Homa Bay leads as Nyanza ID registration drive hits 110,175

More than 110,000 Kenyans in the Nyanza region have been registered for national identity cards in the first quarter of 2026, in a drive coordinated by the office of Regional Registrar George Opiyo Matewa, through the mobilisation efforts of the Kenya Youth Transition Initiative (KYTI).

Beyond the numbers, the initiative stands as a powerful symbol of accessibility, civic engagement, and empowerment, giving every citizen a voice in governance and a recognised place in the national fabric.

According to figures released by KYTI, Homa Bay led the four-county registration tally with 35,463 IDs processed between January and the end of March, followed by Kisumu at 31,408 and Siaya at 23,530. Migori recorded 19,774 registrations, bringing the regional total to 110,175.

The exercise was conducted by young Kenyans spanning across the region with one goal: getting the ID forms to everyone who needed it. The villages, markets, churches, and schools were the primary targets.

Coordinated through Matewa's office, KYTI served as the primary mobilisation partner on the ground, connecting government registration infrastructure with communities that have long struggled to access documentation services.

For many of those who walked away with their national IDs, the document represented far more than a card; it was the moment they stepped fully into citizenship.

KYTI Chairman Salmon Oyieko said the organisation has been at the centre of mobilising first-time applicants, working hand in hand with local administration to bring the exercise closer to the people.

"Working closely with Chiefs, Assistant Chiefs, National Government Administrative Officers, and grassroots youth leaders, KYTI has been sensitising young people on the importance of obtaining national identification documents as a gateway to full participation in civic, economic, and social life," he said.

Oyieko also pointed to the deep-rooted structural challenges that have long kept people in the region without documentation.

"This drive is particularly significant for the Nyanza region because it addresses longstanding documentation gaps caused by poverty, distance to registration centres, limited awareness, and incomplete parental records," he explained.

In counties such as Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, and Siaya, many young people turning 18 had previously delayed registration, effectively locking them out of education, employment, financial services, and government programmes.

Running under the coordination of the Regional Registrar's office, the initiative deployed mobile outreach services to hard-to-reach areas and made tackling misinformation a core pillar of its civic education work.

Crucially, the drive extended its reach beyond the youth, ensuring that elderly persons and people living with disabilities in remote areas were equally prioritised and not left behind.

In doing so, it has redefined what civic engagement can look like when government institutions and grassroots organisations work in genuine partnership.

At the national level, Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Dr. Raymond Omollo framed the exercise as a matter of fundamental rights.

"The national ID registration drive in Nyanza is fundamentally about inclusion, dignity, and equal opportunity for every eligible Kenyan," he said.

"A national ID is not just a document, it is a gateway to education, employment, financial services, social protection programmes, and full participation in our democracy."

Dr. Omollo added that the government has deliberately moved to dismantle the barriers that have historically kept marginalised communities undocumented.

"Through our National Government Administrative Officers working closely with community leaders and youth networks, we have intensified outreach to remote villages, border communities, and previously underserved populations to ensure no one is left behind," he said, noting that the exercise was also designed to strengthen national cohesion and empower citizens to participate fully in Kenya's development agenda.

That vision of empowerment may well prove to be the most enduring legacy of the Nyanza drive. By dismantling the bureaucratic and logistical obstacles that have historically denied residents access to identification, the initiative has ensured that thousands who once existed on the margins of the system can now engage with it fully, as voters, as beneficiaries of government programmes, and as active participants in shaping the country's future.

KYTI says the target remains to capture all eligible persons without identification documents within the stipulated timeline, with renewed focus on improving coverage in wards that have historically recorded low registration numbers.

The Regional Registrar's office is expected to continue leveraging KYTI's grassroots networks to sustain the momentum well beyond the first quarter.

The drive comes at a particularly timely moment, coinciding with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's (IEBC) enhanced continuous voter registration exercise, which is ongoing across the country until April 28th, making the push to document every eligible Kenyan more urgent and consequential than ever.