By Almarat Arnu Ngutulu: Operations Manager at Humanity Hands (Kenya)

Kenya has hosted refugees for the past 30 years, using a refugee camp/settlement structure, primarily in Kakuma and Dadaab in Northern Kenya. This model has worked for many years, but has proven unsustainable in terms of providing these refugees with all their needs. UNHCR, together with the Government of Kenya, has been working to end this model to ensure refugees are fully integrated in Kenya within the host communities to enable them to be self-dependent by engaging in economic activities, a move well known as socio-economic integration.

Several initiatives have been rolled out over the years to help refugees and host communities in these two locations to co-exist socially and economically, including the Kalobeyei Integrated Socio-Economic Development Programme (KISEDEP) and now the Shirika Plan.

Despite the efforts and initiatives, refugees need access to the following to enable them to work towards self-reliance. They need work permits to allow them to get employed and business permits to allow them to open and run businesses anywhere in Kenya,  rights to own property, such as land and vehicles.  and documentation to be able to access financial services, like opening bank accounts, Mobile Money wallets, secure loans from banks – these being a few of their needs.

Another very important document is the Refugee Alien Card or Refugee Identification Document. But unfortunately, most of the refugee IDs in Kenya are not included in the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), also known as the Maisha Database. This database contains a digital representation of all citizens, including refugees registered in Kenya, including their personal data and biometrics. That makes the Alien ID Card practically useless, as it can’t be used to access any government services.

Just to start with my own experience, my friends and relatives. From us all, only 2 out of about 40 IDs are in the Maisha Database based on our findings. Below is how we were able to know that.

In 2023, when opening our community-based organization’s bank account after being registered, the bank needed all three signatories to have a Kenya Revenue Authority PIN, also known as KRA PIN. Among the 3 signatories was me. It is only my Alien ID Card that enabled me to open a KRA PIN; all others were refused as they were not in the system and could not generate KRA PINS. We, in fact, tried all 15 members and were lucky to get another member whose ID was accepted to open a KRA PIN. This is a common challenge most RLOs and self-run refugee groups face.

Moreover, refugees need access to eCitizen. This is Kenya’s official government online platform where citizens and businesses can access, apply for, and pay for various government services, including application fees for passport, driver’s license, business registrations, etc., all from a single and centralized portal. To access the platform,  your Alien ID Card is needed. If it is not on the Maisha Database, it means refugees are not able to have an account on eCitizen, just like in the case of opening a KRA PIN. This means exclusion from many services offered via eCitizen.

I was in a random conversation with my colleague, who is a web developer and works as a freelancer, giving him feedback on the website he had built for me. We ended talking about refugee IDs and KRA PINs, something he has experienced as well. He informed me that he went to open a KRA PIN in Nairobi with his refugee ID, as he needed it to access his bank account. He was told by the KRA staff, based on his words, “This ID is not anywhere in the Government Database, you were just given to feel good.” The staff even checked with him together to prove this to him, and indeed, when they searched, they got a “not found” result. He told me this while laughing, but was very disappointed as this meant he wouldn’t get a KRA PIN and access his bank until coming back to Kakuma, where the Bank branch doesn’t ask for KRA PINs based on agreements made in Kakuma.

The Government of Kenya recently lifted the ban to allow refugees in Kenya to register for M-Pesa accounts, a widely used mobile money wallet. Three months after the ban was lifted, I went to a Safaricom agent, a leading mobile network provider in Kenya, to buy a new Mobile SIM card and register an M-Pesa with my ID. I was hesitant because I knew my ID was not in the Maisha Database and could not register. To prove my doubt, the system rejected it. This ID of mine was renewed most recently.

I took time to have a little conversation with the agent before leaving. He said many refugees who come to open M-Pesa at his agent get similar challenges. Their IDs are rejected by the system. Only a few fractions work based on his words, and something I can confirm from my interactions with refugees. I was very disappointed and asked myself why would the government lift a ban while many Refugee IDs are not in the Maisha Database and would not open an M-Pesa account after all.

Many refugee ID cards are not included in the Kenyan Government’s Maisha Database. The effects as seen are denying many refugees a lot of services that could enable them to access socio-economic services in Kenya, which could enable them to be self-dependent. It is imperative that these bottlenecks are resolved. It is important that refugee ID cards are incorporated in the Government’s Maisha Database, something that needs to be done from the production level. This will considerably enhance the likelihood of refugees to thrive independently in Kenya.