Gov’t opens new birth and death registration office in Nandi

The government, through the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, has opened a new civil registration office in Nandi County to help in registering the number of births and deaths.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok on Friday said the office in Tinderet Constituency will come in handy since area residents were previously forced to travel to nearby constituencies for registrations.

He, therefore, urged the constituents who previously would travel all the way to Nandi Hills and Kapsabet to utilize the offices to increase registration statistics in a bid to benefit from government services and resources.

“Registration of births and deaths provides a strong foundation for a nation to plan its development programmes and improve service delivery to citizens from a statistical standpoint,” the PS said.

PS Bitok reiterated that births and deaths have a registration timeline of six months and thus locals would have enough time to avail themselves.

“All births and deaths occurring in Kenya are required to be reported and registered within six months from the date of occurrence. Registration of births and deaths done within six months of occurrence is free of charge,” he said.

According to the PS, the current statistics for the county indicate that at least 31 out of 100 births and 66 out of 100 deaths go unreported.

The Tinderet office now adds to the existing three in the entire county, bringing the total number of registration locations in the country to 142.

Area MP Julius Melly, who was also at the ceremony, asked area administrators and village elders to ensure that residents without birth certificates and those who with deceased family members have applied for the relevant documents.

In Kenya, birth certificates are currently used during the enrolment of learners in schools and also to enable a person to access vital identification documents such as National Identity cards and Passports.

Death certificates, on the other hand, are used to facilitate succession and inheritance.