Nairobi, July 30 -- The next General Election is only one year away. That is why we must have this conversation now. Every election cycle, millions of Kenyans hand over their personal information along with their vote, including their names, addresses, national ID card numbers, and fingerprints.

This data flows through the electoral agency IEBC, political parties, observers, and countless campaign volunteers. Until recently, most Kenyans had little idea where that information went, who used it, or how to stop it being misused.

That is changing. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has issued guidance notes for several sectors, including for electoral processes, bringing Kenya's election machinery firmly under the Data P...