State turns to chiefs to trace owners of 557,930 uncollected IDs ahead of 2027 polls

NAIROBI,Kenya Nov 6 – The government has enlisted chiefs and assistant chiefs in a nationwide campaign to trace owners of 557,930 uncollected national identity cards as it moves to clear the backlog ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang told MPs that the government was intensifying efforts to ensure all eligible Kenyans obtain identity cards before voter registration begins in January 2027.

The exercise comes amid concerns that thousands of eligible voters could be locked out of the electoral process if they fail to obtain the identification documents required for registration.

Appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on Thursday, November 5, Kipsang said nearly 400,000 of the uncollected cards had remained at registration offices for more than a decade.

He said the government was working with National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs), including chiefs and assistant chiefs, to identify and reach applicants whose cards were ready but had not been collected.

Under the arrangement, local administrators will receive lists of uncollected cards in their jurisdictions and help trace their rightful owners.

The department is also exploring ways of allowing parents, guardians and other authorised persons to collect identity cards on behalf of applicants, subject to proper verification.

“We are making sure that before the voter registration exercise in January, every Kenyan who should have an ID has one and is able to participate in next year’s elections,” Kipsang said.

To encourage applications, the PS said the government had abolished charges for obtaining new identity cards and replacing lost ones.

The move eliminates the previous Sh300 fee for new IDs and Sh1,000 replacement charge, which he said had created barriers for some applicants.

The department is also developing an electronic notification system through the e-Citizen platform that will send applicants SMS alerts once their identity cards are ready for collection.

Kipsang said the government had invested in live-capture equipment to improve registration and processing while strengthening safeguards against identity fraud.

However, he acknowledged that the backlog, particularly cards that have remained uncollected for more than 10 years, presented legal and administrative challenges.

He cited Section 17 of the Registration of Persons Act, which provides for the Cabinet Secretary to invalidate identity cards, but said the government was being cautious about disposing of the documents.

“An identity card is very personal to an individual, and we have to be very careful about how we dispose of cards that have remained uncollected for a long time,” he said.

The PS’s presentation triggered concerns among MPs over delays in the processing and delivery of identity cards, with some questioning why applicants continued to wait for months despite the adoption of modern technology.

Teso South MP Uku Kaunya said more than 5,000 identity cards were yet to reach registration stations in Amagoro, with applicants reportedly waiting between two and three months after their applications had been processed.

He challenged the department to explain the delays, arguing that the prolonged waiting periods undermined efforts to ensure Kenyans obtained the documents in time for voter registration.

“At some stations, the IDs take too long to be processed at the headquarters and delivered to the ground. In Amagoro, we have more than 5,000 that have taken over two to three months without arriving,” Kaunya said.

The MP proposed involving village elders in distributing the cards, arguing that their grassroots networks could help identify applicants and ensure the documents reach their rightful owners.

Saku MP Dido Raso, the committee’s vice-chairperson, said the government had made progress in improving access to identity cards, particularly among pastoralist communities that had previously faced difficulties navigating registration requirements.

He noted that applicants from some communities had been subjected to lengthy documentation requirements, including producing their mothers’ birth certificates, death certificates and identity cards.

However, Raso said the department should adopt the passport collection system, where applicants receive SMS notifications when their documents are ready.

“One of the reasons many people do not collect their identity cards is because they are not informed when the documents arrive,” he said.

He also raised concerns over expiry dates printed on new-generation identity cards, warning that the public could mistakenly interpret them to mean that citizenship expires alongside the identification document.

Sotik MP Francis Sigei similarly questioned delays in delivering processed identity cards to registration centres, despite the introduction of modern registration technology.

He also sought clarification on delays in issuing identity cards to people married to Kenyan citizens but originating from neighbouring countries, particularly Uganda and South Sudan.

Responding to the concerns, Kipsang said the department had the capacity to print up to 20,000 identity cards daily and was working towards ensuring applications were processed and delivered within seven to 10 days.

He cited Busia County, where 11,000 identity cards had been processed in the preceding 30 days and were at various stages of completion.

In Kericho County, he said 17,000 cards were being processed and would be delivered to applicants within seven to 10 days.

“Any ID application that reaches us should be processed and delivered within seven to 10 days. It is a rolling system because as we receive new applications, we continue processing and dispatching those already received,” he said.

However, Kaunya maintained that the situation in Amagoro required urgent intervention, insisting that the figure of more than 5,000 pending cards had been confirmed by the local registration office.

Committee chairman Gabriel Tongoyo directed the PS to investigate the complaints and establish the causes of delays in the affected areas.

The Narok West MP urged the department to follow up on concerns raised by members and take corrective action where service delivery gaps had been identified.

Kipsang promised to provide Kaunya with a detailed update on the status of applications in Teso South and the wider Busia County.

On concerns about expiry dates on identity cards, the PS clarified that they related to the validity of the technology and information stored in the identification chip, rather than the citizenship of the holder.

He said the government would notify Kenyans in advance when their cards required replacement to update the information stored in the chips.

“When your passport expires, you do not lose your citizenship. It is the same with an identity card. It is about updating the information contained in the chip and not the expiry of your citizenship,” he said.

The department also pledged to intensify public education to address misconceptions surrounding the new-generation identity cards.

On passport issuance, Kipsang dismissed concerns over shortages of printing materials, saying the department had adequate supplies and was meeting its processing timelines.

He said the government was transitioning to the third generation of passports and had more than one million booklets from the previous generation as it phased out the old system.

The PS further pledged to review staffing levels across the country to address disparities in the distribution of immigration and civil registration officers, particularly in areas facing shortages.

He also announced plans to harmonise national registration and civil registration services, which have traditionally operated through separate offices, allowing Kenyans to access both services at a single point.

“We are harmonising these offices so that Kenyans can get both civil registration and national registration services at one point,” he said.