Embakasi West Member of Parliament Mark Mwenje has called for a clear separation between administrative government functions and political activity in the issuance of national identity cards.

Speaking during a morning talk show on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Mwenje warned against the politicisation of the process ahead of elections.

Mwenje said elected leaders have a legitimate role in creating public awareness during government service delivery programmes, but insisted that processes such as ID registration must remain neutral, rules-based, and free from political influence.

He cautioned that national identity cards are not only necessary for voting but also are essential documents for employment, education, scholarships, and other critical services, claiming that any perception of political bias in their issuance undermines fairness and access.

“The IDs are not just for getting votes; IDs are required even for jobs, even for admission in institutions,” Mwenje stated.

Deceased persons still registered

The lawmaker revealed that a large number of deceased persons remain on the register, a factor that could become a major point of contention in the next election.

“We do have a lot of dead voters still on the register, and no one is talking about that now; that will be a point of concern in the next election if we don’t address it,” Mwenje said.

He stated that the discrepancy stems from a failure to synchronise data between the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Registrar of Births and Deaths.

“Most of these people are still on the register. I can assure you they’re still there. That is the one point we’ve not been able to synchronize, that with the register of births and deaths, has not been able to coordinate properly with IEBC to get some of these people,” Mwenje said.

Uncollected IDs

Immigration Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang also recently raised an alarm over the high number of national identity cards that remain uncollected at various registration offices across the country, despite being ready for use.

Speaking in a presser on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Nakuru, the PS revealed that there is a significant backlog in the distribution of these vital documents.

He said that more than 400,000 national identification cards have not been collected across the country.

“Across the country, we have more than 400,000 IDs that have not been collected. But some counties are doing very well, and they almost have no IDs that are not yet collected,” Belio stated.