National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula on Monday criticised Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya over his opposition to the lifting of vetting for national Identity cards in the Northern Kenya region.
Wetang’ula pointed out that the vetting not only affected residents of the Northern Kenya region but also affected residents of several border counties.
“I recently saw a Governor from Trans Nzoia criticizing the lifting of vetting on IDs. It has been done to appear that the issue of vetting was only targeting the Somalis in northern Kenya.
”Bungoma, Busia, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Turkana, and all frontier counties were affected by vetting to get an ID. You chiefs know that we have many people who are above 60 years of age without IDs,” Wetang’ula stated.
The National Assembly Speaker mentioned that President Ruto’s directive lifting the vetting process has been instrumental in addressing the bottlenecks Kenyans have been facing in applying for the IDs.
Wetang’ula further announced that he would be launching a competition in Bungoma County for chiefs and their assistants who have performed well in ID and voter registration by June 2026 win Ksh 1 million shillings.
“By mid-next year, the chief and his assistant who have registered more IDs and have also helped get voters’ IDs, I will give Ksh1 Million to that location,” he added.
Natembeya has been opposing the lifting of the vetting of IDs in border areas, citing security threats to the country.
He emphasized the importance of vetting, warning that relaxing these measures could have serious implications.
“I am humbly requesting, with total humility, that instead of removing it, we revisit and streamline the process to ensure that those sitting on the vetting committees are properly vetted and compensated so that Kenyans can obtain their IDs. Vetting does not deny Kenyans their IDs, it prevents foreigners from obtaining them, ensuring our national security,” Natembeya stated.
