The government has announced plans to roll out an electronic birth notification system linked to the Maisha Namba programme to eliminate delays, fraud and duplication.
Appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, Immigration PS Belio Kipsang said the government had completed development of the e-notification system.
The system will allow hospitals to electronically register births immediately after a child is born.
It will also automatically generate a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI), commonly referred to as the Maisha Namba, which the child will retain throughout life and later transition into a national identity card number in adulthood.
The PS said the new digital platform is expected to address persistent challenges facing Kenyans seeking passports, IDs and birth certificates due to inconsistencies in personal records.
“When a child is born in a hospital, notification will now be done electronically at the hospital level. That notification will be relayed directly to Civil Registration Services and linked to the Unique Personal Identifier generator, after which the child will immediately be issued with a Maisha Namba,” Kipsang said.
He spoke when he appeared before the committee, led by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, to deliberate on budget estimates for the 2026-27 financial year.
Belio told the committee the reforms would eliminate reliance on paper documentation and curb cases where individuals alter ages or names by obtaining multiple birth certificates.
“Going forward, this problem will be eliminated because it will no longer be about a paper-printed document, but a system number existing in the national population register,” he explained.
MPs also raised concerns over weaknesses in the country’s civil registration system, poor working conditions for registration officers and the need for public sensitisation on the Maisha Namba programme.
Elgeyo Marakwet Woman Representative Caroline Ngelechei raised concerns over conflicts between birth certificates used in schools and those later presented during ID and passport applications.
She said many Kenyans were facing difficulties while applying for passports after discovering discrepancies between birth certificates used during KCPE and KCSE examinations and those later used to process national identity cards.
“We need a clear system because many Kenyans are suffering when they want to travel and are told their documents do not match,” she said.
In response, the PS acknowledged the challenges and said the ministry was consulting the National Treasury on the possibility of abolishing birth certificate charges to ensure no child is denied registration due to cost.
He also revealed the ministry was consolidating Civil Registration, Immigration and National Registration Bureau offices into integrated population registration centres to improve efficiency.
The committee further questioned the state of immigration and registration offices in several regions, particularly Kisumu, where MPs said some offices handling sensitive identification documents lacked lockable doors and adequate office space.
Sotik MP Francis Sigei urged the ministry to improve working conditions for registration officers, saying immigration offices appeared better facilitated than National Registration Bureau offices.
Tongoyo described the state of some offices as worrying, saying officers handling critical national documents deserved better working environments.
The PS, in his response, assured MPs the ministry had already embarked on nationwide inspections of its offices and promised that the Kisumu situation would be addressed urgently.
