Tag Archives: kenya

Recognition turns to registration – how the Shona Community won the right to Kenyan citizenship

Shona Community

I previously wrote about two marginalised communities in Kenya, the Nubian and the Somali communities, and their struggle to obtain legal status and citizenship. Both communities face burdens not imposed on most other Kenyans. But they are not alone in campaigning for recognition as citizens of Kenya.  In this blog I reflect on the recent progress made by the Shona …

A single source of truth – Can the Huduma Namba succeed as an integrated identity management system in Kenya?

Huduma Namba Kenya

The recent announcement by the Kenyan government that the full Huduma Namba or NIIMS scheme will be rolled out across the country has met with much criticism from the public, from economists, academics, lawyers and human rights groups. But what is the Huduma Namba? And why has it caused so much controversy?   A new number for an improved legal …

Barriers to citizenship for minority communities in Kenya

minority communities in kenya

In my earlier post,I discussed the domestic and international legal provisions on voting and voter registration in Kenya. In this post, I delve deeper and look at the barriers facing minority communities in Kenya in evidencing their Kenyan citizenship. My focus is on the experiences of evidencing citizenship for Kenyan-Somalis and the Nubian Community in Kenya. Kenya’s Somali Ethnic Group …

Kenya: the domestic and international context of registering to vote

voter eligibility in Kenya

The recent elections in Kenya have been widely reported, especially in light of the allegations of fraud and hacking. But I want to consider them from the point of view of voter eligibility in Kenya, which plays into the bigger issue of ID cards and identity in Kenya. The domestic and the international legal context are both relevant. Domestic law …