New Law Introduces Extra Requirements for Kenyans Applying for IDs

Kenyans applying for national identity cards will now be required to provide additional details that were not among the requirements in the past.

This comes after President Kenyatta signed into law a Bill that introduces new requirements for those applying for new IDs.

The Registration of Person’s Amendment Act now requires those applying for new IDs to provide information about their location, land reference number and plot or house number.

The law also gives the government authority to collect DNA information of Kenyans in digital form for personal identification. 

“Insert biometric data … means unique identifiers or attributes including fingerprints, hand geometry, earlobe geometry, retina and iris patterns, voice waves and Deoxyribonucleic Acid in digital form,” reads part of the amendments made to the law.

Before the new law, Kenyans were only required to provide details on their place of residence, postal address and copies of parents' IDs. Additionally, the government only took the applicant's finger and thumb impressions for personal identification.

The new law also paves way for the establishment of the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), a database that enables the government to store and print one's personal documents including IDs; birth and death certificates; driving licenses and passports from a central location.

President Kenyatta has appointed an inter-ministerial committee to oversee the creation of the system.

Members of the committee include Cabinet Secretaries Joe Mucheru (ICT), Sicily Kariuki (Health), Henry Rotich (Treasury), Amina Mohamed(Education), Mwangi Kiunjuri (Agriculture), James Macharia (Transport), and Attorney General Kihara Kariuki. Interior CS Fred Matiang'i will chair the team.