Govt Abolish Vetting Committees For The Issuance Of National IDs & Passports Effective 1st May 2024.
Chiefs to take personal responsibility for foreigners obtaining Kenyan IDs in their areas. The government has resolved to abolish vetting committees for the issuance of National IDs and Passports from 1st May 2024.
Chiefs will take personal responsibility for any Kenyan National ID Card issued to foreigners in their regions after the dissolution of vetting committees from Wednesday, May 1.
Bitok said chiefs will be required to append their thumbprints in addition to their signature to each approved application that must be presented by a parent or a relative-by-blood of applicants who are mainly youth who attain 18 years and above.
“We will hold chiefs to a personal account for any Kenyan ID issued to a foreigner because they will have endorsed the application. They will have to take responsibility for their actions,” Bitok said.
Omollo said under the new directive, chiefs will be required to work closely with other security agents to ensure no Kenyan is unfairly denied an ID while also protecting the country’s security interests and the integrity of the registration process.
“Proper identification of bonafide citizens for issuance of identification documents is paramount to counter security threats such as terrorism that occur due to illegal registration of immigrants,” Omollo said.
This follows a Presidential directive to do away with the current multi-agency vetting teams that have been blamed for frustrations linked to corruption and inordinate delays in issuing ID cards to communities living along national borders.
