Narok County Senator Ledama Ole Kina has sent a plea to President William Ruto following the signing of an executive order stopping the vetting of Northern Kenya residents when applying for national identification (ID) cards.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ole Kina urged the President to extend the same grace to the Maasai people after congratulating him on the move.

"I, Senator Ledama Olekina, Senator of the Republic of Kenya representing the people of Narok County and the official representative of the Maasai People of East Africa—and by extension, the Ateker community of Africa—hereby affirm my agreement with the proclamation by the President of Kenya that there shall be no vetting or profiling of the Somali people (my Abties) in the issuance of ID cards," Ole Kina stated.

"I further extend this call to include the Maasai people, ensuring equal treatment and dignity for all."

Senator Ledama Olekina during an interview with Kenyans.co.ke.

Ian Kaniu

Since Kenya gained independence, Kenyans from the six counties of Mandera, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, and Tana River have had to undergo a gruelling vetting process to obtain their ID cards.

According to the Narok Senator, this is what Kenyans of Maasai origin are still going through.

The discrimination against the Somali community due to their ethnic background led the President to take decisive action to void the policy that required the vetting process.

In his address a day before signing the order, he stressed that his administration would be an inclusive one regardless of origin.

"The discrimination that has been ongoing in Kenya for 60 years that when a child from Mandera, Wajir, Garissa or Tana River goes to apply for an ID card gets asked more questions than those asked in maternity wards is going to stop," Ruto declared.

"Tomorrow, I will sign an executive order to remove the discriminatory vetting process that the children of this region have suffered so that all Kenyan children in Kenya will be counted as equals despite their tribes because we are all equal in the constitution of Kenya."

True to his words, he signed the Presidential Proclamation on Registration and Issuance of IDs to Border Counties during his trip to Wajir County on Wednesday, February 5.

When signing the decree that years of State discrimination in the issuance of the vital documents, President Ruto termed the practice 'unjust and disenfranchising.'

The Maasai people's proximity to Tanzania has also led them to face similar discrimination when seeking IDs.

Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina during Point Blank Interview with Tony Gachoka on September 11, 2019.

The Standard