The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services has introduced three new guidelines to improve the vetting process for national identification card applicants. This move follows controversy over the recent abolition of vetting requirements for individuals in border regions.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen outlined the new guidelines, which include:
- Tracing an applicant’s family tree to confirm their Kenyan lineage.
- Providing chiefs and assistant chiefs with biometric devices to streamline the registration process.
- Conducting registration in schools, where teachers will help verify applicants’ identities.
Murkomen emphasized that these changes will eliminate decades of discrimination against Kenyans from Northern and border counties without compromising national security. He also highlighted the role of the Maisha Number project, which digitizes identification from birth, reducing the need for manual vetting.
Speaking after a two-day Interior Ministry retreat in Naivasha, Murkomen noted that over 20,000 government services have been digitized on the E-Citizen platform, increasing revenue collection. He also highlighted progress in expediting the issuance of identification documents, passports, and certificates of good conduct.
Senior government officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Eliud Owalo, Interior PS Raymond Omollo, Immigration PS Julius Bitok, and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, attended the meeting.
