Expert opposes lifting of vetting for ID seekers in Northern Kenya

President William Ruto’s recent decree to scrap the 60-year-old vetting for residents of Northern Kenya applying for identity (ID) cards continues to spark debate in security circles.

Former Linda Boni Operations Director, James Ole Seriani, raised concerns about the directive, stating that ID card mismanagement has had serious security implications in the past.

Seriani cited a case 25 years ago when a Tanzanian man acquired a Kenyan ID illegally, joined the Kenya Defence Forces, but was later arrested and dismissed.

“This identity card problem has significant security implications. Our poor administration of issuance has been very painful for the country. Let’s not make more mistakes,” he said.

Seriani worked as an ID vetting officer for 25 years in pastoral and border communities, serving as the Registrar of Persons in charge of Kajiado District between 1995 and 1997.

He was also part of the team that formulated the refugee registration and movement policy to address insecurity incidents linked to poor ID cards management.

Vetting became a security requirement for issuing IDs and birth certificates in Northern Kenya after the Shifta insurgency of the 1960s.

The Shifta War was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis, Muslim Borana, and others attempted to join Somalia.

Yesterday, Seriani stated that all tribes along the borders, including Maasai, Turkana, Borana, Tavetas, Kuria, Teso, Bonis, and Bukusu, undergo the same process as Somalis.

“Having worked with almost all border communities in Kenya, I understand the importance of vetting because many foreigners are daily attempting to obtain Kenyan ID cards,” said Seriani.

Without vetting, Seriani warned it would be difficult to identify Somalis in the northeastern region who defected to Somalia during the Shifta War in 1964 and 1968 and later returned.

“All returnees were initially given new screening letters, not screening cards, to confirm they were originally Kenyans. Almost all these individuals were later issued Kenyan ID cards. Now, how do we confirm whether such persons are bona fide Kenyans or foreigners without vetting?” he asked.

He explained that the vetting of Somalis and issuing them with pink screening cards began in 1988 and ended around 1990. “The exercise was never properly concluded, as some screening cards were lost. The matter was highly politicised, with some Somalis repatriated to Somalia and their ID cards cancelled. Some individuals lost their screening cards, yet there was no mechanism in place to legally replace them,” said Seriani.

He added that about 500,000 Kenyans, mostly Somalis, illegally registered as refugees after the collapse of the Somali government in 1990.

He noted that it was tempting for Kenyans and Somalis to register as refugees to access food and resettlement abroad, but when the programme ended, they were left stranded.

He linked the insurgency in Marsabit between Kenyan and Ethiopian security forces over the Oromo Liberation Front to ID issues.

The officer stated that Ethiopia suspects with Kenyan IDs are involved in fighting its government.

“The solution is to tighten the process by using technology and honest officers to vet applicants. Scrapping vetting because it failed in the past and worsens the situation for the country,” he noted.

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, a former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner, has also cautioned the government against scrapping vetting, warning it exposes the country to risks.