This February marked one year since the historic decree abolishing the discriminatory ID vetting process in the issuance of national identity cards—a decades-old barrier that prevented Kenyan citizens from obtaining IDs based solely on religion, ethnicity, or geographic location. This important victory came after more than a decade of advocacy by grassroots justice groups and communities across Kenya. To date, community paralegals working with Namati Kenya, Nubian Rights Forum, Haki Centre, Pastoralists Rights and Advocacy Network (ParaNET) and Haki na Sheria Initiative have supported over 30,000 people to secure ID documents, ensuring they can access their fundamental rights as citizens. 

Even so, this coalition of civil society organizations say that decades of discriminatory ID vetting still leaves millions of Kenyans undocumented and without meaningful pathways to obtain documentation.

“Abolishing vetting was an important first step in restoring and extending constitutionally enshrined citizenship rights and legal requirements for ID applicants, but it did not remedy the historical legacy of this injustice,” said Mustafa Mahmoud, Director of Namati’s Citizenship program. “Many Kenyan citizens are still carrying ‘waiting cards’ that have expired, or worse, have no documents at all because they were turned away for years.”

The recent vetting reforms have largely benefited new applicants, while Kenyan citizens previously rejected or blocked by the now-disbanded vetting committees still lack a clear pathway to reapply for IDs. Decades of discriminatory vetting have also left entire families without basic documentation, trapping generations in undocumented status. Meanwhile, inconsistencies in implementing the new ID guidelines show that some registration officers continue to subject applicants to extra scrutiny, effectively keeping vetting practices alive.

The civil society organizations named in this press release and impacted communities urge the government to fully address this legacy of exclusion and ensure every Kenyan has equal, non-discriminatory access to citizenship documentation by:

1. Amending the Registration of Persons Act to remove Section 8(1a) and Section 16(ba) to enshrine the Presidential decree in law and prevent future re-introduction of vetting.
2. Establishing independent grievance redress and appeal mechanisms for delayed and rejected applications to guarantee due process.
3. Implementing affirmative action measures to ensure all Kenyan citizens, including those who are undocumented or excluded due to past vetting procedures, are able to access their right to a national ID card. 
4. Extending the reach of government services through the recently launched Usajili Mashinani initiative and an increase in mobile registration activities, particularly in rural, underserved, and nomadic areas. 
5. Ensuring consistent, fair review and processing of ID applications across the whole country through clear, public guidelines and enhanced training for registrars.

Taking these steps is critical to ensuring that every Kenyan can fully exercise their rights as citizens.

Please direct questions and/or interview requests to media@namati.org.

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Kenya committed to SDG16:9, which calls for the provision of legal identity for all by 2030. Yet, despite this pledge, government practices in citizenship documentation processes actively undermine this promise through discriminatory ID vetting, entrenched corruption and other systemic issues that block Kenyan citizens from accessing IDs.

While the government had earlier in 2025 declared vetting as unconstitutional and made progressive and welcome changes to put an end to the practice through an executive order, 6 months later, evidence from affected communities reveals a starkly different reality.

For millions of Kenyans, mainly from majority Muslim communities and other minority ethnic groups, the promise to end ID vetting remains only on paper.

In practice the new structure for ID applications, that applies to only some sections of Kenyans, still creates excessive demands on applicants while also retaining the unchecked power of officials  mainly chiefs – to determine whether an applicant gets an ID, even when the applicant provides government-issued supporting documents as part of their application.

Following the abolishing of vetting, the government, through the Ministry of interior, gazetted new ID registration guidelines. Now, the new ID process requires applicants to provide proof of citizenship (birth certificate and parents ID), letter of introduction from the chief and chiefs thumbprint, parents to appear in person to put thumbprint on the application form, follow-up from the chief to again reverify the applicant and thereafter the application is forwarded to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) for additional verification before an individual can get their identity card.

Every aspect of the new ID rules contains extremely concerning provisions that are like the old vetting. The extra requirements of a chiefs thumbprint, parents to appear in person and provide thumbprints, chiefs re-verification and involvement of security agencies for additional verification  are simply another form of vetting and have only disguised vetting into a series of steps with the same government departments, opening opportunities for continued arbitrary questions, extra requests, and denials – in a similar fashion to the old vetting process.

“Kenya’s Constitution does not permit a two-tiered system where different ID application standards are imposed on sections of Kenyan citizens based solely on religious background or ethnicity. We urge the government to finally address this long-standing injustice and ensure every Kenyan enjoys equal, non-discriminatory access to citizenship documents.”

