Ruto halts charges for IDs as Kenyans pile more pressure

President William Ruto on Thursday made a U-turn on his controversial policy of imposing charges on national identity cards, and directed that the Sh300 fee for the vital document be scrapped.

Under pressure from Kenyans during his tour of Nairobi, the President said the government would end discrimination in the issuance of IDs. “Every citizen should be issued with an ID. I want to announce in Kibra today that IDs should be issued free of charge,” Dr Ruto said.

The President, who also visited Lang’ata on the fourth day of his Nairobi tours, has constantly met crowds demanding the ID fees be scrapped. While in Kawangware on Wednesday, he barely swept the matter under the carpet, promising he would consider the unpopular move to charge for IDs.

President Ruto has seemed more concerned about ending the extra vetting of persons in border counties during registration.

In March last year, the government began charging Sh300 for first-time ID applications and hiked the cost of replacing an ID from Sh100 to Sh1,000. The State was forced to revise the said charges following public fury.

In November 2023, it had initially planned to charge new applicants Sh1,000 and impose a Sh2,000 fee for replacing a lost card.

Since the new guidelines were implemented, birth certificates now cost Sh200, up from Sh50, with late registration of a birth certificate shooting from Sh50 to Sh500.

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Passport prices were also hiked, with a 34-page travel document jumping from Sh4,500 to Sh7,500.