Amkeni Wakenya

Campaign to issue Identity Cards to the Youth Launched

Nairobi,  27^th January, 2012

There are over 3,000,000 eligible young voters who are unregistered and without Identity Cards, the Independent Electoral Boundaries and Commission (IEBC) has confirmed.

 Speaking during the launch of a campaign to ensure that all eligible young Kenyans are issued with Identity Cards, Commissioner Mohamed Allawi of the IEBC noted that one cannot be registered as voter in Kenya without an Identity Card.

 Commissioner  Allawi indicated that discussion are underway with the Ministry of Immigration  and  Registration of Persons to explore possibility of establishing g an integrated  database  that can  be utilized  by  the two institutions.

  The campaign organized by an Amkeni Wakenya partner -Kenya League of Young Voters (KLYV- is   targeting all the youths who have attained the age of 18 years and have not obtained a national identity card. In its second phase, the campaign will seek to encourage young people to not only register as voters but to also take active part in the establishment of county governments.

 Commissioner Alawi challenged the youth to take advantage of the ongoing registration exercise that has kicked off nationally, noting that the youth can use their numbers to bring transformative leadership in the country. ‘’You should not allow yourself to be passengers in the political bus, ‘’ Commissioner Allawi, advised.

   Former Commissioner at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Omar Hassan decried the use of social media as a medium to spread hate messages.  Mr. Omar noted that though the youth have the advantage of using modern technology, more often than not, a lot of youth are abusing this space. ‘’Very few young people are using the social media to propagate values of good governance, transparency or accountability.  Some are regurgitating hate messages under the cover of anonymity offered by the social media, ’’ he cautioned.

 For the youth to positively influence the landscape of Kenya, Mr. Omar noted that numbers of young people registered to vote must be increased, but more importantly, young people should embrace the values of integrity and leaderships as espoused in Chapter Six of the Constitution.

   The Chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia   called for an issue based general elections. He noted the trend was set in the run –up to the Referendum in 2010 where the key issues were land,   Kadhis courts and abortion.

 

For more information contact Murage Komore on 0722936296 or kenyalague@gmail.com