By James Murimi - Reporter
June 02, 2026 - President William Ruto has defended his administration's reforms on the issuance of national identity cards in Northern Kenya, insisting that the government will uphold both national security and justice without compromising either.
In a strongly worded address in Wajir, the President rejected claims that the removal of discriminatory vetting requirements had weakened security safeguards, saying Kenya's commitment to fairness must go hand in hand with protecting the integrity of citizenship documents.
“A strong nation does not choose between security and justice. A strong nation protects both. And that is exactly what we are doing,” Ruto said.
The President said the government's decision to abolish decades-old extra vetting requirements for residents of Northern Kenya was aimed at ending discrimination against legitimate Kenyan citizens, not creating loopholes for illegal acquisition of national documents.
“But that decision was not an invitation for foreigners to acquire Kenyan documents illegally,” he said.
“Kenyan identity cards will only be issued to legitimate citizens of this republic.”
Ruto said the reforms introduced through the Presidential Declaration on registration and issuance of identity cards and birth certificates signed in Wajir in February 2025 had restored dignity to thousands of citizens who for years faced suspicion and bureaucratic obstacles because of their ethnicity and place of birth.
He recounted the story of Ibrahim Ousman, a man born in Wajir East in the early 1960s, who repeatedly struggled to obtain an identity card despite being born in Kenya to Kenyan parents.
“Every time Ousman went to apply for an Identity Card, which is the most basic document of citizenship, he was treated as a suspect, an illegal immigrant,” the President said.
According to Ruto, Ousman's experience reflected the plight of hundreds of thousands of residents of Northern Kenya who were subjected to additional scrutiny and repeated vetting processes for decades.
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“Citizens were forced to prove they belong through a system built on suspicion, ethnic profiling and bureaucratic humiliation,” he said.
The President said the Constitution guarantees equal treatment for all citizens and that no Kenyan should be disadvantaged because of where they were born or the community they come from.
“We did not abolish verification of citizenship. We abolished discrimination. We abolished the targeting of entire communities simply because of their ethnicity or place of birth,” he said.
“Our commitment to justice and inclusion goes hand in hand with our duty to protect the integrity of our national identity and the security of our country.”
Ruto acknowledged the historical marginalisation of Northern Kenya and apologised to residents for years of exclusion and unequal treatment.
“On behalf of the people of Kenya, today as I stand here as President and leader of our nation, I want to apologise for this marginalisation to the people of Northern Kenya,” he said.
The President maintained that the reforms are already delivering results, saying residents no longer face unnecessary hurdles in accessing identity cards and birth certificates.
“The results of that are already being felt. No more hurdles, no discrimination, no humiliation,” he said.
As debate continues over the changes, Ruto's message was unequivocal: the government will safeguard Kenya's security while ensuring that every citizen enjoys equal rights and dignity under the law.