In a significant policy shift, President William Ruto has announced that all Kenyans will now receive national identity (ID) cards free of charge.

During Thursday's visit to Nairobi’s Kibra area, the president emphasized the need to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles and discrimination in the ID issuance process.

“I have directed that all forms of bias in the issuance of IDs be removed. Every Kenyan must be given their national ID without any charges,” Ruto declared in Swahili.

Previously, Kenyans were required to pay Ksh.300 to obtain an ID, with the government even considering an increase to Ksh.2,000 before revoking the gazette notice issued on November 7, 2023. The proposed hike would have set first-time applications at Ksh.1,000, while replacing a lost ID was initially pegged at Ksh.2,000 before being revised to Ksh.1,000.

This latest directive follows another landmark decision by President Ruto to scrap the long-standing vetting process for ID applicants in Kenya’s border counties. Speaking last month at Orahey Grounds in Wajir, he reaffirmed his commitment to ending historical discrimination in ID registration.

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“Vetting is officially abolished. We cannot continue oppressing some citizens. This system has been in place for 60 years, and today we are ending it,” the president stated.