The government has exposed who is behind Worldcoin’s activities in Kenya while also revealing that the company lacks the necessary authorization to do business in the country.
The information was made public just one day after Interior CS Kithure Kindiki put the company’s operations in Kenya on hold to allow for a legality investigation.
The CS testified before Parliament on Thursday, among other things, about the precautions the government had taken with regard to the data that had already been mined.
The aforementioned entity is not recognized by Kenyan law as a legal entity, according to Kindiki.
According to preliminary investigations, the corporation contracted the Kenyan firm Sense Marketing to collect data for them there, the CS continued.
He stated that Mr. Emmanuel Otieno, who is tasked with overseeing operations, and Ms. Rael Mwende, who is tasked with serving as the country manager, are the representatives of Worldcoin in the Kenya.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), according to the CS, has been investigating both people since Wednesday.
Mr. Poitr Piwowarczyk, whose most recent entry into Kenya was in June 2023, is one of the foreign nationals connected to Worldcoin, according to records, Kindiki said.
According to him, the foreign national entered the nation on June 11 and left on June 25, 2023.
“As a precaution, the Director of Criminal Investigations, who is in charge of the current investigations, has instructed the Immigration authorities to make sure that no persons, whether Kenyan or foreign nationals, involved with this organization departs Kenya without his or her permission.
Any persons of interest who may reside outside of Kenya will also be the subject of investigations.
According to Kindiki, investigations are intended to determine the legitimacy and legality of Worldcoin’s operations, the security and protection of the data harvested, and the intended use of the data by the harvesters.
John Mukunji, an MP for Manyatta, posed queries, to which the CS provided an answer.
Among other things, the MP wanted to know who would benefit from the program and where the money paid to participants came from.
A reward of cryptocurrency tokens worth roughly Sh7,000 was granted to Worldcoin, which started the registration process on Monday, in exchange for the recipients’ consent to have their eyes scanned.
Before the operation was discontinued on Wednesday because of data protection concerns, thousands of Kenyans flocked to the Kenyatta International Convention Centre to take advantage of the free money.
“The source of the monies is unknown to the government. Investigating the source of the funds being distributed to the participants and beneficiaries of this activity will be a part of the multi-agency team’s mandate.
