President William Ruto has clarified that national identity cards will only be issued to legitimate Kenyan citizens, emphasizing that reforms aim to end discrimination rather than abolish vetting.

• The President made these remarks during the Madaraka Day celebrations in Wajir County, the first time the national event was held in the North Eastern region.
• The reforms address historical discrimination and bureaucratic hurdles that previously denied many deserving residents access to identification documents.
• Historical accounts, like that of Bakaja Ibrahim Osman, highlight the decades of suspicion and ethnic profiling faced by residents in obtaining IDs.