The government has issued an update on the issuance of National Identity (ID) cards.

The update comes after a public outcry on the speed with which the vital national documents are released by the State Department of Immigration.

“The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services wishes to state the following regarding the issuance of the National ID Cards: On July 25th, 2024, the High Court issued a conservatory order that temporarily barred the government from the issuance of third-generation national ID cards, also known as Maisha Cards.

“Following the government’s appeal, the High Court set aside the conservatory order on August 12, 2024, allowing the National Registration Bureau (NRB) to resume the printing of new and duplicate National ID cards,” a statement by the department released on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 and signed by PS Julius Bitok, said.

The statement added that applied IDs are at various stages of production.

“By July 25th, 2024, 451,228 National ID card applications (130,302 new and 320,926 duplicates) had been received at NRB and were in various stages of production. An additional 108,697 National ID card applications were received between August 12th and 26th, 2024, at the NRB production centre.

“In the last fourteen (14) days, the NRB has printed 505,197 National ID cards (162,856 new and 344,341 duplicates). Only 1,358 applications are currently in the routine processing queue,” it said.

Backlogs

The government also gave an update on how it is dealing with the backlogs.

“The NRB has cleared the backlog of National ID card applications. It is expeditiously processing new requests as received and has ramped up the printing capacity to 32,000 National ID cards per day. Further, it has deployed more personnel and introduced a 24-hour service dedicated to the processing and production of national ID cards,” the statement continued to say.

According to the Immigration Department, by the close of business on August 26, 2024, 476,167 printed ID cards were lying uncollected in the registration offices and Huduma Centres across the country.

It said that Nairobi County has the highest number of uncollected ID cards (55,327), followed by Kiambu (37,708) and Nakuru (28,581).

“Other counties with a high number of uncollected National ID cards are Kisumu (18,529), Mombasa (17,140), Kisii (15,842), Muranga (13,627), Uasin Gishu (13,155), Kajiado (12,533), and Bungoma (12,053). We urge applicants who are yet to collect their cards to visit the station where they submitted their application as soon as possible,” it concluded.