The Republic of Kenya’s Ministry of Interior has announced that from March this year, current President, William Ruto’s administration will issue birth and death certificates to Kenyans digitally.
According to Julius Bitok, Kenya Immigration and Citizen Services principal secretary, the launch of this online service will coincide with the introduction of a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) that will act as a lifetime ID for newborns.
The Ministry of Interior also explains that in order to reduce the delay Kenyan citizens faced in getting these certificates manually, all Kenyan citizens will be identified and have their details automated using the Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) to organise personal information including medical, security and social strata. At the moment, only parents, guardians of newborns, rescue centres and children’s homes in Kenya’s capital city Nairobi are eligible for the digital certificate and it is expected that more people will be able to access it soon.
The birth certificates cost between 60-100 Kenyan shillings while death certificates cost between 50-90 Kenyan Shillings.
