Matiang'i warns of ID fraud crisis, blames State for enabling cartels

Jubilee Party has condemned what it described as serious mismanagement of identification documents in the country, saying the documents are now falling into the hands of criminals and undermining their integrity and value.

Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Fred Matiang’i said yesterday that the country is facing what he described as a looming crisis arising from the government’s handling of identification documents.

He said identity cards, travel documents and passports are being issued too freely to criminals and other unauthorised individuals, blaming what he termed entrenched corruption in the sector that has been normalised within government systems.

“Although not surprising, we are now staring at the disaster that our government has engaged in, in mismanaging identification documents in the country. I can talk about this until the cows come home because I have first-hand experience. I am a former Minister of Interior and handled these immigration issues,” he said in a press conference at Jubilee Headquarters in Nairobi.

He said the misuse of documents risks downgrading Kenya’s passports and undermining their credibility internationally.

He stated that what he termed a “cartel of evil” is selling documents and interfering with identity systems to create fictitious identities that could be used to facilitate voting by non-Kenyans in the 2027 General Election.

“Our passport will be downgraded, travel documents are going to be questioned and the credibility of our identification documents is now in jeopardy because if every Tom, Dick and Harry from across the border is going to have our ID cards,” he said.

According to Matiang’i, it took significant effort during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration to negotiate improved recognition of Kenyan travel documents with countries such as South Africa.

“President Kenyatta began the negotiation to exempt senior government officials from visas. And even then, I led the country’s discussions together with the then Director General of Immigration, Gordon Kihalangwa, in South Africa,” he said.

He added that his South African counterpart had previously raised concerns over Kenya’s passport integrity due to past corruption and irregular issuance of documents.

“My counterpart minister showed me horrific information. He said the reason we were being treated this way was because of issues such as corruption, fraud, and systems that disrespected our nationhood,” he said.

He noted that, as a result, some Kenyans experienced difficulties obtaining visas and clearances, particularly in South Africa, and that some of these issues remain unresolved.

“This is why, with utmost humility, we are asking Kenyans that if you needed another reason why this government should be voted out, you have it. How low can we sink as a country? It is irresponsible and unpatriotic,” Matiang’i said.

He said the situation was both criminal and unacceptable, insisting that decisive action was needed from leadership to restore integrity in the system.

“We had sorted all these things out when I was in the Interior Ministry. We had reached the point of issuing passports in a day. I personally worked at the Registrar of Births and Deaths in Upper Hill, together with my colleague Joe Mucheru, the then Cabinet Secretary for ICT, to clean up the system. Now it is back to business as usual,” he said.

He warned that a dangerous criminal trade was undermining the credibility of Kenya’s travel documents.

“It is shameful, to say the very least, and I hope those in leadership will handle this matter with the seriousness it deserves,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Jubilee Party raised concerns over the Finance Bill 2026, saying some of its proposals are untenable.

“As a party, we have worked together with our colleagues in the United Alternative Government on the budget and expressed our position on the Finance Bill 2026. Some of the proposals are not tenable,” he said.

He urged the government to engage Members of Parliament in meaningful consultations to amend the contentious provisions.

“If they fail to convince Parliament to amend those provisions, we suggest that the Bill should be rejected in total,” he said.