The government is racing against time to clear a backlog of more than 557,000 uncollected national identity cards ahead of the 2027 General Elections amid concerns that thousands of Kenyans could be locked out of the electoral process if they do not obtain the crucial identification documents.

Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services Dr. Belio Kipsang told MPs that the government had intensified efforts to ensure eligible Kenyans acquire identity cards before the voter registration exercise begins in January 2027.

Dr. Kipsang said the backlog, which includes nearly 400,000 cards that have remained uncollected for more than 10 years, was being addressed through a combination of local administration support, improved processing systems and technology.

He said the government was determined to remove barriers that could prevent eligible citizens from participating in next year’s elections, including the cost of acquiring identification documents.

“We are making sure that before the voter registration exercise in January, every Kenyan who should have an ID has one and is able to participate in next year’s elections,” Dr. Kipsang told the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on Thursday.

He added that the government had abolished fees previously charged for obtaining and replacing national identity cards to make the documents more accessible.

“We have removed all payments, including the Sh300 that used to be charged for new IDs and the Sh1,000 for replacements, so that it becomes easy for every Kenyan to acquire these documents and prepare to play their civic duty when the time comes next year for the elections,” he said.

The PS said the government was also working with chiefs and assistant chiefs to trace people whose identity cards had been processed but remained uncollected at registration offices.

Under the arrangement, the National Government Administration Officers would receive information on uncollected cards in their respective areas and help trace the owners.

The department is also considering allowing registration officers to release identity cards to parents, guardians and other authorised persons, provided proper verification is conducted.

Dr. Kipsang said the department was developing an electronic notification system through the e-Citizen platform to alert applicants through text messages once their identity cards were ready for collection.

“We are finalising the system to ensure that applicants are notified through SMS when their IDs are ready. This will help us fast-track the collection of these documents,” he said.

He added that the department had invested in live-capture equipment to improve the efficiency of registration and processing, while reducing the risk of identity documents being issued to the wrong people.

The PS, however, acknowledged that the large number of uncollected cards presented a legal and administrative challenge, particularly those that had remained at registration offices for more than a decade.

He said nearly 400,000 of the cards had accumulated over the past 10 years and the department had made budgetary provisions to determine how they could be handled in accordance with the law.

Dr. Kipsang cited Section 17 of the Registration of Persons Act, which provides for the Cabinet Secretary to invalidate identity cards, but said the government had to exercise caution before taking such a decision.

“An identity card is very personal to an individual, and we have to be very careful about how we dispose of cards that have remained uncollected for a long time,” he said.

The PS’s presentation prompted MPs to question delays in processing identity cards, particularly in remote areas, despite the government’s investment in modern technology.

Teso South MP Hon. Uku Kaunya said residents in Amagoro were experiencing long delays, with more than 5,000 identity cards reportedly taking between two and three months to reach registration stations after applications had been processed.

He questioned why applicants had to wait for so long when the government had introduced modern systems intended to speed up the issuance of identification documents.

“At some stations, the IDs take too long to be processed at the headquarters and delivered to the ground. In Amagoro, we have more than 5,000 that have taken over two to three months without arriving. The PS needs to explain what is happening and what is being done to fast-track the process,” Hon. Kaunya said.

He also proposed that the department work with village elders to ensure uncollected identity cards reach their rightful owners.

Hon. Kaunya said village elders, who have started receiving government stipends, could be useful in tracing applicants and facilitating the distribution of the documents at the grassroots.

Saku MP Hon. Dido Raso, the committee’s vice-chairperson, said the government had made significant improvements in the registration process, particularly for residents of pastoralist communities who previously faced difficulties obtaining identity cards.

He said applicants from such communities had often been required to produce several supporting documents, including their mothers’ birth certificates, death certificates and identity cards, making the process lengthy and difficult.

However, he said the department needed to borrow from the passport collection system, where applicants receive text messages once their documents are ready.

“One of the reasons many people do not collect their identity cards is because they are not informed when the documents arrive. When passports arrive at a station, the individual receives a text message and quickly goes to collect them. The same should happen with identity cards,” Hon. Raso said.

The MP also raised concerns over expiry dates printed on identity cards, saying some Kenyans could mistakenly interpret them to mean that their citizenship would cease to exist after the stated date.

He called for public education to clarify the distinction between the expiry of an identification document and the loss of citizenship.

Hon. Raso further sought an explanation over concerns about delays in passport issuance, questioning whether the department had adequate printing materials to meet demand.

Sotik MP Hon. Francis Sigei commended the department for its nationwide efforts to improve access to identity cards but said delays in delivering processed documents remained a challenge in some areas.

He questioned why applicants continued to wait for long periods despite the introduction of modern registration technology.

“People apply for IDs and then take a long time before the documents reach the stations. With the current technology, one wonders why it should take so long,” Hon. Sigei said.

He also raised concerns over delays in issuing identity cards to people married to Kenyan citizens across the country’s borders, particularly those from neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan.

Responding to the concerns, Dr. Kipsang said the department had the capacity to print up to 20,000 identity cards daily and was working to ensure applications were processed and delivered within shorter timelines.

He cited Busia County, where he said 11,000 identity cards had been processed over the preceding 30 days and were at various final stages of processing.

He also cited Kericho County, where 17,000 cards were being processed, saying the documents would be delivered to applicants within seven to 10 days.

“Any ID application that reaches us should be processed and delivered within seven to 10 days. It is a rolling system because as we receive new applications, we continue processing and dispatching those already received,” he said.

However, Hon. Kaunya maintained that the delays reported in Amagoro needed urgent attention, insisting that the figure of more than 5,000 pending cards was obtained directly from the local registration office.

He urged the department to investigate the discrepancy between its national processing figures and the situation on the ground.

In response, committee chairman and Narok West MP Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo directed the PS to investigate the concerns raised by MPs and establish the reasons for delays in specific regions.

“Where members raise issues concerning particular regions and you may not have the exact information, you should take them down and follow up with your officers to establish what is happening and take the necessary action,” Hon. Tongoyo said.

He added that the committee would share findings from its field visits to help the department address gaps in service delivery, particularly shortages of personnel in some registration offices.

Dr. Kipsang assured MPs that he would provide Hon. Kaunya with a detailed update on the status of applications in his constituency and the wider Busia County.

On concerns about the expiry dates of identity cards, the PS said the dates related to the validity of the technology and information stored in the identification chip, rather than the citizenship of the holder.

He said Kenyans would be notified in advance when their cards required replacement to update the information stored in the chips.

“When your passport expires, you do not lose your citizenship. It is the same with an identity card. It is about updating the information contained in the chip and not the expiry of your citizenship,” he said.

He added that the department would intensify public sensitisation to prevent misunderstandings about the new generation of identity cards.

On passport issuance, Dr. Kipsang dismissed concerns over shortages of printing materials, saying the department had adequate supplies and was within its timelines.

He said the government was transitioning to the third generation of passports and had more than one million booklets of the previous generation as it phased out the old system.

The PS also pledged to address concerns over unequal distribution of personnel across the country, saying the department would review staffing levels to ensure no region was disadvantaged in accessing immigration and civil registration services.

The PS further announced that the government was harmonising national registration and civil registration services, which have traditionally operated through separate offices, to allow Kenyans to access both services at a single point.

“We are harmonising these offices so that Kenyans can get both civil registration and national registration services at one point,” he said.