Nubian Rights Forum launches sensitisation drive to end marginalisation of minority groups
According to Project Manager Yasah Musa, marginalised communities such as the Nubians have borne the brunt of discrimination when seeking national identification documents.
The Nubian Rights Forum, a grassroots organisation advocating for the welfare of the Nubian community, has launched a sensitisation initiative to highlight the importance of documenting all Kenyans and to share the experiences of minority communities.
During a sensitisation workshop for media practitioners, the organisation’s Project Manager, Yasah Musa, said the initiative aims to deepen collective understanding of citizenship issues, the implications of digital identity systems, and the real-life challenges marginalised communities face in acquiring nationality documents.
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“In our sensitisation efforts, we will explore how to strengthen partnerships and expand public dialogue and engagement around citizenship and identification issues,” said Yasah.
According to Yasah, communities such as the Nubians have long endured discrimination when seeking national identification documents, leaving them disadvantaged in accessing government services.
“Marginalised communities should not be perceived as outsiders simply because they lack documentation,” he added.
The Forum's Paralegal, Mariam Hussein, recounted the difficulties Nubians continue to face in obtaining identification documents. She revealed that some community members, particularly in Kibra, have been trying for more than twenty years without success.
“There are heartbreaking stories of discrimination that have denied thousands of adults and children opportunities because they are undocumented. We are fighting to ensure all Kenyans are treated equally,” said Mariam.
Early this month, the organisation refuted a statement by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen regarding the government's recognition and registration of the Nubian community, terming his remarks misleading and inaccurate.
The Forum's Executive Director, Shaffie Hussein, told The Eastleigh Voice that Murkomen's assurances amounted to yet another in a series of false promises made by senior government officials, while the community continues to face exclusion, discrimination, and the anguish of statelessness.
Murkomen had told the National Assembly that the Nubian community is legally recognised as a Kenyan ethnic group.
Responding to a question by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on whether a citizenship code would be issued to formally recognise the community, Murkomen said the Directorate of National Registration Bureau had already assigned the Nubians their own ethnic code.
He noted that members of the Nubian community have been registered and issued with national identity documents since the introduction of the first-generation ID card in 1978.
Shaffie, however, argued that discrimination persists despite repeated appeals to past administrations and to President William Ruto’s government. He cited the community’s exclusion from government employment as one consequence of this marginalisation.
"While other Kenyans benefit from police and military recruitment, our members rarely get such opportunities because many of them lack identification documents. This year, only one person from the community was recruited into the military," said Shaffie.
According to Murkomen, the NRB assigns unique ethnic identification codes to Kenyan communities, allowing individuals to declare their ethnicity when applying for national IDs, as required under Section 5(1)(d) of the Registration of Persons Act.
"In 1995, with the introduction of the second-generation ID and the automated Kenya Identity Management System (KIDMS), it became necessary to create specific ethnic codes to capture ethnic data electronically. Each ethnic community was assigned a unique code, while a generic code, 'Other Kenyans' (Code 81), was provided for individuals whose communities were not yet listed in the system. The Nubian community was initially registered under this generic code (81 – Other Kenyans)," the Cabinet Secretary explained.
He added that no member of the Nubian community had ever been denied registration due to the absence of a communal code, noting that the issuance of ethnic codes was a continuous and progressive process.
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