Wajir residents still encounter difficulties when applying for IDs and birth certificates.
Residents yesterday said they are taken through rigorous screening, including being subjected to several vetting committees.
They said this during a community consultative meeting organised by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and its partners, including Kenya Tuitakayo Movement. The meeting brought together men, women and the youth.
Abdi Mohamed, a youth leader from Wajir East subcounty, said getting an ID remains ‘a tall order’ for the young people. He said residents are still being treated like second-class citizens.
“Unlike youths from other parts of the region whose only worry is lack of jobs, ours is a double predicament. We are forced to deal with a myriad of challenges largely contributed by rogue government officials who think we don’t have rights like other Kenyans as enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.
Mohamed said there are government officers who only think of getting rich quickly through demanding bribes.
Makka Osman, 25, who lost her parents when she was younger, said she has unsuccessfully tried to acquire an ID. “Whenever I go to the registration office, I’m told to produce my parents IDs, yet I don’t have them. Surely what I’m supposed to do when all I have are my grandparents ID cards?” she said.
Mariam Mohamed, a mother of seven, said she has been frustrated when trying to get birth certificates for her children.
Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) executive director George Kegoro said the commission has been consistent in advocating against insecurity, discrimination and extrajudicial killings.
Kegoro urged residents to fight for their rights.
“You need to know that you are not begging to be served. Your rights should never be trampled upon by anyone. When this happens, shout, and we will right be there to fight for you,” he said.
Former Wajir South MP Abdullahi Diriye said leaders have been at the forefront in speaking about the issues affecting residents, but the government has been slow in addressing them.
Muthoni Kamau from the Kenya Tutakayo Movement said their main objective is to ensure a different society and Kenya.
“We all want a government that respects the sovereign power of the people. One that understands that the government is there to serve people, not the vice versa,” she said.
Last year, the organisation came up with a charter and a strategy paper with a 10-point programme that contained issues afflicting the country.
They include security, energy and natural resources, youth and unemployment, health, water and education.
