instructed to immediately cease charging convenience fees, transfer all system rights to the government, hand over the source code and system documentation, and train government staff on how to operate the platform.
However, nearly two years later, none of these conditions appear to have been met. Documents from the 2022 meeting indicate that the directive extended beyond Webmasters to include Pesaflow Ltd and Olive Tree Ltd, its affiliate companies responsible for handling government payments and messaging services.
A four-phase handover plan was developed, detailing specific timelines for the physical setup, documentation transfer, system audit, and final training, which was expected to be completed by July 13, 2023.
Additionally, the government reserved the right to inspect the transition process and later decide whether to contract Webmasters or another vendor for system maintenance.
Despite this structured plan, Webmasters remains in control of eCitizen and continues to generate revenue from the system.The firm’s continued involvement has raised alarm over the security and ownership of government data.
One of the key risks flagged is the lack of a system backup under government control, meaning that in the event of a cyberattack or system failure, critical government services could be paralysed.
Another major concern is the management of sensitive citizen data by a private entity with minimal state oversight. With eCitizen now hosting thousands of government services, its control is not just a financial issue but also a matter of national security.
This dispute over eCitizen’s ownership is not new. During the Uhuru Kenyatta administration, the government attempted to reclaim full control of the platform, citing contracts and World Bank funding that supported its development.
However, Webmasters argued that it had expanded the platform beyond its initial scope and was entitled to compensation. A legal battle ensued, further complicated by Goldrock Capital, a firm Webmasters had illegally contracted to collect payments on behalf of the government.
Goldrock was eventually removed from the system in 2017, but the dispute dragged on, with Webmasters at one point threatening to shut down eCitizen unless it was paid. In January 2023, Webmasters and Goldrock withdrew their financial claims following sustained government pressure.
However, this did not resolve the issue entirely, as activist and Senator Okiya Omtatah had to file a separate case challenging the legality of convenience fees after the initial suit was withdrawn. Meanwhile, the government has made multiple efforts to reassert its control over eCitizen, including organising a workshop in Mombasa in April 2023 attended by 62 officials from different government agencies.
Yet, Webmasters remains in charge, defying the state’s directive and continuing to profit from public funds. Webmasters founder James Ayugi previously admitted in an interview that his company bills the government between KSh 100 million and KSh 200 million every month for eCitizen-related services. With the Auditor-General’s report now confirming that the firm collected KSh 1.45 billion in just one year, questions are being raised about why the government has failed to enforce President Ruto’s directive.
The report has reignited public concern, with critics asking whether powerful interests within government institutions are protecting Webmasters.
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