Interior ministry cancels 900 birth certificates over security issue

The Ministry of Interior and National Administration announces the loss of 900 birth certificate registration documents. The ministry has issued a public notice alerting citizens to the loss of birth certificate booklets from the Mutomo registration office in Kitui County.

The loss of these critical registration materials raises significant security concerns, as birth certificates are essential identification documents.

Fraudulent use of these documents could result in identity theft, illegal registration of individuals, or other criminal activities.

This loss follows another security breach involving sensitive documents in the Lands Ministry.

On September 26, 2024, the government printer issued a gazette notice revealing the theft of 367 security papers used for printing title deeds.

The ministry suspects that these papers were stolen to facilitate the production of fake titles, a tactic frequently employed in land fraud schemes.

Such incidents have long affected Kenya’s land sector, where corruption networks exploit system gaps to create fraudulent ownership claims, undermining the integrity of land ownership in the country.

These birth certificates, which are now invalid, contain serial numbers ranging from 1502001 to 1502900. In the notice, the government outlined the serial numbers of the missing booklets, each comprising 100 leaflets.