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{
    "id": 1562013,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1562013/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 189,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Musalia Mudavadi",
    "speaker_title": "The Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 84,
        "legal_name": "Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi",
        "slug": "musalia-mudavadi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to respond as follows. First, the Government is apprised of the matter of children born to Kenyan mothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The number of children born to Kenyan mothers is in our records. As of now, they are 388. The processing of exit visas is done by the Government of Saudi Arabia upon application by the individual. The Mission assists Kenyans with children to apply for the exit visa, negotiate for waiver of the accumulated dependency fees, and follow up until they exit. On the clarity as to whether there are steps taken to address the challenges faced by stateless children born to Kenyan mothers, particularly in cases where former employers have confiscated the passports of the mothers, we wish to respond as follows: 1. Article 14(1) as read with Clause 30 of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya, stipulates that, “14(1) A person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person's birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen”. This provision outlines the principle of citizenship by parentage, thus granting automatic citizenship to children born abroad to Kenyan citizens. Therefore, in principle, we do not have children born of Kenyans in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, who are stateless. 2. All the parents need to do is to apply for identification documents for them from the Embassy in Riyadh or the Consulate in Jeddah. 3. In instances where the parents have no passports, they should apply for replacement through the Embassy. In the alternative, the Embassy issues them with emergency travel documents to enable them return to Kenya. Lack of a passport is not an impediment to acquisition of vital documents or repatriation. The third aspect of the question is that, as stated earlier, 707 DNA samples for children and their parents were collected for analysis. They were all processed and results shared with the parents to enable them apply for birth certificates and travel documents for the children. The ministry continues to assist in this process so that we can have the DNA procedures undertaken as soon as possible. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}