Kenyans can now heave with relief after the government abolished a fee required to get a national identity card in line with President William Ruto's directive.
In a Gazette notice dated March 19, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen made changes to the Registration of Persons Act effectively abolishing the Sh300 requirement to acquire the vital document.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 16 of the Registration of Persons Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration makes the following rules,” the Notice reads in part.
“The Sixth Schedule to the Registration of Persons Rules is amended by deleting the expression “Sh300” appearing as fees for the item “Not Previously Registered (NPR)” and substituting therefore the expression “Nil”. These Rules may be cited as the Registration of Persons (Amendment) Rules, 2025."
Speaking in Kibra last week, Ruto had directed that Kenyans aged 18 and above be issued ID cards free of charge.
The directive reverses a previously gazetted fee hike, which had increased the cost of obtaining an ID for first-time applicants from Sh100 to Sh300 in 2024.
Ruto said the move aims to ensure that as many Kenyans as possible secure identification documents.
"I want to announce here in Kibra today that IDs will now be issued free of charge," President Ruto declared.
