×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Kenya's Bold Newspaper
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download Now

When Kenya almost had two national Identity cards

KANU executive officer Mwai Kibaki, KANU VP Oginga Odinga and the new Kenya Party leader Michael Blundell at Parliament Buildings, March 8, 1961. [File, Standard]

If all goes according to plan, Kenyans will have a new form of identification before end of the year. The Universal Personal Identification, the new ID, will join a long list of identification documents.

In 1957, when Kenya proposed to introduce a universal form of identification, there was a revolt. All the Europeans in the colony rejected the idea of having their fingerprints taken.

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week
Fact‑first reporting that puts you at the heart of the newsroom. Subscribe for full access.
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Uninterrupted ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimized reading experience
  • Weekly Newsletters
  • MPesa, Airtel Money and Cards accepted
Already a subscriber? Log in
Volleyball and Handball
Kenya Cup serves off today as KDF seek to shoot down Blazers
Sports
AFC coach Ambani wins SJAK award for December
By AFP 2 hrs ago
Football
Mane takes dominant Senegal past Egypt into AFCON final
Golf
Indiza makes a solid start at Sunshine Development Tour