Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei has called for a reduction in the waiting time for processing national identity cards (IDs) following President William Ruto’s decision to abolish application fees.

Taking to his official X account on Thursday, March 13, 2025, Cherargei welcomed Ruto’s decision to abolish ID application fees and urged the government to streamline the process for faster issuance.

He further hailed Ruto’s move as a major win for hustlers and youth who previously struggled to obtain IDs due to financial constraints, emphasizing that many missed out on opportunities for lack of identification documents.

“Thank you, H.E. Ruto. This is a big plus for the hustlers and youth who couldn’t access identity cards (IDs) because of their costs and therefore not getting opportunities. The timeline now of waiting for issuance of IDs should be less than 48 hours,” Cherargei said.

The senator also took a swipe at Ruto’s 2027 presidential opponents, claiming they cannot match the president’s energy and impact despite their numerous alliances, adding that their only campaign strategy is calling Ruto’s name rather than offering real solutions to Kenyans.

“This energy cannot be matched by his 2027 opponents regardless of how many groupings they have because the only campaigns they do against WSR are name-calling, nothing else,” he added.

Abolishing application fees

On March 13, 2025, Ruto announced the abolition of the ID application fee during his development tour in Kibra, Nairobi County.

“I would like to announce today while I am in Kibra that identity card issuance should be done without any form of payment,” Ruto said.

He further emphasised that beyond eliminating fees, the issuance of ID cards should also be conducted systematically and fairly to ensure that no Kenyan is left out.

“Issues of discrimination in matters of identity card issuance are something we must do away with. Every Kenyan should be given an identity card,” he added.

ID’s previous fees

The State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services moved in November 2023 to hike the cost of replacing lost identity cards to Ksh1,000 from Ksh100.

In the revised charges, first-time ID applicants were required to pay Ksh1,000 to acquire the documents that were previously issued at no cost.

The move also saw the charges for identification reports shoot up to Ksh1,000 from Ksh300, while civil servants’ cards were priced at Ksh1,000 from Ksh100.

However, the hike was met with uproar from Kenyans. The Ministry of Interior, in November 2024, issued a gazette notice outlining a revision of ID card charges, which came into effect in January 2024.

Under the new regulations, the fee for acquiring a new ID was reduced from Ksh1,000 to Ksh300.