The department of National Registration, under the Ministry of Interior, has confirmed the clearance of the backlog of duplicate Identification Cards (IDs) asking applicants to collect the documents.
In a statement on Monday, Huduma Kenya, which distributes IDs among other documents, urged Kenyans who had applied for a replacement of the IDs to collect their respective documents at the nearest Huduma Center.
A duplicate ID is ordinarily issued after one has lost the original identification Card and applied for a replacement.
This announcement came after the fee for replacing the IDs was increased by the government 20 times more than the initial fee.
Kenyans replacing their IDs have to part with Ksh1,000, which was increased from the previous fee of Ksh100.
The Government defended the increase saying it would cater for the expenses related to the issuance of IDs and maintenance of the national identification system.
The move faced a backlash from Kenyans who lamented the cost of replacement was very high, which they argued might force many to forego the duplicate IDs in case they lose.
President William Ruto’s Government has been looking to raise revenues through increasing taxes. One of the avenues is the replacement of duplicate IDs.
Previously, Kenyans had complained that the clearance of the backlog was taking long denying them access to government services. In June, Immigration PS Julius Bitok pledged to phase out the current IDs with the new generation cards in June.
National ID is an important document for citizens to access critical government services. As such, Kenyans are called to collect their documents.
True to its mandate the National Registration department is committed to keep an updated register for Kenyans.
“To contribute to National security, socio-economic and political development of the country by identifying, registering and issuing identity cards to Kenyan citizens of age 18 years and above, and to maintain a comprehensive register for use by stakeholders and other agencies,” reads their mission statement on their official website.
