Kenyans to get IDs automatically upon turning 18 - Interior CS Murkomen

Kenyans will in future be automatically issued identity cards (ID) upon turning 18 years old based on data collected from birth.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced on Friday saying the government had put all measures to ensure the process was seamless without contravening its security protocols.

The CS, who spoke at the Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge, cited the recent controversial lifting of the ID vetting system for the communities along the border counties by President William Ruto, pointing out that the new initiative which included collecting data from birth was meant to address security gaps.

He reassured citizens and those opposed to the removal of vetting that the government is keen on security along the country’s borders, adding that vetting of all Kenyans would start at birth to ease the issuance of IDs.

“We are a ministry that is extremely responsible for the security of this country and we cannot play with the security. We are also responsible for ensuring that Kenyans enjoy rights equally without undue discrimination,” he stated.

“The fact that we removed extra vetting does not mean that we have compromised on security of the country. The process that we are going to apply now of identifying who has gotten an ID or who has not, is to leverage the existing data across the board to know who you are.”

He added: “We have your information from when you went to school, when you went for services, of your family, family tree across and so you can’t just come and say ‘I want to be a citizen.’ We will see who is your mother, father, sister, uncle…Technology will assist us in these things.”

CS Murkomen defended the vetting system which has been poked by critics who see it as a political move to drum support from the communities along the border, maintaining it is aimed at ensuring there is equality in the country.

He clarified that the vetting exercise was not only domiciled in Northern Kenya or on the Kenya-Somali border as perceived by many but all border towns in the country.

“I want to dissuade all Kenyans not to think about this as about North Eastern or border with Somalia. Don’t think that this policy was applied to one corner of the country; it is not true,” he said.

“It is applying to all corners of the country, from Tanzania in Lunga Lunga to our border in Turkana with both South Sudan and Uganda to our border in Ethiopia then Somalia.”

President Ruto early this month signed a proclamation scrapping a 60-year-old vetting requirement for residents of border counties to acquire national IDs.

The decision, seen as a major political strategy by President Ruto to create a new voting bloc ahead of the 2027 General Election, came just days after the High Court in Garissa ordered a fresh census for three counties in the Northeastern region.

“Leo nimesema hiyo vetting imekwisha; hakuna kuendelea kuonea watu wengine. Hii ubaguzi imedumu miaka 60 tulisema tutatoa,” said Ruto, adding that the move will enhance equality across Kenya.

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

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

Critics have seen the development as a way for Ruto to secure and strengthen the northeastern voting bloc and make inroads into areas traditionally dominated by the opposition.