MPs summon Interior CS over delayed ID issuance in Northern Kenya

The National Assembly will summon Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen next week to explain persistent delays in the issuance of national identity cards.

Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula has said numerous complaints have been raised by Kenyans, especially those from Northern Kenya, a situation that requires an explanation from the Interior Cabinet Secretary.

Wetang’ula was concerned that even after the government Government did away with the vetting requirement for ID applicants, many Kenyans are still unable to obtain their documents within a reasonable time.

“The President gave a directive, which Parliament fully supported that any Kenyan who has attained the legal age to acquire a national ID, whether here in Northern Kenya or elsewhere, should not face unnecessary hurdles such as vetting. Every eligible Kenyan should obtain the document freely and without restrictions. We have been informed here that while vetting has indeed been scrapped, there are significant delays in the production of IDs at the National Registration Bureau,” the Speaker, who spoke from Hagadera Sub-County, Fafi Ward on Monday said.

“Next week, I will invite the Cabinet Secretary so that we can raise these questions directly. We insist that once an individual applies for an ID, it should not take more than two weeks for them to receive it,” he said.

The  Speaker made the remarks when he drummed up support for the Ford Kenya candidate for Fafi Ward, Hassan Aden Kolosho, as he described him as a committed leader and his dedication to the community will help transform the ward.

Wetang’ula insisted that residents of Garissa, Mandera, and Wajir counties enjoy the same constitutional rights as all other Kenyans and must not face any new or informal obstacles to accessing national identification documents.

The MPs, who accompanied the Speaker including Ibrahim Saney (Wajir North), Yakub Salah (Fafi), Mohamed Farah (Wajir West), Abdikadir Mohamed (Lagdera), and former Nominated MP Nasra Sahal raised similar concerns, saying that although the vetting process was abolished, new hurdles have emerged during processing.

“There is this hurdle called ‘validation’ in Nairobi for new applicants something completely foreign to us which has resulted in zero ID production for residents of Northern Kenya. We are asking: when are we getting the IDs? We are not receiving them. Who is sabotaging the President’s directive? Why is ID production a problem? Something must be done,” Saney said.

Wetang’ula also responded to concerns raised by local elders regarding the closure of the Kenya–Somalia border, which has disrupted cross-border trade.

“Because I also come from a border county, between Kenya and Uganda at Malaba, I understand your frustrations. I will discuss this matter with the President so that he can consider reopening the border to allow legitimate business between us and Somalia to flourish,” he assured.

Tarbaj MP Hussein Barre however, criticised the Kenya Kwanza administration for failing to honour campaign pledges made to Northern Kenya residents.

He said that President William Ruto had promised to reopen border posts, deploy Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) officials, and facilitate legal trade between Kenya and Somalia.

“We were wpromised during the campaigns that we would reopen the Hulugho border to enable trade with Somalia - that is what the Kenya Kwanza administration pledged to our people. It raises the question: if Somalia is now part of the East African Community (EAC), why are we refusing to trade with the Federal Republic of Somalia? That is the contradiction we need addressed,” Barre noted.

He also called for Somali immigration officials, alongside Kenyan officials, KRA, and KEBS personnel, to be posted at the border to facilitate transparent and legitimate trade.

The Speaker however pledged to rally the national government to fast-track electricity connectivity across Northern Kenya to improve livelihoods and spur socio-economic development in the region.