There have been disputes in court over the ownership of intellectual property on the platform, and the sharing of millions of dollars of revenue earned through the system. In 2017, Kenya’s treasury denied hiring a firm that had collected over $50 million in government revenue through the portal since 2014.

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In 2018, the treasury, Kenya’s biggest telecommunication company Safaricom, and Webmasters Kenya, the firm that developed the eCitizen portal were sued by Goldrock Capital for denying it the right to collect money raised through the platform. The tussle led to poor customer service.

If well implemented, the platform could be a game changer in the access of government services in Kenya given the country’s high smartphone and internet penetration but if the status quo is maintained, it could be another Sisyphean piece of code.

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