MPs Warn High Costs Could Deny Kenyans Access To IDs And Birth Certificates

Members of Parliament have expressed concerns over the rising costs of acquiring national identity cards and birth certificates, arguing that the proposed increases could make these essential documents inaccessible to many citizens.

During a session with Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, lawmakers called for a review of the proposed fees, citing the financial struggles faced by ordinary Kenyans.

The proposed changes, outlined in the Registration of Persons (Amendment) Rules, 2024, and the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Rules, 2024, include a Sh300 fee for applying for a new ID card, previously free, and a rise in the cost of replacing lost or updating ID cards from Sh100 to Sh1,000.

Birth certificate fees are also set to increase, with the standard application fee jumping from Sh50 to Sh200, the first adjustment in 36 years.

“There is no proper justification for increasing the fees for applying for new identity cards or for replacing the document,” said Committee Chairperson Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkong’a. “The department should lower the fees to attract more Kenyans to apply.”

Gichugu MP Robert Gichimu echoed these concerns, particularly criticizing the charges for correcting errors in government-issued documents.

“Why should someone correcting an error in their document be forced to pay more than three times what a new applicant is paying? The mistake could have been made by staff, and citizens should not be penalized for it,” Gichimu said.

Other lawmakers voiced similar frustrations, including Samburu MP Pauline Lenguris, Bureti MP Kibet Komingoi, and Igembe South MP John Paul Mwirigi.

“This issue of increasing fees for government documents and services is becoming a major concern. We should be careful not to hurt the ordinary citizen,” Lenguris remarked.

Komingoi questioned why the fees remain high despite the government’s push toward digitalization, asking, “Why are the fees still high, especially when the government has declared that it is going digital?”

Responding to the MPs, PS Julius Bitok defended the proposed fee increases, attributing them to inflation and rising operational costs.

“The amount that affects the majority of people is that one of Sh200. We increased from Sh50 to Sh200, but the last time it was done was 36 years ago. We proposed to increase to Sh200 because of the cost of materials, inflation, and the times have changed because 35 years is a long time,” Bitok said.

The Ministry has also proposed new fees for other services.

The cost of amending birth and death certificates is set to rise from Sh130 to Sh1,000, while fees for re-registering births will jump from Sh90 to Sh1,000. For registrations conducted at foreign missions, the charges will increase from $50 (Sh7,225) to $150 (Sh21,675).