National Registration Bureau

Also known as: NRB

Institution under Kenya's Ministry of Interior responsible for citizen identity and voter registration; faces allegations of selective registration and corruption involving illegal issuance of documents to foreigners.

2026-05-032026-10-23

News reports

Order a long-term news report on National Registration Bureau

Every mention in the Kenyan press over the period you choose, compiled as a PDF or Word document.

In coverage

Verbatim sentences from the source article.

July 2026
23 JulThe Standard
… The Cabinet secretary said the Interior Ministry plans to integrate the system with the National Registration Bureau, the Judiciary, the Immigration Department and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) through legislative and policy changes.He said the integra …
Applying for a Good Conduct certificate? New DCI system cuts wait to 24 hours
June 2026
16 JunThe Standard
… Yet again, The Standard newspaper’s investigative unit has exposed a rot so entrenched within the Immigration Department and the National Registration Bureau that one is left wondering whether those in authority actually want it stopped. …
Take action to stop sale of Kenyan identity documents
15 JunCitizen Digital
… The report revealed how officials within the Immigration Department and the National Registration Bureau allowed individuals to acquire ID’s through bribery and corruption without proper vetting, scrutiny or verification.
Illegal IDs were issued to foreigners during Matiang’i tenure, MP Koech claims
15 JunThe Standard
… For weeks, The Standard infiltrated the dangerous networks and uncovered how rogue officials within the Immigration Department and the National Registration Bureau facilitate this dubious syndicate, allowing nationals from countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda t …
Kenyan birthright on auction: Inside illegal issuance of IDs, passports to foreigners
15 JunThe Standard
… For weeks, The Standard infiltrated the dangerous networks and uncovered how rogue officials within the Immigration Department and the National Registration Bureau facilitate this dubious syndicate, allowing nationals from countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda t …
Birthright auction: How foreigners obtain Kenyan IDs, passports at only Sh15,000
11 JunCitizen Digital
… His fingerprints were subsequently lifted and submitted to the National Registration Bureau for analysis, where he was positively identified as Jeremy Kamau. …
Deaf suspect in court for stealing laptop, baked beans from MP Karauri's home
3 JunThe Standard
… They must be stopped.The arrest of five National Registration Bureau officers in January over unlawful issuance of ID cards was a step in the right direction. …
Weed out rogue officers selling Kenyan ID cards
May 2026
20 MayCitizen Digital
… As a result, the court quashed previous decisions by state agencies rejecting the petitioners’ requests and issued orders compelling the Principal Registrar, the National Registration Bureau and the Passport Office to receive, consider and determine the applications within 60 day …
Win for transgenders in Kenya as Court allows gender marker changes on official documents
3 MayCitizen Digital
… On public service delivery, the Cabinet Secretary issued a stern warning to officers in the National Registration Bureau, directing them to issue identification cards to eligible Kenyans without demanding bribes. …
CS Ruku tells Uhuru to respect Ruto, warns against divisive politics

Politics

IEBC and Interior Ministry accused of selective voter ID registration

The News

The IEBC and Ministry of Interior's National Registration Bureau face accusations of selective voter and identity card registration favoring pro-government regions in the Rift Valley, North Eastern, Coast, and border areas. Sources claim officers from both institutions have formed a squad involving ID registration officers, Deputy County Commissioners, and Constituency Returning Officers to facilitate the Kenya Integrated Election Management System.

29 September 2026 · The Standard →

Tuesday 29 September

IEBC and Interior Ministry accused of selective voter ID registration
The IEBC and Ministry of Interior's National Registration Bureau face accusations of selective voter and identity card registration favoring pro-government regions in the Rift Valley, North Eastern, Coast, and border areas. Sources claim officers from both institutions have formed a squad involving ID registration officers, Deputy County Commissioners, and Constituency Returning Officers to facilitate the Kenya Integrated Election Management System.
29 September 2026 · The Standard →
IEBC and Interior Ministry accused of selective voter registration
The IEBC and the Ministry of Interior's National Registration Bureau have been accused of selective voter and identity card registration favoring pro-government regions in the Rift Valley, North Eastern parts, Coast, and along Kenyan borders. Sources from both institutions say officers have established a squad involving ID registration officers, Deputy County Commissioners, and Returning Officers to facilitate the Kenya Integrated Election Management System kit.
29 September 2026 · The Standard →

Monday 28 September

Kenya-Uganda border voters raise electoral system integrity concerns
An investigation by The Standard has uncovered testimonies and documents pointing to possible vulnerabilities in Kenya's systems for identifying citizens and registering voters, with allegations of irregular acquisition of Kenyan identity documents and voter registration emerging along the Kenya-Uganda border ahead of the 2027 General Election.
28 September 2026 · The Standard →
Investigation finds vulnerabilities in Kenya voter registration systems
The Standard's investigation has uncovered evidence of Ugandans being smuggled into Kenya and irregularly issued Kenyan identity documents and voter cards, raising questions about the integrity of the voters' roll ahead of the 2027 General Election and putting the National Registration Bureau and IEBC under scrutiny.
28 September 2026 · The Standard →

Saturday 26 September

IEBC and Interior Ministry accused of selective voter registration
The IEBC and National Registration Bureau have been accused of selectively registering voters and issuing national identity cards in regions perceived to support the government ahead of the 2027 General Election.
26 September 2026 · The Standard →

