President William Ruto on Tuesday, January 31, legally recognised the Pemba as an ethnic community in Kenya.
In a gazette notice dated Monday, January 30, Ruto confirmed that the Pemba community was part of the sixteen Swahili dialects of the traditional Swahili of Kenya.
The head of state ordered that members of the community be officially issued with the necessary identification documents.
“The Pemba people from the Coast of Kenya be recognised as an ethnic group in Kenya and be issued with relevant identification documents in accordance with the constitution and the law,” Ruto stated.
Ruto added that the move was to affirm the pride of the nation in the ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity and the duty of the government to protect the country's diverse cultural heritage.
The move will see nearly 3,000 members of the community become Kenyan citizens.
“I proclaim an order that all persons, Bodies, and Authorities within the Republic of Kenya shall recognise the Pemba Community as an ethnic community of Kenya,” the gazette read in part.
The community had earlier petitioned to be recognised as a community in Kenya stating that their stateless nature had led to their marginalisation and exclusion from national development.
Celebrating the decision by the president, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated that the move would allow the community to access the services they deserved.
"We are grateful to the government of Kenya for ending decades of marginalisation for the Pemba community by recognizing them as an ethnic community in Kenya.
"This decision will ensure they get access to the rights and services they deserve. The Pemba community can now claim to be a part of something,” UNHCR stated on Twitter.
President Ruto had earlier promised to confer citizenship to the Pemba community during his Jamhuri day speech on Monday, December 12, 2022, stating that it would ensure inclusion.
“We must continue to resolve injustices of a historical character that have unfairly relegated people to the margins of statelessness when their inalienable rights of citizenship are guaranteed under the Constitution,” Ruto stated.
The recognition of the Pemba tribe made it the 46th tribe in Kenya after the recognition of the Shona Community in March 2019, by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, making it the 45th tribe in Kenya.
Earlier in August 2017, the Asian Community in Kenya was also recognised as the 44th tribe in Kenya after the recognition of the Makonde tribe in February of the same year, as the 43rd tribe in Kenya.
