Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi speaking to residents at the Wajir Baraza Park. Photo/FILE
Monday, February 17, 2014
Youth in North Eastern Kenya have asked the government to stop discrimination in the issuance identification documents.
Wajir South MP Abdullahi Diriye said at the weekend that young adults from the region that borders Somalia were being denied national identity cards and passports on “flimsy grounds”.
“There is a lot of profiling by those issuing the IDs. They even ask the applicants to speak fluent Swahili before being issued with an ID. Since when did Kiswahili become proof of citizenship?” he told the Nation.
He criticised that requirement, arguing that North Eastern Province has a low school enrolment rate—50 per cent—making it hard for people in the region to master the national language.
Young people seeking the documents, he claimed, were also being checked for BCG immunisation on their arms.
“In a region where the vaccination coverage is less than 50 per cent, how do you make this a ground for getting an ID?” he said.
The lawmaker called on President Kenyatta to abolish discriminatory requirements, saying, youth from the region were suffering. Because of lacking IDs and passports, he said, the affected group had failed to secure employment and some had joined Al-Shabaab.
Mr Diriye also asked the national government to address rising insecurity in the region.
“Wajir South is the second largest constituency in Kenya and has only one police station,” he said.
Source: Daily Nation