Former Attorney-General Justin Muturi has called for an urgent, independent forensic audit of Kenya population master register, warning that systemic data flaws could undermine trust in national institutions.
In a statement issued Monday, Muturi said irregularities uncovered in the National Education Management Information System expose deeper weaknesses in government-managed databases. The platform, which integrates foundational identity data such as birth registration, plays a central role in education planning and public funding allocation.
A recent audit of the system revealed about 973,000 “ghost learners,” raising concerns about inflated capitation funding and possible financial mismanagement. Muturi said the scale of the discrepancies highlights vulnerabilities in how public data is captured, verified and shared across agencies.
“If such large-scale discrepancies can exist within an official government database, it raises serious questions about the integrity and management of all interconnected systems,” he said.
The findings have intensified scrutiny of how national data systems interact, particularly those tied to critical services and governance.
Call for audit and voter register freeze
Muturi urged the government to commission a transparent audit of the population master register, to be conducted by independent private firms and subject to parliamentary oversight. He said restoring public confidence requires credible verification of the country’s core data infrastructure.
The population register is a key reference point for multiple institutions, including the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, which relies on demographic data for electoral planning and voter registration.
He also called on Parliament to ensure strict supervision of the audit process to guarantee its independence and credibility.
Pending the audit outcome, Muturi urged the electoral body to suspend any changes to the voter register. He warned that continued reliance on potentially flawed data could compromise electoral integrity.
He further called for early gazettement of polling stations and the publication of a verifiable list of all polling centres, each tied to a physically existing and accessible location.
“This is essential to protect Kenyans from risks posed by non-existent institutions, as exposed by the audit,” he said.
Muturi emphasized that unresolved doubts about data integrity could erode confidence in democratic processes. He said decisive and transparent action is necessary to safeguard governance systems that depend on accurate national records.
Kenya democratic stability, he added, rests on credible data underpinning identity management, public administration and elections.
