NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 18 – National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula wants Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to brief the House on the status of the issuance of the Identification Cards (IDs) in the North Eastern region.
Speaking during a tour of Hagadera, he expressed concern that, despite the government’s removal of vetting requirements, applicants continue to face unreasonable delays in obtaining their IDs.
“I announced that I will summon the Interior Cabinet Secretary next week to explain these persistent delays, because every Kenyan, including those in Garissa, Mandera and Wajir, deserves fairness, dignity, and timely access to national identification documents,” the House Speaker said.
Wetang’ula lamented that despite the explicit directive from the president on the unconditional issuance of the crucial document to the residents from the frontier counties, residents were still grappling with major hurdles.
“I reminded residents that the President issued a clear directive, fully supported by Parliament, that every eligible Kenyan must receive their national ID without hurdles, regardless of where they live,” he said.
In February 2025, President William Ruto abolished the special vetting requirements for national ID card applicants in Kenya’s Northeastern region, a move intended to make the process easier for residents.
This presidential decree ends a decades-long practice of extra scrutiny based on region, ethnicity, or religion. In addition to ending the vetting, first-time applicants can receive their IDs for free, as the associated Ksh. 300 fee and Ksh. 500 verification fee for birth certificates were also scrapped for first-time applicants.
