Only 575 ID applications processed since 2015

Murang'a woman rep Sabina Chege displays unclaimed Identity cards in Kandara sub county. Only 575 national ID cards have been processed for applicants in Mandera East since March last year, records at Registrar of Persons indicate. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mandera East Registrar of Persons Said Salim Dhadho said since his office resumed the exercise in March 2015 only 575 IDs have been processed for the area.
  • The government has introduced stringent measures to curb issuance of IDs to non-Kenyans in Mandera including thumb prints of a parent or a guardian of applicant for accountability.

Only 575 national ID cards have been processed for applicants in Mandera East since March last year, records at Registrar of Persons indicate.

Some 2,533 national ID card applications are yet to be processed, the Nation has learnt.

Mandera East Registrar of Persons Said Salim Dhadho said since his office resumed the exercise in March 2015 only 575 IDs have been processed for the area.

“We stopped issuance of IDs in Mandera sometimes back in August 2013 due to allegations of non-Kenyans acquiring it through some dubious means but we are back on course,” said Mr Dhadho.

He said out of 575 processed IDs only 53 have been collected from Mandera East office and appealed to the applicants to collect the rest.

He said ID application programme in Mandera West, Rhamu, Banisa and Mandera South sub-counties was ready and will roll out soon but the fate of Lafey sub-county remained unknown.

The government has introduced stringent measures to curb issuance of IDs to non-Kenyans in Mandera including thumb prints of a parent or a guardian of applicant for accountability.

Other measures are formation of a vetting team including elders and chiefs, production of birth certificates by the applicants, school certificates and age assessment certificates. The applicant must be in the area chief’s register.

“We had insincere vetting teams that were disbanded after it emerged that members were aiding non Kenyans acquire the IDs but the new ones have both male and female representatives,” said Mr Dhadho.

Lack of IDs has hampered the ongoing voter registration exercise record low turn-out and even some centres are registering one voter in a day.

A source in the office of Mandera County IEBC office told the Nation that only 73 eligible voters have been registered since Monday when the exercise was launched.

The County Elections Coordinator Hussein Gure declined to speak to press maintaining that he is not authorised to.
“I prefer you call Nairobi for any information on anything concerning the process in Mandera as I am not allowed speak to the press,” Mr Gure told the Nation on allegations that Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits were yet to reach Lafey Constituency since Monday.