Tuesday 11 August

IEBC opens international tenders for 2027 election systems and materials
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has launched two major international tenders—one for an Integrated Elections Management System and KIEMS kits for biometric voter identification and results transmission, and another for ballot papers, tactile ballot folders, voter registers, and result-declaration forms—with delivery scheduled before the August 2027 General Election.
11 August 2026 · Citizen Digital →

Saturday 8 August

Nairobi morgues dispose of 475 unclaimed bodies amid congestion
Nairobi County is disposing of 475 unclaimed bodies this month as public morgues struggle with overcrowding; the Nairobi Funeral Home holds 381 bodies—nearly three times its capacity—while some bodies have remained in storage since 2024. The county has given the public seven days to identify and collect bodies, with most classified as unknown after police recovery with no identification clues.
8 August 2026 · The Standard →

Thursday 23 July

Police clearance certificates to be issued within 24 hours
Kenya's Interior Cabinet Secretary announced the rollout of a new multi-biometric identification system that will reduce the processing time for police clearance certificates from up to two weeks to 24 hours and expand the fingerprint database capacity from two million to 10 million records.
23 July 2026 · Capital News →
Kenya's Forensic Unit gains international accreditation for criminal investigations
Kenya's Forensic Evidence Management Unit has received international accreditation from the ANSI National Accreditation Board, which Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen says will strengthen criminal prosecutions by ensuring evidence is collected, preserved and presented according to international standards. The accreditation is said to mark the first such international accreditation for a Forensic Evidence Management Unit in Africa.
23 July 2026 · Capital News →
Abducted businessman's dual citizenship complicates identity questions
A 51-year-old businessman allegedly abducted from Nairobi and deported to South Sudan holds both Kenyan and South Sudanese nationality, according to documents reviewed by The Standard. Amnesty International Kenya and activist Boniface Mwangi have raised concerns about his unlawful removal and current detention at a military facility in Juba.
23 July 2026 · The Standard →
New DCI biometric system reduces good conduct certificate processing to 24 hours
Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations has launched a Multi-Biometric Identification System that will deliver Certificates of Good Conduct within 24 hours, replacing a process that previously took more than two weeks. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the change during the system's official launch on July 23.
23 July 2026 · The Standard →

Tuesday 16 June

Stop sale of Kenyan identity documents to foreign nationals
The Standard's investigation has exposed a corruption syndicate within Kenya's Immigration Department and National Registration Bureau that sells identity cards and passports to foreign nationals, particularly from Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Uganda, through corrupt officials and brokers. The newspaper warns that fraudulent documents pose security risks, citing past attacks and the case of a Sudanese RSF commander who obtained a Kenyan passport.
16 June 2026 · The Standard →

Monday 15 June

MP Koech claims illegal IDs issued to foreigners in 2022
Belgut MP Nelson Koech claims that Kenyan identification cards were illegally issued to foreign nationals without proper vetting in 2022 during Fred Matiang'i's tenure as Cabinet Secretary under President Uhuru Kenyatta.
15 June 2026 · Citizen Digital →
Rogue officials illegally issuing Kenyan IDs and passports to foreigners
The Standard reports that rogue networks within the Immigration Department and National Registration Bureau are facilitating the illegal issuance of Kenyan identity cards and passports to nationals from Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda through bribery and corruption, without proper vetting or verification.
15 June 2026 · The Standard →
Rogue officials sell Kenyan IDs, passports to foreign nationals
The Standard reports that foreigners from Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Uganda are obtaining Kenyan identity documents through rogue networks within the Immigration Department and National Registration Bureau, facilitated by corrupt officials who accept bribes for documents issued without proper vetting.
15 June 2026 · The Standard →

Thursday 11 June

Deaf man arraigned for burglary at MP Karauri's Nairobi home
Jeremy Kamau was arraigned in Milimani Law Courts on a burglary charge for allegedly breaking into the Westlands home of Kasarani MP Ronald Karauri on January 18, 2026, and stealing a MacBook Air laptop valued at Ksh.100,000, a can of baked beans, and an energy drink. According to prosecution, Kamau was apprehended by police officers on duty at the residence after he allegedly lunged at an officer, who shot him in the leg.
11 June 2026 · Citizen Digital →

Wednesday 3 June

Rogue registration officials selling Kenyan ID cards to foreigners
A Bosnian national received a Kenyan ID card after requesting a residence permit, prompting Justice Roselyne Ekirapa Aburili to warn that weaknesses in the country's registration system threaten citizenship documentation integrity. The editorial reports that wayward officials have long been accused of issuing identification documents to foreigners, with several recent arrests of foreign nationals bearing illegally acquired Kenyan documents.
3 June 2026 · The Standard →

Wednesday 20 May

High Court rules Kenyan law permits gender marker changes on documents
Kenya's High Court issued a landmark ruling that Kenyan law does not expressly prohibit the alteration of sex or gender markers on official documents, finding that the refusal by state agencies to amend the documents of transgender activist Audrey Mbugua Ithibu violated constitutional guarantees on equality, dignity, privacy, freedom of expression and fair administrative action.
20 May 2026 · Citizen Digital →

Sunday 3 May

Cabinet Secretary Ruku calls on Uhuru to respect President Ruto
Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has criticised former President Uhuru Kenyatta, calling on him to accord President William Ruto the respect befitting his office, noting that Ruto remained loyal and respectful during his time as Deputy President.
3 May 2026 · Citizen Digital →