OUGOUDOGOU, Burkina Faso – Kenya was on Thursday voted to host the next Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA/RAPDP) General Assembly scheduled for 2024 during the 6th Annual General meeting held in Burkinafaso on 11th May 2023.
NADPA currently comprises several African privacy and data protection authorities with the and its main aim is to provide a platform for exchanges and co-operation between its members.
During the AGM attended by by Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait,MBS. Kenya was also voted to the position of 1st vice chair to the board of the NADPA alongside Niger Data Protection Authority led by Madam Sanady Tchimaden Hadatan who was elected Chair.
Angola led by Data Commissioner Maria Das Dores Pinto will serve as 2nd Vicechair.
The newly elected board will serve for a period of three years.
Ms Kassait expressed excitement in Kenya’s elections assuring that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was upto task to plan and host the NAPDA General Assembly and to assume the position of the 1st Vice Chair.
“We are elated that members of NADPA had confident in us and voted to host the next NADPA AGM and to assume the position of the 1st Chair, The ODPC has been in operational for slightly more than two years and has made significant progress in data protection. To be granted such an opportunity is great honor and we want to reaffirms our stance to create a platform for collaboration among members of NADPA,” she remarked.
“The Kenyan Government is strongly geared towards the Digital Superhighway Economy and data protection forms a key component in technology advancement, we remain committeed to promote data protection practices as part of our obligations to promote international cooperation in matters relating to data protection and ensure country’s compliance on data protection obligations under international conventions and agreements,” Ms. Kassait noted.
During the International Data Privacy Day 2023, H.E. President, Dr William Samoei Ruto affirmed Kenya’s commitment to the signing, ratification & accession of the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention) which sets out essential rules for establishing a credible digital environment.
While in Burkina Faso, the Data Commissioner also attended the International Conference on data protection where she delivered a presentation on protection of personal identifiable information at the
She highlighted among others, some of the key mechanisms such as anonymization, encryption, pseudonymization that institutions can use to safeguard unique identifiers.
NADPA was established in Ouagadougou in September 2016, at a side event to the African forum on personal data protection.
The previous Annual general meeting of Data Protection Authorities was held on Morocco from 10th – 11th May 2022 and was also attended by Ms. Kassait.