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Population of stateless persons to reduce after dissolution of ID vetting committees

Kenyan ID Card. (Handout)

By Mary Wambui | 01 May 2024

Kenya has committed itself to accede to the two UN statelessness conventions and complete legal reforms to address and eradicate statelessness by 2027.

The country's tally of stateless persons is set to go down following the ban on vetting for National Identity Cards (IDs) in 20 borders, cosmopolitan and settlement counties. The ban takes effect on Wednesday.

According to statistics by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the country currently hosts an estimated 9,800 stateless individuals.

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The number was reduced last year when the government granted Kenyan citizenship to some 7,000 members of the Pemba community in 2023.

President William Ruto said this would give them the identity and recognition they deserve and facilitate the community to access public services.

"This, effectively, ends the Pemba community's statelessness and marginalisation that has lasted for close to 100 years," President Ruto said while giving the community citizenship in June last year.

Other communities recognised and registered as Kenyan citizens in recent years include 1,500 members of the Makonde community, 1,650 members of the Shona community, 10 people of Rwandan descent, and 52 people of Asian origin.

"This progress highlights Kenya's commitment to eradicating statelessness in the country," the refugee agency notes on its website.

"Other groups at risk of statelessness are the Nubians, persons from the Nyasa and Pare communities in the coastal areas, and the Galje'el and Sagaf communities who reside in the Tana River area, as well as people of Kenyan Cushitic and Somali descent who face challenges accessing birth registration and identity documentation," the agency adds.

These are, however, some of the communities that will benefit from the abolishment of the vetting for ID committees, which the government has acknowledged had been discriminative towards members of particular religions and communities.

Starting Wednesday, all appointment letters to the identification committee stand revoked.

The committees were comprised of the Deputy County Commissioners (Chairperson), Deputy County Registrar of Persons (Secretary), NIS officer, DCI officer, Immigration Officer, Civil Registration Officer, Chiefs and Assistant chiefs and Local elders.

The challenges that came with the vetting committees include claims that they morphed into extortion rings that demanded bribes from applicants and that sold Kenyan registration documents to foreigners.

Immigration and Citizen Services Permanent Secretary Julius Bitok said the dissolution of the vetting committees complies with constitutional provisions and international conventions that oblige the government to provide registration documents to all deserving citizens without discrimination or undue frustrations.

Kenya has committed itself to accede to the two UN statelessness conventions and complete legal reforms to address and eradicate statelessness by 2027.

Without a legal identity, no one can secure their rights, challenge discrimination, and access basic services like education, key ingredients to poverty eradication.