Friday, September 12, 2014
AN MP in Wajir has issued a two-week ultimatum to a county commissioner to lift a ban on registration of persons in the county.
Wajir North's Ibrahim Saney asked commissioner Naftali Mungathia to reverse the ban or he sues him in court.
Addressing journalists at Parliament Buildings yesterday, Saney said the embargo placed by Mungathia on the registration of voters is a "violation" of the rights of the people of Wajir.
“Let it be clear that the county commissioner will face court action should he not lift the embargo within the next two weeks,” he said.
Saney was with his Balambala counterpart Abdikadir Aden.
The MPs said the government has introduced an elaborate vetting process for members of the Somali community applying for IDs.
They said there is an attempt by the state to marginalise the Somali community through discriminatory issuance of IDs.
“The lengthy process of vetting applicants is a total abuse of the rights of the Somali people. It promotes corruption. The ID has become a tool of marginalisation,” Aden said.
Saney said there has been no registration of persons in Wajir North for the last three-and-half years.
"This has seen a rise in the number of over-age citizens without IDs.