Gov't scraps vetting, fee payments for ID cards in push to boost access across Kenya

Speaking during a mass ID registration exercise in Masara, Suna West, Migori County, Dr. Omollo said the government had scrapped the extra vetting process that had for years made it harder for residents of counties such as Homa Bay, Siaya, Busia, Garissa and Mandera to acquire identity documents.

"His Excellency President Ruto took away the requirement for extra vetting for the residents of those counties so that they could be able to access identification documents just like the rest of Kenyans," he said.

The PS added that the government had further removed application and replacement fees for ID cards, opening the door for more citizens to register without financial barriers.

"Because of that, Kenyans from across the length and breadth of the country can now access identification cards," he said.

The Masara event drew hundreds of residents seeking to register, with Dr. Omollo noting that expanded ID coverage would allow the government to better plan and deliver services to its citizens. 

He also underscored the civic dimension of the exercise, saying possession of a national ID is a gateway to obtaining a voter's card.

The PS did not shy away from drawing a political line from the registration drive, saying the region's leaders had already agreed to back President Ruto's re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general election.

"Because His Excellency President Ruto has delivered for us over the last three years, and he continues to deliver for us, when we go to elections next year, we have agreed with the leaders of this region that we will give him a second term," Dr. Omollo said.

In February 2025, President Ruto also signed a proclamation scrapping a 60-year old vetting requirement for residents of border counties to acquire ID cards.

The decision, seen as a major political strategy by President Ruto to create a new voting bloc ahead of the 2027 General Election, came just days after the High Court in Garissa ordered a fresh census for three counties in the Northeastern region.

Vetting became a security requirement for issuing identity cards and birth certificates in Northern Kenya after the Shifta insurgency of the 1960s. The Shifta war was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis, Muslim Borana, among others, attempted to join Somalia.