President William Ruto on Friday, September 15, held a meeting with Sam Altman, the Chief Executive Officer of WorldCoin.
The meeting occurred in San Francisco, Carlifornia during President Ruto’s investment tour of the United States, during the ongoing Kenya-US Business Roadshow organized by the U.S. Government’s Prosper Africa initiative and the U.S. Embassy in Kenya.
WorldCoin, a global AI company, has faced controversy in Kenya after it was discovered that it had been scanning the irises of Kenyan citizens in exchange for a token payment of Ksh7,000. The company came into the limelight after photos emerged online of thousands of Kenyans queueing outside the Kenyatta International Conference Centre to have their eyes scanned.
In response to these revelations, members of the Kenyan Parliament initiated a probe into the company’s activities.
Is Worldcoin returning to Kenya after Ruto talks?
While President Ruto has not disclosed the specific agenda of his discussion with Altman, the meeting has raised concerns among Kenyans, who fear that it could pave the way for the return of WorldCoin to Kenya.
During his U.S. tour, President Ruto highlighted Kenya’s potential to collaborate with American technology companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, and WorldCoin in developing innovative technologies.
“Kenya has plenty of opportunities to offer American technology and manufacturing companies, particularly its potential as a vital African base and prime center for tech, manufacturing, connectivity, infrastructure development, and garment fabrication,” President Ruto while addressing the technology executives.
“Our strong pool of innovative, skilled, and energetic workforce is able and ready to power the expansion of these companies across the African continent,” he added.
Back in Kenya, WorldCoin is currently facing legal challenges due to its unlawful operations within the country and unauthorized data harvesting.
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) admitted that it was unaware of WorldCoin’s activities and informed Parliamentarians on Monday, September 11, that the company had entered into illicit data collection partnerships with local businesses.
A multi-agency team was subsequently established to investigate WorldCoin’s operations in Kenya. Their recommendations included a one-year suspension of the company’s operations and the freezing of its assets.
In addition, Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait recommended that the company’s data collection tools undergo forensic analysis under specific conditions.
Kassait explained, “The company will be allowed to operate once it agrees to a security audit, grants the government access to its data, registers with the Business Registration Services (BRS), and establishes a local representative.”
