Elders from Garissa County have criticised President William Ruto for the slow pace of the government in issuing national identification cards in the wake of Ruto’s directive scrapping ID vetting for people in border counties such as Garissa.
Led by Kenya Livestock Marketing Council chairman Dubat Amey, the elders called on the government to fast-track the issuance of national identity cards to area residents.
The elders decried the fact that there has been little progress in as far as expediting the issuance of the crucial documents to those who are yet to get them, despite the president's promise during his tour in the North Eastern region.
On February 5, the head of state abolished the extra vetting process for residents in all border areas of the country. The Presidential Proclamation, signed in Wajir town, abolished the Nairobi process, which has often delayed the issuance of crucial documents.
While signing the executive order, Ruto stressed that the move was aimed at promoting national unity, citing that the extra vetting had long secluded Kenyans living along the country’s borders with Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda.
“We want the people of Northern Kenya to feel equal to the rest of the country,” the president said.
Before the directive, ethnic Somalis seeking IDs faced an arduous vetting process before they could be issued IDs or passports.
Authorities cited national security concerns as the reason for the additional scrutiny, which is conducted by a multi-agency security committee comprising officials from the National Intelligence Service, local chiefs, police, and community elders.
Applicants had to provide extensive documentation, including their grandparents' identification cards and testimony from witnesses who can verify their Kenyan birth—a burden not imposed on other citizens.
The Kenyan-Somali community had been forced to undergo this arduous process despite the law under the Registration of Persons Act, requiring Kenyans to apply for IDs to provide evidence of birth in Kenya in the form of birth notification, birth certificate, or baptismal card, for those born in Kenya; and evidence of citizenship either parents' Kenyan ID or passport.
However, the directive does not mean there will be no vetting. The head of state mandated that all vetting would be conducted by the law and only at the local level.
Under the new guidelines, all Kenyans in border communities seeking to acquire the crucial document must be accompanied by a Kenyan adult. Ruto’s directive seeks to foster the ideal of Kenyans being their brother's keeper and to raise the alarm against any immigrants attempting to acquire citizenship through improper means.
