MOMBASA, Kenya — The government has intensified efforts to expand access to national identification after the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services rolled out revised registration guidelines aimed at speeding up the issuance of National Identity Cards across the country.
Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang on Wednesday led a sensitisation forum for National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) at the Bandari Maritime Academy in Mombasa, bringing together senior administrators, security agencies, and immigration officers to familiarise them with the new framework.
The engagement focused on the revised National Registration Guidelines, which place strong emphasis on mobile registration, data accuracy, and faster processing of legitimate applications to ensure no eligible Kenyan is left undocumented.
“Access to identification is not a privilege, it is a constitutional right and a gateway to socio-economic inclusion,” Dr Kipsang told the forum, urging chiefs and assistant chiefs to actively support and expedite genuine applications in their jurisdictions.
He commended local administrators for their role in registering citizens, noting that the daily operations of government increasingly depend on proper documentation.
More than 400,000 users now access the government’s eCitizen platform every day, all of whom must have valid National ID numbers to obtain services ranging from health insurance and passports to business registration and social protection.
To support the expanded outreach, the government has already deployed 100 live capture machines used to collect biometric data, with more units set to be rolled out nationwide to intensify mobile registration in remote and high-demand areas.
In Mombasa County alone, officials reported that 938,737 residents are currently registered as National ID holders, with a projected 60,584 more residents expected to turn 18 over the next two years, creating a significant new demand for registration services.
The forum also underlined the link between civil registration, security, and service delivery, with inter-agency coordination highlighted as a critical tool in combating illicit drugs and brews while ensuring accurate population records.
Dr Kipsang said the drive supports the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which seeks to widen access to government services, social protection, and economic opportunities by ensuring every Kenyan is formally documented.
NGAOs were urged to demonstrate leadership, integrity, and professionalism in implementing the revised guidelines, with a call for accurate data reporting, public awareness campaigns, and strict adherence to the law.
The meeting was attended by Mombasa County Commissioner Mohamed Noor Hassan, Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, Chiefs, and Assistant Chiefs from across the county, as well as security and immigration officers drawn from both Mombasa and Nairobi.
