In the Press

One Year After Vetting Decree, Millions Of Kenyans Still Denied Citizenship

Vetting was abolished in February 2025, a change few thought was possible for Muslim-majority Kenyans. A year later, ID processes are faster but significant challenges remain.

This February marked one year since the historic decree abolishing the discriminatory ID vetting process in the issuance of national identity cards—a decades-old barrier that prevented Kenyan citizens from obtaining IDs based solely on religion, ethnicity, or geographic location. This important victory came after more than a decade of advocacy by grassroots justice groups and communities across Kenya. To date, community paralegals working with Namati Kenya, Nubian Rights Forum, Haki Centre, Pastoralists Rights and Advocacy Network (ParaNET) and Haki na Sheria Initiative have supported over 30,000 people to secure ID documents, ensuring they can access their fundamental rights as citizens. 

Even so, this coalition of civil society organizations say that decades of discriminatory ID vetting still leaves millions of Kenyans undocumented and without meaningful pathways to obtain documentation.

“Abolishing vetting was an important first step in restoring and extending constitutionally enshrined citizenship rights and legal requirements for ID applicants, but it did not remedy the historical legacy of this injustice,” said Mustafa Mahmoud, Director of Namati’s Citizenship program. “Many Kenyan citizens are still carrying ‘waiting cards’ that have expired, or worse, have no documents at all because they were turned away for years.”

The recent vetting reforms have largely benefited new applicants, while Kenyan citizens previously rejected or blocked by the now-disbanded vetting committees still lack a clear pathway to reapply for IDs. Decades of discriminatory vetting have also left entire families without basic documentation, trapping generations in undocumented status. Meanwhile, inconsistencies in implementing the new ID guidelines show that some registration officers continue to subject applicants to extra scrutiny, effectively keeping vetting practices alive.

The civil society organizations named in this press release and impacted communities urge the government to fully address this legacy of exclusion and ensure every Kenyan has equal, non-discriminatory access to citizenship documentation by:

1. Amending the Registration of Persons Act to remove Section 8(1a) and Section 16(ba) to enshrine the Presidential decree in law and prevent future re-introduction of vetting.
2. Establishing independent grievance redress and appeal mechanisms for delayed and rejected applications to guarantee due process.
3. Implementing affirmative action measures to ensure all Kenyan citizens, including those who are undocumented or excluded due to past vetting procedures, are able to access their right to a national ID card. 
4. Extending the reach of government services through the recently launched Usajili Mashinani initiative and an increase in mobile registration activities, particularly in rural, underserved, and nomadic areas. 
5. Ensuring consistent, fair review and processing of ID applications across the whole country through clear, public guidelines and enhanced training for registrars.

Taking these steps is critical to ensuring that every Kenyan can fully exercise their rights as citizens.

Please direct questions and/or interview requests to media@namati.org.

---

---

---

SHARE THIS: