Behind government push to issue one million Form Four students with national IDs
Government has kicked off an exercise to register more than one million secondary school students for national identity cards.
The government has kicked off an exercise to register more than one million secondary school students for national identity cards, making them eligible to register as voters in the 2027 General Election.
The majority of the students are Form Four candidates who are set to sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations before transitioning to universities and middle-level colleges.
The Ministry of Education recently announced that 1.04 million students had registered to sit this year's KCSE examinations, compared with 993,226 who sat the exams in 2025.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo have separately confirmed that the exercise has begun across the country.
They said officers from the National Registration Bureau had been deployed to schools to register learners before institutions close for the August holidays.
"There are around one million students who have attained the age of 18 years and require to be registered and issued with national identity cards. As a result, the government will deploy its officers to register the students in their respective schools starting next week," Mr Murkomen said in Tiaty, Baringo County, on Friday.
"The government is registering the students free of charge, as the Sh1,000 fee that was initially charged was waived following a directive by President William Ruto," Mr Murkomen said.
"Once they are registered and issued with national identity cards within seven days of their biometric data being captured, the national ID cards will be delivered to them," he added.
The ID cards are important to the students as they will require them when enrolling in universities and other middle-level colleges. The documents will also be used to apply for scholarships and Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) funding.
"As citizens, the students who receive the ID cards will be free to register as voters with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)," he added.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen delivers his speech after launching the first mobile registration drive for the issuance of national identity cards in Nakuru City on March 19, 2025.
Dr Omollo said the government was keen on capturing all Kenyans who had attained the mandatory age of 18 years but had not yet been issued with national identity cards.
"There are also thousands of ID cards that have not been collected from various centres across the country, including chiefs' and assistant chiefs' offices. There is a need for the owners of these vital documents to collect them," Dr Omollo said.
Speaking at Ambassador Pamela Mboya Girls' High School in Suba North, accompanied by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, Senator Moses Kajwang and County Commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi, the PS said the government was committed to ensuring all eligible citizens were registered.
"Kenyans who have not been issued with IDs should take advantage of the window during which the government has suspended the payment of fees for acquiring or renewing the documents," Dr Omollo said.
Should the targeted group of students choose to register as voters, they would add to the growing youth voting bloc, which has recently been critical of President Ruto's administration.
Bomet East MP Richard Yegon said thousands of young people in his constituency had not been issued with national identity cards, leaving many outside the IEBC voter register.
"What the youth need to understand is that they will not be charged for registering for national identity cards because the fees were waived by President Ruto. They should take advantage of the current window to obtain ID cards and register with the IEBC as voters," Mr Yegon said.
The IEBC is updating the voters' register and registering new voters ahead of the 2027 General Election.
IEBC chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon has said the commission is conducting a nationwide drive targeting 6.3 million new voters ahead of the 2027 General Election.
"Our target is to register a total of 28.9 million voters who will participate in the 2027 General Election. We are working with various government agencies and other stakeholders to attain the target," Mr Ethekon said recently.
President William Ruto recently said in Bomet County that more than 1.8 million eligible voters in the Rift Valley had yet to register.
Dr Ruto will be seeking a second term in office and faces a strong challenge from the united opposition, which is yet to settle on a presidential candidate.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen (second right) during the mobile registration drive for issuing national identity cards on March 19, 2025 at Shaabab grounds in Nakuru City.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, former Chief Justice David Maraga, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, former Cabinet Secretaries Eugene Wamalwa, Martha Karua and Justin Muturi, as well as businessman Jimmy Wanjigi, are among the opposition figures preparing to challenge Dr Ruto.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has not declared his intentions but is viewed as one of the front-runners should he decide to enter the race.
"With the 2027 presidential contest approaching, political leaders are leaving nothing to chance as they seek to ensure as many people as possible are captured in the IEBC voter register to gain an advantage over their competitors," said Dagoretti North politician Renny Ngeno.
"Kenyans can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines when choosing competent and committed leaders who will shape their destiny after the 2027 General Election. They must register as voters and elect the President, governors and legislators of their choice," Mr Ngeno said.
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