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The perennial delay of the National Identification Cards has put West Pokot students’ dream in dire state, with frequent journeys without success.
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Students have made countless trips to both the Huduma Centre and the main National Registration office, spending money they can barely afford on transport, missing classes and sacrificing valuable study time. Yet every visit ends with the same response.
Every few weeks, Chepoghisio packs her waiting card into a small folder, borrows transport fare and makes yet another journey to the Huduma Centre and the National Registration office in West Pokot County. Each trip begins with hope. Each ends the same way. “Your ID is not ready. Please come back another day.”
That simple sentence has become an agonising refrain for dozens of college-going students in West Pokot County who have waited for months to receive one of the most important documents in their lives—a national identity card. For some, the wait has stretched beyond nine months. For others, there is still no indication of when it will end.
Chepoghisio is not alone. Krop submitted an application in December last year and is still waiting. Philemon applied in January, believing his ID would be processed before he fully settled into college. Months later, he too remains empty-handed.
What should have been a routine government service has instead become a painful journey marked by uncertainty, repeated disappointments and growing frustration.
The three students have made countless trips to both the Huduma Centre and the main National Registration office, spending money they can barely afford on transport, missing classes and sacrificing valuable study time. Yet every visit ends with the same response.
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“We have been frequenting the Huduma Centre and the main office, and now we are even tired,” one of the applicants says. “We have done everything we were asked to do. We just want our IDs.”
Behind every delayed identity card is a young person whose life has been placed on hold. Without the document, students cannot open bank accounts, register SIM cards in their own names, apply for government scholarships, bursaries or higher education funding, seek internships, secure formal employment or access many essential public services. A single administrative delay has become a barrier separating ambition from opportunity.
Parents are equally frustrated. Many have repeatedly paid transport costs for their children to visit registration offices, only for them to return home disappointed. Teachers and community leaders say the delays are denying young people a smooth transition from school into higher education and the world of work.
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The affected students are now appealing to the relevant authorities to urgently clear the backlog and improve communication with applicants. They insist they are not asking for favours but for a service they are legally entitled to receive after complying with all the requirements.
As the months continue to pass, hope is slowly giving way to exhaustion. Yet Chepoghisio, Krop, Philemon and many others refuse to give up. They continue to believe that one day they will finally receive the small plastic card that stands between them and the futures they have worked so hard to build.
Their appeal is simple but powerful: no young Kenyan should have to watch opportunities slip away because of avoidable administrative delays. A national identity card is more than proof of citizenship—it is the key that unlocks education, employment, financial independence and a brighter future.
By Hillary Muhalya
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