By Anderson Ojwang
The politics of national identity cards is fast turning into another frontier of contest in Nyanza, with various divides blaming one another for the low uptake.
With only 14 months to the next general election, the national identity card is becoming a critical weapon in the electoral contest.
It is emerging as a battleground for the new vote bloc, and the old political rivalry is currently playing out.
A simmering contest between President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), the predominant party in the region, is in the offing over the ID drive.
According to recent data from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which targets 5,083,252 new voters in the ongoing drive, out of the 5,083,252, IEBC targets 786,921 new voters from Nyanza, accounting for 15.5 percent of the new voters targeted.
IEBC targets from Homa Bay 147,809 new voters, Migori 146,869, Kisumu 133,740 and Siaya 123,142.
If the IEBC meets its target, the number of registered voters will shoot to a total of 28 million, up from 22.1 million who cast their votes during the 2022 Elections.
In 2023, Kenya had approximately 13.2 million students enrolled in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools. Specifically, there were 2.9 million in pre-primary, 10.2 million in primary and 4.1 million in secondary schools.
In 2025, a total of 993,226 sat KCSE, while in 2024 the number was 962,512 candidates, and in 2023 the number was 899,453, giving a total of 2,855,191 forming the bulk of the new voters targeted by IEBC.
In 2023, student enrolment in Migori County was 147,033, while in Homa Bay County it stood at 143,550, Siaya County stood at 130,784 and Kisumu County stood at 123,499, totaling 544,866.
The last batch of the 2023 population will have the last class sit examinations and will be eligible for national identity cards and voter cards to participate in the 2027 general elections.
This could have informed the decision by the government through a circular from the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Education, State Department for Basic Education, Amb. Prof Julius K. Bitok, who wrote and captioned “Facilitation of school-based ID registration exercise, second term, 2025.”
The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, through the National Registration Bureau (NRB), intends to undertake a mobile national ID registration drive targeting eligible students in secondary schools during the current (second) school term (May-August 2025).
The battle mine
Political rivalry, inclination, and superiority contest have clouded and undermined the national identification issuance and uptake in the four counties in Nyanza.
President Ruto’s right-hand man in Nyanza, Dr Raymond Omollo, the Permanent Secretary for Internal Security and the patron of the ID drive initiatives in the region, has been supporting various initiatives in the region.
Dr Omollo has been supporting the Lavender Ojalla-led initiative “Jiandikishe,” which is based in Homa Bay County, and another initiative, “Kenya Youth Transition Initiative, Begin Early,” which covers Kisumu, Siaya and Migori.
But on Monday, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga led elected leaders from the county, including Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay), Dr. Joyce Bensuda (Women Representative), Dr. Lillian Gogo (Rangwe), and Dr. Eve Obara (Kasipul Kabondo), to a meeting with Permanent Secretary for Immigration Dr Belio Kipsang.
Wanga wrote on her social media handle: “We held a consultative meeting with Dr. Belio Kipsang, Principal Secretary for Immigration, to deliberate on ID registration challenges within the county.”
Wanga said they agreed with the PS to re-energize the registration process to meet the target.
“We have jointly agreed with the Ministry to re-energize the registration process and fast-track both new and pending applications through a targeted Rapid Response Initiative. This intervention is aimed at ensuring that all eligible residents are registered and can fully access essential government services,” she wrote.
Omollo and Wanga have been feuding over national government projects in Homa Bay County and have become bitter rivals.
Omollo currently plays host to MCAs who have fallen out with Wanga, and this has soured the relationship.
According to the latest data from the acting regional registration officer, George Opiyo, as of 14th April 2026, there were 80,027 uncollected national identity cards.
Kisumu led with 32,296, Migori stood at 5,450, while Homa Bay was at 12,205. Siaya had 11,426, while Kisii was at 14,610 and Nyamira at 4,047.
Ojalla dismissed Wanga’s claims of low identity card registration, saying her initiative has managed to register a significant number.
“My exercise began in November last year, and we have been able to traverse several sub-counties in Homa Bay County, and the turnout has been very impressive. I have taken advantage of the grassroots networks I built during my campaigns, and this has made my work easy,” she said.
Kisumu trouble zone
In Kisumu County, identity registration and distribution have been undermined by political contest and inclination.
Various aspirants allied to ODM have expressed concern that the team allied to the PS has been undermining their efforts in organizing the drive.
“We have been unable to organize the drives because we are viewed as opponents, while the UDA wing wants to use the drive for popularity and contest,” the aspirants said.
One of the aspirants in the county, who did not want to be named, said he had approached the regional office to undertake the drive in one of the constituencies in the county.
He said they reached an amicable agreement, and when they went back, they were asked for a mobilization fund, which they agreed to pay.
“But when the UDA team learned of the drive, the exercise was scuttled, and for five months, no identity card issuance has taken place in that area,” he said.
