Ombudsman to Probe Denial of Issuance of ID Cards to Wajir Residents

The Kenyan Ombudsman (now The Commission on Administrative Justice) will on 19th start an inquiry on delays or denials of issuance of ID Cards to residents of Wajir county. Below is part of the statement issued by CAJ.

Inquiry on Delay in ID Card Issuance in Wajir

The Commission, in partnership with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) will hold a public inquiry and series of engagements in Wajir County from Monday 19th February 2024 to Friday 23rd February 2024 on the barriers to the acquisition of legal identity documents including Birth and Death Certificates, Identification cards and Passports by the residents of the county.

The decision was prompted by numerous media reports and complaints received by the Commission regarding the persistent challenges encountered by residents of the Northern Frontier Counties in acquiring legal identity documents. In preparation for the inquiry, the Commission on Thursday, February 8, 2024 held discussions with officials from the Civil Registries Services, National Registration Bureau and the Immigration Department to establish the institutional overview of their mandates, the legal framework and procedures followed in the issuance of the documents.

During the visit to Wair County, the Commission will hold engagements with Non-state Actors community leaders religious leaders and other relevant stakeholders and a public inquiry engagement with the public to provide them with an opportunity to share their experiences and challenges. The Commission will later engage the service providers from the Civil Registries

Services, National Registration Bureau Immigration Department, and National Government Administration Officers to respond to issues raised during the inquiry.

The Commission will further examine the processes in the acquisition of the above documents beginning from application vetting and issuance to better understand the challenges and make recommendations aimed at addressing the challenges.