Huduma Kenya, on Thursday, May 30, revealed that pending court cases had delayed the issuance of National Identity cards.
This was after Kenyans complained to the government entity that ID replacements applied months ago were yet to be issued.
Acknowledging the delay in issuing new IDs and replacements, Huduma Kenya further revealed to Kenyans that those needing to replace their identity cards must pay Ksh1,000.
“We are experiencing delays due to the high court order that blocked the production of new digital ID cards/Maisha cards,” Huduma Kenya told anxious Kenyans.
“The issue has been resolved, and we are working to reduce the backlog and have your ID ready soon.”
Issuance of new digital IDs, otherwise known as Maisha Cards, was frozen by the courts in December 2024.
This was after Katiba Institute filed a petition citing the Data Protection Act, in which fears were raised that biometric data collected during applications posed risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
On February 23, the High Court removed the injunction, giving President William Ruto’s administration permission to roll out the digital ID cards.
The Ministry of Interior has since started clearing the backlog caused during the court injunction.
The Interior Cabinet Secretary announced in November 2023 that the immigration department would charge Ksh1,000 for ID replacement to raise more revenue.
Kindiki had earlier proposed a Ksh2,000 fee for Kenyans seeking to replace their ID cards but was forced to revoke the Gazette Notice a day later after a public uproar.
"The new intended charges, fees and levies have been adjusted to accommodate views of the public already received following the publication of the revoked Gazette Notices," Kindiki announced on November 14, 2023.
Huduma Kenya announced that those seeking ID replacement need a police abstract, which can be obtained from any of their centres across the country.
