Three university students on Tuesday, September 5, revealed that they were duped into accepting the deal to have their eyes scanned by Worldcoin.
Speaking while testifying before a special committee investigating the saga in parliament, two of the students noted that they met World Coin’s staff in their university.
They revealed that the company’s staff targeted varsity students with the proposal of giving Ksh7,000 in return for their registration.
The money, they explained, became the motive for their consent oblivious of the risk staring at them through surrendering critical personal data.
One other student told the lawmakers that he met the Worldcoin agents at a supermarket.
“They never told us where they were taking our data to, they only said the scanning was meant to confirm that we are human, and to show you are the sole owner of the application Worldcoin so others could not access it,” Bruce Bogita, a law student, testified.
Also Read: CS Nakhumicha Warns Kenyans of Health Risks Linked to Worldcoin Eye Scans
However, the witnesses revealed that the amount they received after the process was inconsistent with the one promised.
One of them told the committee that he received Ksh2,000 only despite having been promised Ksh 7,000.
In addition, the ad hoc committee gathered that several Kenyans involved in the process were not guided on how to convert the crypto currency money to Kenyan shillings.
Unable to Track Worldcoin Transaction
On his part, Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge told the committee that it was impossible to track the cash that the firm remitted to the recipients.
Kamau, who was also appearing before the committee, noted that crypto currency is not a legal tender and as such Worldcoin did not have to seek a license from the CBK.
This even as the ad hoc members sought to establish the source of the over Ksh2 billion remitted to Kenyans who registered with the crypto firm.
Kamau noted that the value of transactions made through mobile money transfer was in the region above Ksh 35 trillion and hence the Ksh 2 billion sent to Kenyans was “hard to detect”.
On Wednesday, September 6, the ad hoc committee investigations will continue with Worldcoin officials slated to appear before the committee.
Also Read: We Gave Worldcoin Certificate Not Licence – Data Commissioner
Wakeup Call
The Worldcoin saga became a wakeup call for the government after the process exposed Kenya’s unpreparedness to technologies which threaten to compromise crucial personal data.
Since the government halted the worldcoin registration, victims have reported cases of eye defects hence begging the question of what risks Kenyans faced through the eye scanners.
Speaking before the committee, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha acknowledged the problems and urged Kenyans experiencing the effects to report to health facilities for examination.
