Stop aiding aliens in acquiring IDs, Garissa Commissioner warned

By: Mohamed Salat–

Garissa County Commissioner Mr Harun Rashid Khatoor yesterday blamed Garissa resident for aiding aliens who seek national identity cards (IDs) by posing as parents of the applicants.

Garissa governor (Right) with county commissioner Harun Khatoor

He said the fake parenting has proved challenging to the vetting committee who are charged with certifying locals while turning away the non-locals.
Speaking yesterday at Garissa Primary during Jamhuri Day celebration, Mr. Khatoor said those seeking to apply for the national identity card would be required to furnish the vetting committee and the immigration officers with valid death certificate in the event the applicant claims they had passed on.
“…and if the applicant cannot produce those documents as provided by the law, then he/she will be required to come with a known elder in the community who will testify on the death of the parents,” he said while addressing the public at the Jamuhuri fete.
This comes amid a growing concern over the increasing number of youth from Garissa and other parts of the region who are unable to land a formal job or go for further studies due to lack of Identity card which is a vital requirement in Kenya. Some are even unable to travel to the other parts of the country for fear of arrest and wrongful deportation to Somalia.
On May this year, the governor of Wajir county Ahmed Abdullahi took the unprecedented step of recruiting youths without national identity cards in county jobs. He said move was to pressure the national government to regularly issue the documents in the region.