Public Service Commission has certified over 141 officers drawn from 42 Ministries and State Departments and Agencies after undergoing a data protection and cybersecurity capacity building programme. The graduation ceremony took place today 12th July 2024, at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Nairobi.

Through a speech delivered by Commissioner Andrew Muriuki, PSC Chairperson Amb. Anthony Muchiri said that it is the Commission’s intention to capacity build more data handlers in the public service to ensure full compliance with Data Protection Act 2019.

“ Government routinely handles, controls and processes huge amounts of personal and official data that is critical to our national security, economic stability and public trust and it is important for all public institutions to ensure that information is properly secured,” said Amb. Muchiri.

The PSC Chairperson further noted that the Commission intends to capacity build more data handlers in the public service to ensure full compliance with Data Protection Act 2019. 

Speaking in the same event, Senior Director, International Strategy, Trust and Safety at Mozilla Corporation Ms. Alice Munyua highlighted the organization’s commitment in creating a safer internet space for all. 

“ At Mozilla, our focus is creating an internet space that is secure and we will achieve that through the data protection and cybersecurity capacity building programmes we’re currently carrying out across the globe,” said Alice. 

She further noted that the programme will be expanded to ensure more public officers are skilled in data handling and privacy. 

The Director General e-citizen Amb. Isaac Ochieng who was among the key speakers in the event underscored the need to equip data handlers with critical skills on best practices as per the data protection act.

“The cybersecurity skills acquired through this training are crucial for the effective management and security of eCitizen. With 11.8 million users and approximately 40,000 transactions daily, the importance of protecting our digital infrastructure cannot be overstated,” said Amb. Ochieng.

The Capacity-building programme for data handlers in public service is a partnership programme between the Public Service Commission, Mozilla Corporation and the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRATI).

Also in attendance were Mr. William Baraza, Director AFRATI and PSC Director Finance and Resource Mobilization Mr. Maina Njoroge.

Others were trainers; Ms. Abigael Sami Wambua; Advocate; Data Protection Privacy Professional and Mr.  Jones Baraza Cybersecurity Engineer.