Kenyans who apply for birth and death certificates from now on will receive them on the same day, Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has said, noting the aim is to clear a backlog.
Speaking in Meru County on Friday, PS Bitok said the change takes effect immediately.
He said it was part of reforms being undertaken to clear the backlog of pending applications and alleviate frustrations experienced by applicants forced to endure long waits for their documents.
The PS said he had directed officers at the department to fast track issuance of the documents and ensure Kenyans who apply for them get them without delay.
He also directed chiefs and their assistants to ensure members of the public register all deaths occurring in their jurisdictions and the certificates issued.
PS Bitok noted that unreported deaths threaten effective successions within families and encourage criminal acts such as fraud and impersonation.
“I am directing all registration officers to ensure every person who walks into our offices leaves with the document on the same day. We are doing this so that, as a country, we can officially record more deaths than the 55 per cent that is the current rate,” he said.
“What this means is that 45 deaths out of every 100 deaths are not registered, which poses a danger where fraudsters use the identification cards of dead people to process fake documents or to vote,” he said.
He added that they want to spare citizens the burden of spending money on transport and wasting money, repeatedly going to the registry to follow up on their applications.
An officer at MP Dr Shadrack Mwiti’s Imenti South constituency office obtains keys for the new births and deaths registration office from a drone on May 5, 2023.
Photo credit: Gitonga Marete | Nation Media Group
The PS spoke in Meru County while opening civil registration offices in Imenti South and Tigania Central sub-counties at Nkubu and Mikinduri town, respectively.
He noted that with a population of over 1.5 million people in some constituencies, the four offices serving residents in Meru were inadequate, hence the need to open two more.
Among leaders who attended the launches were MPs Dr Shadrack Mwiti (Imenti South), Mpuru Aburi (Tigania East), Kirima Ngucine (Imenti Central), John Paul Mwirigi (Igembe South) and Dorothy Ikiara (nominated).
Dr Mwiti and Mr Aburi asked residents of the two constituencies to take advantage of the offices and secure the documents.
“Our people have been travelling to Meru town to register births and deaths so the office comes as a relief. We are grateful that President William Ruto’s government listened to our pleas,” said Dr Mwiti.
Mr Mwirigi urged residents to take advantage of the new offices to acquire birth certificates that are a mandatory requirement for enrolment in schools and obtaining national identity cards and travel documents.
