State to spend Sh4.2bn printing IDs before 2027 polls
National
By
Josphat Thiong’o
| Oct 31, 2025
The government will spend Sh4.2 billion to print six million national identification cards (IDs) ahead of the 2027 General Election in a move that could influence the outcome of the polls.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang on Thursday said that of the lot, three million will be new IDs, while the other three million are projected to be renewals.
Dr Kipsang explained that it will cost Sh700 to print one card, with the cost being inclusive of Sh400 for the cardholder and Sh300 for the imprinting of other details.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Security and Administration Committee, Kipsang said the move by the government to relax the historical vetting exercise before the issuance of IDs, especially in border counties, will lead to an increase in the number of identification cards issued out, a development also premised on the government’s move to waive the Sh1,000 ID card replacement fee.
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“We are projecting to register six million identification cards going forward at a total cost of Sh4.2 billion… There is usually a high number of people registering to renew their identification cards towards an election and we expect that the relaxation of vetting will also see new people register for the cards,” said the PS.
He said the vetting exercise had negatively affected the requisition of new IDs by Kenyans in 15 border counties, among them Kwale, Moyale, Taita Taveta and Homa Bay as well as in areas such as Tiati in Baringo County.
“In a county like Homa Bay, you find that you have people aged between fifty to sixty years who have no IDs because they have long been excluded. In Taita Taveta and Kwale, you find a scenario where the children in a family have identity cards but their parents do not. This is because of factors such as cross-border intermarriages,” said Kipsang.
“I am sure that we will be able to address the historical exclusion of peoples in such counties.”
Suna West MP Peter Masara, howeveR, pushed the PS to explain how he arrived at the figure of six million ID cards.
“On what statistics are you basing your projections? Are they based on the figures by the National Registration Bureau? In this country, we have a problem of people just throwing around numbers,” posed Masara.
To which the PS responded: “The projections are based on demand…last year we issued out two million cards and, historically, it has been proven that as you go towards an election, the number goes up.”
The revelation by Kipsang was prompted by Sotik MP Francis Sigei who had sought to know the current status of ID and passports issuance. He had also questioned what would be the financial implication of the recent directive by the State.
Earlier this year, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen officially gazetted the removal of the Sh300 fee for new IDs.
In a Gazette Notice dated March 19, the Ministry of Interior and National Administration amended the previous charges to zero.
The move followed the Presidential directive that eliminated vetting requirements for ID applicants from Northern Kenya, a process that had long been criticized as discriminatory.
At the same time, the Gabriel Tongoyo-led committee put Kipsang to task over a multi-billion shilling pending bill haunting his department.
The House team pointed out that the department was choking under the weight of a total Sh6.3 billion in pending bills of which Sh5.9 billion was incurred from expenditure in the 2024/2025 financial year.
“The department has been struggling with pending bills year in year out. What has been contributing to this?” asked Tongoyo.
The PS however explained that the issue was one of historically inherited debt which was now affecting operations at the department.