Kenya has enlisted chiefs and assistant chiefs in a nationwide campaign to trace the owners of 557,930 uncollected national identity cards, as the government moves to clear the backlog ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang told MPs on Thursday that the government was intensifying efforts to ensure all eligible Kenyans obtain identity cards before voter registration begins in January 2027. He appeared before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security.

A decade-old backlog

Nearly 400,000 of the uncollected cards have remained at registration offices for more than a decade, raising concerns that thousands of eligible voters could be locked out of the electoral process without the documents required for registration. The general election is scheduled for 10 August 2027.

Under the arrangement, local administrators will receive lists of uncollected cards in their jurisdictions and help trace their rightful owners. The department is also exploring ways of allowing parents, guardians and other authorised persons to collect identity cards on behalf of applicants, subject to verification.

Fees scrapped and alerts planned

Kipsang told the committee the government had abolished charges for obtaining new identity cards and replacing lost ones, removing the previous Sh300 fee for new cards and the Sh1,000 replacement charge, which he said had created barriers for some applicants.

The department is also developing an electronic notification system through the e-Citizen platform that will send applicants SMS alerts once their identity cards are ready for collection. Section 17 of the Registration of Persons Act allows the Cabinet Secretary to invalidate uncollected cards, but Kipsang said the government was being cautious about disposing of the documents.