Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Thursday unveiled the implementation of a Unique Personal Identification (UPI) number system in a move aimed at enhancing accuracy and streamlining administrative processes related to vital records.
This pioneering initiative will henceforth be utilized in the issuance of birth and death certificates across the nation. The Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Rules, 2024, delineate that each citizen shall be assigned a singular UPI number that will remain constant throughout their lifetime. Upon a child’s birth, the designated registrar will allocate a unique personal identification number, which will subsequently serve as the UPI during the registration of the individual’s eventual demise.
“The same unique personal identification number issued at the registration of a person’s birth shall be used as the unique personal identification number during the registration of death of the same person.” the legal notice reads in part.
To ensure meticulous record-keeping, Kindiki has mandated that the register of births and deaths be meticulously maintained by a registrar in compulsory registration areas. Furthermore, this register will be kept in both loose-leaf and electronic form, encompassing all requisite particulars. Revisions proposed in March 2024 have been ratified regarding the fee structure. The certification of a current birth will now incur a fee of Sh200, a marked increase from the previous Sh50. Moreover, late registration of birth and death certificates has seen an escalation from Sh150 to Sh100. Re-registration of birth certifications will now cost Sh1,000, a substantial rise from the former Sh90.
