AU petitioned over legal ID discrimination suffered by Kenyan minority group

Legal representatives of a human rights group, Nubian Rights Forum (NRF), have submitted a petition to the African Union (AU) asking the continental body to call the Kenyan government to order over reported discriminatory practices suffered by people of the Nubian community in the country. The NRF is a civil society organization created in 1997 to push for the rights of Kenyan Nubians.

Kenyan Nubians are descendants of soldiers drawn from Northern Sudan and parts of Egypt who were settled in Kenya by the British colonial government in the late 19th century. The people have been in Kenya for more than a century and report several forms of discrimination by Kenyan authorities.

In the petition dated January 28 and addressed to both the Chairpersons of the AU and AU Commission, the Forum, through Noordean Khagai & Company Advocates, says Nubians have suffered years of injustices in relation to citizenship and land rights, and the time to end that sad episode is now. The ID and land problems are interconnected as ID cards are a requirement for registering land in Kenya.

“All the historical injustices and discrimination faced by the Nubian community regarding registration documents like birth certificates and identity cards have alienated them from any socio-economic empowerment and left them in a state of statelessness,” the petition reads in part.

“The Nubian community has suffered immense discrimination over the years regarding their identity, as they have always found it challenging when it comes to applying for their identity cards. They are forced to undergo a verification process which other Kenyans do not undergo, making it discriminatory,” it adds.

The petitioners argue that such discriminatory practices are not only a violation of their fundamental human rights, but have far-reaching consequences which have forced the people into a cycle of perpetual poverty and socio-economic hardship.

“The lack of identification documents prevents them from accessing employment, and the lack of a secure land tenure prevents them from achieving social and economic progress, forcing them to live in slums like Kibra in Nairobi,” the advocates say.

Apart from the problems related to identification, the NRF has also expressed worries that a slum upgrading project undertaken by the administration of President William Ruto will further send the Nubians into distress as many of them do not have titles to the lands they occupy.

In the face of these challenges, the NRF has called on AU authorities to take action.

“Our client seeks your intervention to protect the Nubian community, which has endured years of discrimination and alienation,” the legal representatives wrote.

“In doing so, you can be guided by the Extraordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights decision in Gambia, held from 19-28 February 2015, where the Nubian community in Kenya took a complaint against the Republic of Kenya, which has not been implemented to date,” they suggested.

The petition comes at a time when President Ruto has signed a Proclamation which makes it possible for thousands of Kenyans in border and minority communities such as Nubians to easily obtain national ID cards.

The presidential move removes the vetting procedure in the ID application process which was often criticized for being discriminatory because of its discretionary powers.

In the days of the Huduma Namba ID, the Nubian Rights Forum was also vocal saying it was a discriminatory and exclusionary system that disfavoured minority groups like Nubians in the country.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity document  |  Kenya  |  legal identity  |  national ID