President Ruto declares that all Kenyans be issued with IDs for free

President William Ruto has now declared that all Kenyans be issued with national Identity (ID) cards at no cost.

The president, who spoke on Thursday while on a tour in Nairobi’s Kibra slums, said he would also abolish bureaucracy and bias surrounding the issuance of IDs.

“Nimesema maneno ya ubaguzi kwa mambo ya ID tuyatupilie mbali; kila mwananchi apatiwe ID. Natangaza nikiwa hapa Kibra ya kwamba kitambulisho ipatianwe bila malipo yoyote. Kila mtu apatiwe kitambulisho bila malipo na kwa mpango ambao hauna ubanguzi kwa Wakenya,” said Ruto.

The directive comes as a relief for Kenyans who have been paying Ksh.300 to obtain the vital document.

This even as the government had hinted at increasing the charges to Ksh.2,000 before the gazette notice issued on November 7, 2023, was revoked.

The government had intended to increase the fee for first-time ID applications to Ksh.1,000 but reviewed the cost downward to Ksh.300.

The fee for the replacement of lost IDs was also reduced to Ksh.1,000 from the intended Ksh.2,000.

President Ruto’s sentiments follow his recent controversial move of scrapping the 60-year-old vetting requirement for border counties' ID applicants.

The Head of State, after signing the Presidential Proclamation on Registration and Issuance of IDs to border counties at Orahey Grounds in Wajir last month said; “Leo nimesema hiyo vetting imekwisha; hakuna kuendelea kuonea watu wengine. Hii ubaguzi imedumu miaka 60 tulisema tutatoa.”