Additionally, due to this new process of devolved vetting, many ID applicants continue to face unnecessary delays for months, if not years, locking them in a limbo that denies them their right to identity.

Coupled with other enduring administrative challenges including and not limited to widespread corruption, prohibitive and inconsistent application fees, and distance from registration offices or Huduma centers, too many Kenyans still face significant barriers when seeking ID cards.

Considering the foregoing, on this day dedicated to identity, we civil society organizations and directly impacted communities urge the Government to seize the opportunity to implement its pledge on SDG16:9 and fulfill its promise of nationality documentation for all by:

• Enforcing an end of ID vetting and differential treatment of ID applicants in all forms by standardizing legal requirements for ID applicants and establishing a clear, consistent and fair practice that is applied uniformly countrywide.
• Amending or repealing sections of the law that purportedly provide the legal framework for vetting to prevent the recurrence of vetting Implementing affirmative action measures to issue identification to all Kenyans, especially those previously excluded from accessing documents due to historical existence of discriminatory vetting.
• Expanding the number of registration and identification offices and resourcing of these offices, especially in underserved areas of Kenya. The government must also enhance the number and capacity of registration staff in these centers.
• Reducing or eliminating inconsistent high fees for ID renewals and birth certificate applications and ensure registration officials do not charge any fees for not previously registered persons

Signed by:

• Nubian Rights Forum
• Haki na Sheria Initiative
• Namati Kenya
• Haki Center
• Pastoralists Rights and Advocacy Network (PARANET)
• Pastoralists Women for Health and Education (PWHE)

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– Vivek Maru, CEO, Namati

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The petition was filed by Haki Na Sheria Initiative on 20 December 2023 on the grounds that the new Maisha Namba ID system failed to address flaws in Kenya’s identity system that openly discriminate against certain groups, violates the right to privacy and that its rollout lacked due process and public participation in lawmaking.

During the hearing at the Milimani Law Courts, the presiding judge Lawrence Mugambi, heard from two expert witnesses on the exclusion risks, privacy concerns and the inadequate legal framework, considering the extensive changes proposed by the Maisha Namba system including biometrics collection and centralized access to the population register.

The expert witnesses argued that the existing problems in the ID system that actively discriminates against about 5 million Kenyans leading to their lack of identification had not been addressed by Maisha Namba and would only be made worse by its rushed and mandatory rollout.

“The Maisha Namba system assumes that everyone can prove that they are a Kenyan. Our chief concern is that there are communities that have not been able to acquire national IDs or birth certificates for their nationality to be recognized,” expert witness Laura Bingham told the court.

The expert witnesses also highlighted the difficulties faced by those without national IDs or birth certificates in joining the new ID system.

“People require an existing form of an ID to enrol into the Maisha Namba ecosystem. Proof of nationality is more relevant than ever in the Maisha Namba regime. For millions of Kenyans who lack any form of identification, the Maisha Namba system lacks any meaningful remedies to ensure their inclusion,” the court was told.

The expert witnesses also underscored concerns about building a centralized database of biometric information and a unique personal identifier (UPI) number that can be seeded or linked across government agencies warning of the vulnerability to data breaches and the lack of citizens protection from surveillance.

“A lot of individuals personal data including facial and iris scans will be collected by Maisha Namba. Citizens would be left unprotected from data breaches, exclusion and even surveillance.”

“You can change your password, but you cannot change your biometrics,” said Tom Fisher, a senior researcher with Privacy International.

The Maisha Namba petitioners call on the courts to mandate the government to address these systemic issues by:

1. Implementing affirmative action measures to issue identification to all Kenyans, especially those previously excluded from accessing documents due to the historical existence of discriminatory vetting.

2.  Ending ID vetting and differential treatment of ID applicants in all forms.

3. Conducting, making public and implementing  a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) on Maisha Namba to identify and mitigate risks to citizens privacy in compliance with the Data Protection Act and a Human Rights Impact Assessment to ensure the equal delivery of people’s constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Signed by Civil Society Organizations:

Nubian Rights Forum
Paranet
Namati Kenya
Haki Center
The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya)
Access Now
ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa
KICTANet
Kenya Human Rights Commission

The post Kenyan Citizens Who Struggle to Obtain IDs Still Blocked from Enrolling to Digital ID Maisha Namba, Court Told appeared first on Namati.

This marks the first time a Kenyan president has publicly acknowledged the unconstitutional nature of this discriminatory system, calling it unjust and declaring that citizens should “feel like Kenyans without any discrimination.”

In May 2024, the government had earlier declared that vetting committees would be abolished and began implementing new ID registration guidelines aimed at removing the extra vetting steps for ID application.

