Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced a nationwide mobile ID registration initiative for 2024, targeting over one million Kenyans who have reached the age of 18. The program builds upon Kenya’s ongoing efforts to modernize its national identity infrastructure and places special emphasis on historically underserved regions, including Northern and Eastern Kenya and parts of the Coast.
The initiative uses Live Capture Unit technology for mobile registration, enabling on-site biometric enrollment and rapid ID issuance within three to seven days. Mobile units will be deployed to schools and remote areas, significantly reducing traditional waiting times that previously extended to weeks or months. The technological advancement marks a major improvement over the country’s previous paper-based registration system.
As part of the program’s policy reforms, the government has eliminated the additional vetting process previously required for residents of border counties, following direction from President William Ruto. The change supports Ruto’s broader push to accelerate digital identity adoption across Kenya. First-time ID application fees and birth certificate verification charges have also been removed to increase accessibility.
The registration drive will prioritize border counties and marginalized regions, including Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, and coastal areas. While streamlining the process, Interior Secretary Murkomen emphasized that robust security measures remain in place to prevent fraud, including safeguards against multiple ID acquisition and age manipulation. The security measures are particularly important given recent cybersecurity challenges in Kenya’s digital infrastructure.
The government plans to expand mobile registration coverage by procuring over 300 additional live capture machines within three months, aiming to serve all 1,450 wards across the country. Currently, more than 400,000 national identity cards remain uncollected, with duplicates accounting for approximately 270,000 of these. The backlog highlights the importance of the new streamlined registration process.
Local communities have responded positively to the initiative. In Wajir, students have already received their IDs within one week of registration. “Keys to opportunity, access, and full citizenship,” said human rights activist Abdi Billow, describing the significance of the IDs. The rapid issuance represents a significant improvement over previous systems and supports Kenya’s ambitious digital identity modernization plans.
The mobile registration program operates within a broader development framework that includes infrastructure improvements such as the Isiolo-Mandera highway, designed to enhance accessibility and economic opportunities in marginalized areas. The initiative is part of Kenya’s comprehensive strategy to ensure universal access to official identification, which will be crucial for the planned implementation of biometric healthcare identification in 2025.
Sources: Eastleigh Voice, Eastleigh Voice, KBC, The Kenya Times, K24 Digital
