Mukomen gazettes scrapping of Sh300 new IDs fee

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has gazetted the scrapping of the Ksh 300 fee charged for issuance of new national identity (ID) cards following last week’s order by President William Ruto.

In a special Kenya Gazzete notice, Murkomen amended the Registration of Persons Rules enacted last year to allow those seeking national IDs for the first time will not pay any money to be issued with the vital document

“The sixth schedule to the Registration of Persons Rules is amended by deleting the expression “KSh 300” appearing as fees for the item “Not Previously Registered (NPR)” and substituting thereof the expression “Nil”,” the notice reads.

Ruto had issued the directive following calls by youths during his tour of Kibera last week.

“I have said that the bias in the issuance of IDs should be removed. All citizens should be given IDs. I also want to announce here in Kibra that IDs should be issued without any charges and any bias,” Ruto said.

According to Ruto, the directive is aimed at ensuring Kenyans have IDs and no one is left out.

However, it is not clear whether the directive shall also apply to those seeking replacement.

In November 2023, then-Interior CS Kindiki Kithure, now Deputy President, gazetted new charges of processing various documents, including IDs and their replacement, which faced a lot of opposition, leading to the cancellation of the gazette notice.

Later, after public participation, Kindiki lowered the charges from Ksh 2,000 for replacement to Ksh 1000, while new issuance was lowered to Ksh 300 from Ksh 1,000.

Political leaders had expressed fears that the Ksh 300 fee could deter youths from obtaining IDs to register as voters.

And speaking in Nakuru, Murkomen announced that the Ksh 500 passport verification fee shall also be scrapped soon.

He stated that the government would undertake the process of verification, adding that no citizen will pay for it.

The CS was speaking during the launch of the National Mobile Registration Outreach Programme, which is seeking to issue IDs across the country.

Murkomen said the initiative targets rural schools, villages, and urban areas.

This is even as the government is set to introduce a digital ID system to enable Kenyans keep track of the status of their applications through the new post-issuance ID tracking system.

“We are in the process of introducing virtual IDs, and it will no longer be necessary to carry a physical ID. Once you have the virtual card, you will be able to present it digitally, even when requested by the police,” the CS stated while in Nakuru today.

The Interior CS explained that the initiative aims to improve customer experience and make government services more accessible.

According to Murkomen, the digital wallets would allow Kenyans to store their identification documents on smartphones and integrate with various services, including government platforms, payment systems, and digital signatures.

Murkomen said the government will launch mass registration exercises across the country for those without IDs to obtain them.

Hundreds of residents turned up at Shabaab grounds where officials from the National Registration Bureau are conducting a mobile registration drive.