What is ID Vetting?

In Kenya, about 5 million people – primarily from Muslim-majority communities – have been forced to go through intrusive security screenings, excessive documentation requirements, and unreasonable delays when applying for essential identity documents.

ID vetting is a harmful practice that violates citizenship and associated rights due to ID denials. Lack of an ID limits access to public services, locks people out of economic opportunities such as getting a job, having a bank account or even owning a sim card and perpetuates cycles of poverty.

Before this order, ID vetting had been systematic across Kenya for decades, imposed on ID applicants only because of their religious background. Even when an applicant provided all the necessary supporting documents required by law for ID application, he or she would have to appear before a vetting committee composed of registration and security agents that wielded unchecked power in determining whether applicants get ID documentation. An applicant could wait months or longer to appear before the committee, where he or she would face random questioning and excessive requests for documentation unrelated to citizenship as defined in Kenyan law, often leading to further delays or denial of ID cards.

Watch this video for more context on ID vetting:

What did Namati/our partners do to try to resolve it?

Namati and partners began to mainstream discussions around exclusion in nationality rights where before it was shrouded in secrecy under the blanket cover of national security. When the work began, many national and grassroots organizations shied away from challenging this discrimination.

Through community organizing, Namati created a platform for highlighting the discriminatory and arbitrary nature of ID vetting, pushing discussions to the national stage. We utilized legal empowerment for communities and elevated the conversation to directly engage policymakers to end ID vetting. In 2015, one of our partner staff Fatuma Abdul Rahman tabled a question on vetting during the presidential debates. Vetting and other forms of exclusion were central to our campaigning around the Huduma Namba digital ID, building a public consciousness around the issues. Community-driven petitions and paralegal case data submitted as part of fact-finding led to Parliament recognizing vetting as discriminatory. Over the years, concerns on ID vetting became central in public discourse leading to the presidential candidates in the 2022 general elections accepting that it was indeed a national issue that needed a resolution. As a result, President Ruto’s party, in its manifesto, adopted marginalization in IDs as a critical action point in his administration. We have since run a focused campaign against vetting on social media and television – see below!

Why does it matter?

Vetting is discriminatory and impedes millions from accessing Kenyan nationality despite having a clear right to it under Kenyan law. Other ‘mainstream’ communities in Kenya do not face vetting when applying for ID documents and ID applications can take a day with issuance in 21 days.

Read our in-depth statement on the abolishing of vetting committees.

What happens next?

Focus now shifts to monitoring these new practices, preventing any backsliding on our hard-won progress, and pushing for clear, consistent treatment of all ID applicants countrywide and legislative amendments to fully dismantle the legal framework that enabled discrimination. With paralegals actively working across seven counties and the #MyIDMyRight movement continuing to grow, we remain committed to our ultimate goal: ensuring every Kenyan enjoys equal, non-discriminatory access to citizenship documents—the necessary foundation for a full, flourishing life as a Kenyan.

We also remain willing to work with the Government of Kenya to implement the necessary legislative and regulatory changes that would guarantee an equal and fair identification system for all Kenyan citizens, no matter their religious background or region of residence.

The post We dreamed it. We did it. Kenya Abolishes ID Vetting. appeared first on Namati.

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Community paralegals engage with citizens during an outreach campaign on citizenship rights in Nairobi. (Photo credit: Namati)

The Citizenship Program invites journalists from Nairobi to join an in-person media workshop on citizenship and digital identity in Nairobi from July 24 – 25, 2023.

The 2-day Citizenship and Digital Identity Journalism workshop is aimed at building the capacity of local journalists to understand, advocate and defend citizenship rights in the age of digitization of identity thereby contributing to greater public awareness on key digital identity issues and the implications of the introduction of digital identity systems on citizenship rights.

With the imminent introduction of a new digital identity system in Kenya, now more than ever, the subject of citizenship rights is becoming vital with digitization shaping access to public services. Namati will provide subject experts and affected communities who will provide meaningful engagements with journalists to enhance their knowledge on citizenship rights, implications of digital identity systems and real-life challenges faced by communities in obtaining nationality documents.

The workshop will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on July 24 and July 25 2023. 

Eligibility Criteria

• The workshop is open to journalists based in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Journalists from print, television, online and radio, with a demonstrated track record of producing incisive, in-depth stories.
• Demonstrate interest in social justice, digital rights and citizenship issues.
• Permit Namati to have the right to re-publish and distribute any stories produced as a result of journalists’ participation in the workshop, once they are published in media outlets.

