The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has opposed President William Ruto's move to scrap the vetting process for national identification cards (IDs) in Kenya’s North Eastern region.
In a statement on Sunday, February 9, ODM Deputy Party leader Godfrey Osotsi asked the president to reverse his decision saying the move should be done per the law.
“Finally, we urged HE Dr. William Ruto, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya to rescind his decision to abolish vetting and verification of applications for Identity Cards in Northern Kenya and other border counties, and have the process done professionally and in accordance with the law,” Osotsi stated.
On the other hand, interim ODM Party leader Anyang Nyong’o has directed ODM MPs to table the matter in the National Assembly when sittings resume this week.
“I would like MPs to go to Parliament and make it very clear that any move by anybody, I do not want to mention names, to begin confusing citizenship on our borders when we know these are our counties and make a problem for any county which is a border county. That is completely unconstitutional,” Nyong’o stated.
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On Wednesday last week, President Ruto signed a decree abolishing the 60-year-old vetting requirement in Northern Kenya.
The Head of State argued that the decree would address historical discrimination against communities in the area.
"If it’s about vetting, let all children of Kenya be vetted equally without any discrimination. We want the people of Northern Kenya to feel equal to the rest of the country," said Ruto.
The vetting requirement for national IDs in northern Kenya was introduced in the 1960s following the Shifta insurgency, a secessionist war that saw a section of local communities attempt to join Somalia.
