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"id": 196013,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Affey",
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"legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Affey",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Motion on this very important matter. First of all, I want to thank the hon. Member for moving this Motion. I want to let the Minister know that the intent of this Motion, in fact, will make his work much easier. At the moment, as you know, the issuance of identity cards and passports is under one department. Initially, they used to be in two different Ministries. The fact that the Minister is running these two dockets under one Ministry makes it very easy for him to implement the intent of this Motion. For us from the northern part of this country, this debate will not stop in the House. This matter is so fundamental to the survival and the existence of the people in northern Kenya as Kenyans. If there is one issue that disturbs the people of northern Kenya it is the fact that they want to be Kenyans yet, by mere regulations, they are being denied the acquisition of the basic documents of being Kenyans. This matter will definitely come up before the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission once it is set up. We believe that the rights of the communities in northern Kenya have been violated in subsequent years. To combine these two documents, as the Mover has suggested, makes it quite easy for the pastoral communities to maintain one set of documents. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is not that we are few in this country. There has been a claim that the communities that live in the marginal parts of the country are fewer in terms of population. The population census is not conducted properly and the identity cards are not issued properly. So, how do you know that the population in northern Kenya is less compared to other parts of Kenya? These documents are not issued the way they should be issued in northern Kenya. I have seen university graduates who are still struggling to get identity cards. Even after they have finished their university education, some of them cannot get jobs because they do not have identity cards. During the voting period, a time when everybody is prepared to perform a constitutional duty, quite a number of our people at home are not able to vote because, perhaps, they have misplaced their voting cards or they do not even have the identity cards which allow them to get the voting card. It is important, therefore, to create mobile registration centres for the pastoralist communities. This is because they move from one place to another and we need to move with them just the same way we have requested for mobile schools. If that does not happen, we would deny pastoralists their basic constitutional right to be Kenyans and to vote. I know that the hon. Minister is proactive and I am sure that this is one thing that would be done fairly quickly. Secondly, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Mover spoke about combining these documents, which we all support, but we have serious problems with the issuance of identification cards because they are not decentralised. When applicants register somewhere at the border, they have to wait for their application forms to be sent to Nairobi for processing. I have seen a pastoralist who has registered for an identity card more than seven times. He has an interim certificate and yet he has no identity card. So, we want the issuance of identity cards and passports to done at the constituency level. That way, we will decentralise those services. The more we expand these services, the more we create a network of corruption and brokerage systems. Some 596 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 23, 2008 people register at the constituency level and do not get their identity cards. Therefore, I would like the hon. Minister to decentralise the issuance of these vital documents and to combine them, so that we acquire them legally. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other very difficult issue is the vetting system. If you want to acquire an identity card in northern Kenya, and particularly in North Eastern Province, as it is currently, you need to provide the birth certificates or death certificates of your great, great grandparents. This is something that other Kenyans are not subjected to. I know the Minister is aware of these issues because, as a lawyer, he has represented many of us in court. We need to stop these bureaucracies. The moment somebody identifies himself as a Kenyan, and particularly students, who have completed their secondary school education, they should be issued with these documents immediately. The other bit the Minister needs to handle is the aspect of corruption. I said that there are cartels in this country who professionalise in the issuance of identity cards and passports outside the norms of Government. The Minister must find ways and means of cracking down on this vice. Otherwise, Kenyans will continue to suffer while these services are supposed to be provided at a minimal fee for passports and at no fee for identity cards. With those few remarks, I would like to support the Motion."
}