Please note:

• Participants must commit to attending all two days of the workshop from July 24 to July 25, 2023.
• Meals and local travel allowance will be provided.
• Select journalists will receive a small reporting grant to undertake a Citizenship and Digital Identity investigation after the workshop.

How to Apply

• Click here to apply.
• Applicants must submit two published writing samples or links to stories that have appeared online.
• Applicants must provide an approval letter from their editor or media outlet; freelancers may apply without a letter.

About the Citizenship Program

Namati Citizenship program works with communities who are Kenyans by law but are subjected to differential treatment when applying for documentation. Namati and our partners train and deploy community paralegals in six countries, including in Kenya. Paralegals are grassroots organizers with a sharp understanding of the law. They form a dynamic, creative frontline that can squeeze justice out of even broken systems. Rather than treating people like victims requiring expert service, community paralegals build power among the people – justice seekers – with whom they work.

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Namati is a Sanskrit word that means “to shape something into a curve.” Martin Luther King Jr. said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” We call ourselves Namati because we’re dedicated to bending that curve.

This video was generously produced by Skoll.org, a long-time partner of ours.

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This short video explores the issue through the personal experiences of Kenyans across the country.

The post Video: Denied Identity in Kenya appeared first on Namati.

It was a gray, November morning in the informal settlement of Kibra. Hassan Noor Said, a 24-year-old Nubian, sat on a stool in a muddy clearing used partly as a dumping ground for the hundreds of mud-walled houses that surrounded him.

He has donned a light brown, woolen blazer and off-white shirt for a video shoot he is about to participate in as part of the Global Pluralism Award nomination of Namati Kenya’s citizenship program.

The program advocates for inclusivity, fairness and accessibility in legal identification systems that have marginalized communities such as the Nubians living in Kenya.

Hassan struggled for years to secure his ID due to systemic discrimination

Hassan’s search for identity started in 2018 when he was 20 years old and had just joined a local college to pursue studies in food and beverage. By then, he was already two years late; the normal age for Kenyans to acquire an ID is 18 years old.

Despite joining the college using his birth certificate as identification, he was unable to sit his exams without a national identity card. He was forced to drop out and lost the sponsorship he received from a well-wisher.

Losing the scholarship devastated him, but it was just the beginning of his lack of ID challenge.

“The biggest challenge was not having proper documentation to get a job. Every time I would say I’m a Nubian a potential employer would think I’m a foreigner and would decline to consider me for the job,” Hassan said.

“My community has not yet been recognized in Kenya, and we are fighting so that the government can acknowledge there is a community known as Nubians.”

Nubians have lived in Kenya for over one-and-half century, ever since their ancestors, from a territory that is the current Sudan, were brought to East Africa as a regiment of the British colonial armed forces.

While a 2019 government census data estimates the Nubian population to be about 21,000, others estimate there could be many more scattered in different parts of Kenya. In Nairobi, the largest population of Nubians live in Kibra, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa, where they were settled by the British.

Despite being in Kenya even before the country got independence in 1964, the Nubian community is still not recognized as one of the country’s official tribes. Lack of recognition has meant they face discriminatory hurdles when seeking legal identification documents such as birth certificates, IDs, and even death certificates.

They also face lengthy and costly procedures, which include vetting by a panel of government officials and security agents, that make it hard for many to get their citizenship documentation.

“Nubians are only allowed to apply for IDs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which means that if you are held up on those two days of the week you won’t be considered any other day. This is very limiting,” said Hassan.

“There is also vetting by government officials and security agents. It is very intimidating and subjective. It makes one wonder if getting an ID is worth the struggle.”

For Hassan and other Nubians in Kenya, a lack of legal identification means that they cannot get jobs, secure government services, access educational institutions, or even obtain a bank or mobile money account.

“I used to keep my money under the mattress, which was risky,” Hassan said, recalling a time when he ran a potato fries business.

Hassan sits in an open field in Kibera, next to his cat named Prince. November, 2021.

With the help of community paralegal at the Nubian Rights Forum (NRF), one of Namati’s partner organizations in the country, Hassan was able to understand laws related to citizenship, receive support to go through the application steps and eventually got his ID in February 2020 — more than two years after first seeking the document.

He says his life, since getting an ID, has changed for the better. With his identification, he was able to open a bank account, register for mobile banking and expand his potato chips business.

Hassan also became interested in paralegal work to help others in the Nubian community to gain identification that will bestow them with their full citizenship rights.

“After going through the process with the NRF paralegals, I wanted to also become a paralegal and I went through training with Namati … [Now] I’m able to advocate for the rights of my community,” he said.

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