H.E President William Ruto removed historicall barriers from the Northeastern kenyan…
President William Samoei Ruto moved on to ease discriminatory process for the issuance of national identification cards to the people of the Northern Frontier District (NFD), the Kenya Coastal region, as well as the Kenyan communities bordering Uganda, is a landmark decision that moves Kenyans closer to inclusivity, unity, and a true sense of belonging in this beautiful nation. For decades, the people in this regions have endured systemic discrimination and exclusion. This very much needed step of the president is a breath of fresh air for communities that have long felt like second-class citizens in their own country.
For your information, the stringent vetting process for border counties, and especially the pastoralist communities, did not begin yesterday. It has been in place since independence in 1963, effectively creating barriers for entire generations to access their basic rights. Identification cards are not just pieces of plastic; they are a gateway to education, employment, business opportunities, and the right to vote. Yet for these communities, obtaining one has been an uphill battle, humiliating, time consuming, and sometimse faced rejection.
To link these communities to terrorist groups that emerged barely 12 years ago is both historically and factually wrong. These people have served at the frontline against Al Shabab and served as a buffer zone for the rest of Kenya, hence suffered immensely in the hands of these terror groups as well as suffered stigma from other Kenyan tribes. The marginalization predates that group by decades. In fact, the Northern Frontier District has a long and painful history of discrimination both in terms of resource sharing and registration procedures for applying various important citizenship documents.
For decades after, residents of NFD and the wider Muslim population across Kenya, especially along the Coast, were treated with suspicion and their loyalty questioned, their movements monitored, and their rights curtailed. The vetting process for IDs became one of the most visible symbols of this institutional bias.
President Ruto’s decision is therefore not just an administrative change but a correction of a long-standing historical injustice. It recognizes that Kenyan Muslims, and especially the Somali community, are equal citizens whose rights should not be subject to suspicion simply because of their ethnicity, religion, and geographical location.
Eventhough it is always the best option to advise for inclusivity and unity for all the citizens, yet President did the best he could to remove such long standing barriers faceb by these communities.
Competition in politics is always very normal in Kenya, but leveling a president Al-Shabaab to advocate for the isolation of the NFD people is unfair and dividing the nation.
Kenya is one of the most democratic countries in Africa if not the first, political maturity, freedom and equality has been the core values of all political aspiring elites.
Courtesy og Kulan post.
Jigjiganews.com
Info@jigjiganews.com
Evidence president William Ruto remains the King maker in Kenya…
Kenya’s current president William Samoei Ruto remains to be the king maker in the Kenyan politics. He has made Raile win in the disputed election in 2017, he made Uhuru Kenyatta ascend to power and finally jumped on to hung to the power of presidency. He is the most active politician who has been winning his seat from since he started aspiring to become one of the representatives of his constituency.
Jigjiganews.com
Info@jigjiganews.com
