Ugenya Member of Parliament and leader of the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) party, David Ochieng, has expressed support for President William Ruto’s recent decision to abolish the vetting process for Identification Card (ID) issuance for residents of Kenya’s North Eastern region.
The decision, announced by President Ruto via Presidential Proclamation on February 5, 2025, has ignited a nationwide debate over citizenship verification processes and national identity in Kenya.
“Every Kenyan is entitled to an identification card when they get to the age of 18, and that should apply across the board to every Kenyan without discrimination,” Ochieng stated during a televised interview on Monday morning February 10, 2025.
“What the president did is to ensure that that happens also in what used to be called NFD (Northern Frontier District of Kenya),” he added.
Ochieng acknowledged the historical context behind the previous vetting requirements, pointing to security concerns stemming from the Shifta conflict and the instability in neighbouring Somalia.
“The history of why this regulation was there is known by all, from independence—the issues of the Shifta days, the issues of the loss of the control of the government in Somalia saw an influx of people coming in here,” he said. “This regulation was not meant to disinherit genuine Kenyans from citizenship. It was meant to ensure that Kenyans get the documents required and that those [Somalis] who are not of Kenyan origin go through the process required to become Kenyan citizens.”
However, Ochieng also sought to draw a clear distinction between Kenyans and individuals from related ethnic groups residing in neighbouring countries, particularly Uganda and Tanzania.
“I want to make this clear: There are Luos in Uganda, there are Luhyas in Uganda. They are not Kenyans,” he emphasized.
“And that’s what is going on in Congo now. That there are Tutsis and Hutus also in Congo—they are not Rwandans. And so an argument, for example, that there are Maasais in Tanzania and therefore they should get IDs when they come here, for me, it doesn’t wash.”
Luos and Luhyas in Uganda
Uganda is home to several Luhya sub-groups and Luo-speaking communities.
The Luhya tribes in Uganda include the Bukusu and Samia.
The Bukusu are closely related to their cousins the Bagisu, often described as essentially the same people separated by the Kenya-Uganda border.
There is no distinction between the Samias in Kenya and Uganda. Both are found in Busia county in Kenya and Busia district in Uganda.
The most famous Samia, Moody Awori, served as the ninth Vice President of Kenya from September 25, 2003, to January 9, 2008.
Moody served as VP when his blood brother the late Aggrey Awori contested for the presidency in Uganda.
While Moody is a Kenyan citizen, his blood brother Aggrey was a Ugandan citizen who served as Samia Bugwe North MP and also held cabinet positions in Uganda.
The incumbent Busia governor Paul Otuoma is also a member of the Samia community.
The Luo community, one of the largest ethnic groups in East Africa, is widely dispersed across the region, with populations in South Sudan, eastern DR Congo, southwestern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and northern Tanzania.
In Uganda, prominent Luo-speaking groups include the Alur, Acholi, Jonam, and Padhola.
Recently, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Uganda’s long-serving President Yoweri Museveni and Chief of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), urged Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony to surrender after his dad was installed as a Luo elder in Kenya.
Museveni was installed as a Luo elder during the 4th Edition of the Piny Luo cultural festival held at Got Ramogi on January 2, 2025, in Siaya County.
Following the event, Muhoozi called on rebel leader Kony, a member of the Luo-speaking Acholi tribe, to surrender himself.
“Now that Mzee Museveni is a Luo elder, he can order Ladit Joseph Kony, to report to the nearest UPDF unit for arrest,” Muhoozi wrote.
Ruto ends ID vetting
President Ruto’s decision marks a significant shift in the country’s identification process.
According to Ruto, the abolition of vetting is aimed at streamlining access to national documents for residents of North Eastern Kenya, a region that has long faced bureaucratic hurdles and accusations of systemic discrimination in obtaining IDs and birth certificates.
“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,” Ruto said during a public event at Orahey Grounds in Wajir Town, where he signed and read out the decree.
The President acknowledged that residents of North Eastern have endured years of ethnic profiling and cumbersome vetting processes before acquiring official documents.
He described the new directive as a long-overdue correction of historical injustices.
“Leo nimesema hiyo vetting imekwisha; hakuna kuendelea kuonea watu wengine. Hii ubaguzi imedumu miaka 60, tulisema tutatoa,” said Ruto, emphasizing his administration’s commitment to equality.
The President’s decision comes amid speculation about his strategic political manoeuvres ahead of the 2027 General Election.
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