THE COLONIAL KIPANDE SYSTEM IS HERE AGAIN I operated without a Kenyan national ID for the longest time because once it was stolen, the process to get it replaced was tedious.... Police abstract....citing the cause and mode of loss.... Blah blah blah. I got tired of visiting Central Police Station and decided to use my passport. The banks and many institutions readily accepted the document without fuss, that was except Eastleigh Airbase. They insisted on a national ID. The only way I could enter the premises was by calling a very senior officer who had to come to usher me in at the gate. The funny thing is that I could go to Forces. Memorial Hospital on Mbagathi Way and Langata Barracks or any other military premises. That made no sense to me because a passport is more valid than an ID in my opinion. There are more stringent requirements including a criminal background check before you get one. That is the ideal situation, but today, criminals hold passports. (I digress). So in lieu of a national ID, because a passport is not something one should carry needlessly unless they were leaving the country, what are the alternative methods one can identify themselves domestically. ? In the US a picture ID can suffice. That includes a student ID, a divers license, a bank card or any ID with a picture from a recognized institution. I thought we had gone digital in Kenya. I see we are still backward. We still have a colonial hangover. Waiguru is busy re registering civil servants in a tedious unnecessary exercise which is expensive both monetarily and in man hours. She is trying to make a legacy of sorts, (NYS. Etc). When I was employed in Kenya I gave a copy of my ID, I filled in all the details about me including details about my headman, sub chief, sub location, location, province, etc. if they wanted to get me, they would go stating to my grandmother and she would tell them where I was with minimum prodding. So instead of Waiguru looking for ghost workers by re registering the current staff, just go back to the physical records at HR and work from there. Giving people ID or reentering them into a computer is a worthless exercise. Insisting on a national ID or passport at the domestic airport during this digital age is plain stupidity. To get a bank card, passport, Pin Number, Frequent Flier card, etc, one needs an ID. GET WITH THE PROGRAM.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 10:00:41 +0000