Why 600,000 Kenyans risk being locked out of 2027 elections

More than half a million Kenyans risk being locked out of the 2027 general elections over uncollected national identity cards.

Principal Secretary for Immigration, Belio Kipsang has revealed that more than 557,000 identity cards  remain uncollected across Huduma centres in the country and that the government was racing against time to ensure eligible Kenyans acquire the identity cards before the voter registration exercise begins in January.

This came on a day that lawmakers also questioned the Department of Immigration over the unfair exclusion of constitutional office holders and independent commissions from the list of beneficiaries of diplomatic passports. 

Appearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and Internal Security, PS Kipsang explained that the IDs backlog, which includes nearly 400,000 cards that have remained uncollected for more than 10 years, was being addressed through a combination of local administration support, improved processing systems and technology.

He said the government was determined to remove barriers that could prevent eligible citizens from participating in next year's elections, including the cost of acquiring identification documents.

“We are making sure that before the voter registration exercise in January, every Kenyan who should have an ID has one and is able to participate in next year's elections,” said the PS.

Kipsang also told the House team that the government had abolished fees previously charged for obtaining and replacing  national identity cards to make the documents more accessible.

“We have removed all payments, including the Sh300 that used to be charged for new IDs and the Sh1,000 for replacements, so that it becomes easy for every Kenyan to acquire these documents and prepare to play their civic duty when the time comes next year for the elections,” he said.

The PS said the government was also working with chiefs and assistant chiefs to trace people whose identity cards had been processed but remained uncollected at registration offices.

Under the arrangement, the National Government Administration Officers would receive information on uncollected cards in their respective areas and help trace the owners.

The department is also considering allowing registration officers to release identity cards to parents, guardians and other authorised persons, provided proper verification is conducted.

His sentiments came after committee chaired by Narok MP Gabriel Tongoyo raised concerns over the ID issuance process.

Teso North MP Oku Kaunya said residents in Amagoro were experiencing long delays, with more than 5,000 identity cards reportedly taking between two and three months to reach registration stations after applications had been processed.

He questioned why applicants had to wait for so long when the government had introduced modern systems intended to speed up the issuance of identification documents.

“At some stations, the IDs take too long to be processed at the headquarters and delivered to the ground. In Amagoro, we have more than 5,000 that have taken over two to three months without arriving. The PS needs to explain what is happening and what is being done to fast-track the process,” Kaunya said.

He also proposed that the department work with village elders to ensure uncollected identity cards reach their rightful owners.

Saku MP Dido Raso, the committee's vice-chairperson, said the department needed to borrow from the passport collection system, where applicants receive text messages once their documents are ready.

“One of the reasons many people do not collect their identity cards is because they are not informed when the documents arrive. When passports arrive at a station, the individual receives a text message and quickly goes to collect them. The same should happen with identity cards,” Hon. Raso said.

The MP also raised concerns over expiry dates printed on identity cards, saying some Kenyans could mistakenly interpret them to mean that their citizenship would cease to exist after the stated date.

Sotik MP Francis Sigei also questioned delays in delivering processed documents remained a challenge in some areas.“People apply for IDs and then take a long time before the documents reach the stations. With the current technology, one wonders why it should take so long,” he remarked.

At the same time, the PS caved into requests by MPs to review regulations governing the issuance of diplomatic passports following concerns that some constitutional office holders and independent commissions have been unfairly excluded from the list of beneficiaries.

Kipsang told the committee that the government was open to amending the regulations to address omissions and ensure fairness in the distribution of diplomatic passports.

He said the current framework, which was introduced in 2012, needed to be reviewed to reflect changes brought about by the 2010 Constitution and the establishment of various constitutional offices.

PS Kipsang acknowledged that the omission of the Clerk of the Senate from the list of eligible beneficiaries, despite the inclusion of the Clerk of the National Assembly, could have been an oversight.

This was during the consideration of concerns raised in a petition by the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman) regarding alleged discrimination in the regulations governing the issuance of diplomatic passports.

The petition questioned why certain constitutional office holders and commissioners serving in independent constitutional commissions were excluded while others holding comparable positions were entitled to the travel document.

Among the concerns raised was the inclusion of the Clerk of the National Assembly in the list of eligible beneficiaries while the Clerk of the Senate, who performs a comparable parliamentary function, was left out.

Responding to the concerns, Kipsang admitted that the omission was difficult to justify, noting that the Senate was already provided for under the Constitution when the regulations were introduced in 2012.

"These are questions, and even with the passage of time since 2012 and all that has happened with the implementation of the Constitution, there is need for us to relook at the schedule. We are not in any dispute about reviewing the regulations," he said.

Notably, under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act and its 2012 regulations, diplomatic passports are issued to specified categories of public officials, including the President and immediate family, Deputy President, Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Speakers of Parliament, the Chief Justice, judges of superior courts, Attorney-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Auditor-General, Controller of Budget and other designated state officers.

The list also includes county governors, the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief of the Defence Forces, service commanders of the Kenya Defence Forces, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Service and specified former state office holders.

Some spouses and dependants of the designated office holders are also eligible.