Ruto Announces Gazettement of New Kenyan Tribe
On Monday evening, President William Ruto revealed his intention to officially recognize the Nubian community as a distinct tribe in Kenya by December 2024 through gazettement.
The President, addressing guests at the Iftar Dinner at State House, Nairobi, expressed that the acknowledgment process had been delayed for an extended period.
Insufficient acknowledgment of the community has resulted in frustrations when trying to access important government documents.
“Indeed, the Nubian community has not been gazetted as a tribe in Kenya but at the moment if they go to get an Identity Card they are already identified as a community in the National IDs,” Ruto remarked.
“I think it’s good to complete that process by being gazetted formally by the law as a tribe within the Republic of Kenya.”
Although the Nubian community, which consists of more than 100,000 individuals, is eligible to obtain national identification cards, the procedure is burdensome due to the requirement of undergoing thorough vetting.
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The vetting procedure is carried out by a grassroots committee in the local area, tasked with verifying whether the individual is indeed a Kenyan citizen by birth and genuinely part of the Nubian community.
Once the committee is content, they forward their suggestions to the immigration offices located at Nyayo House, facilitating the individual in obtaining an identity card.
Ruto acknowledged their challenges, expressing an understanding that the gazettement process would require a considerable amount of time.
“It will be my work from December this year (to ensure gazettement) because it must be taken through a parliamentary process,” he explained the delay.
Furthermore, President William Ruto stated that starting from May 2024, Kenyans would no longer undergo vetting when seeking to obtain ID cards.
“We have now completed the policy document and from the beginning of May this year, there will no longer be vetting for people who want to get IDs,” he revealed after Muslim leaders complained that the process was discriminatory.
Ruto Announces Gazettement of New Kenyan Tribe